Then he went to see Lisa Jack, an assistant professor of psychology at Augsburg. He said he was interested in psychology, and she asked him why. “I told her I liked watching people and how they operate,” Praska explained. The next thing he knew, they were mapping out a strategy for him to complete the psychology major in two years.

And that’s how David Praska, psychology major, found himself at the State Capitol building talking to legislators and guests about his research on therapies for children with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Praska was one of several scholars presenting at the Minnesota Private College Scholars at the Capitol day in February. Caitlin Massop, another Augsburg psychology student, also presented a poster but was unable to attend the Capitol event. Both students were advised in their research by assistant professor of psychology, Stacy Freiheit.

As he delved into the psychology field, Praska became interested in the subject of attraction between people—couples, friends, and family members. He talked with other professors and began exploring a career in marriage and family therapy, where he hopes to reach out specifically to Mexican American families.

“I found out that many Mexican American couples will go to a marriage counselor for one session and never return, and I had questions about that,” Praska says. He hopes to focus his graduate studies on therapy with minority groups and to “bridge the gap” between therapists and people of different cultures.

Praska spent most of last summer in the lab conducting research through the McNair program. “I was a little nervous when I started because I had never done a project like that myself,” he says. But he says he learned valuable lessons about communication and research through the program. “It was well worth it because I grew up as a researcher and as a student.”

Praska and other scholars will present research as part of Zyzzogeton, Augsburg’s annual festival of creativity and scholarship. The Zyzzogeton research poster session will be Thursday, April 15 from 3:30-5:30 Oren Gateway Center Atrium.

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The students, ages 19-22, arrived in Minneapolis on July 2, just in time to meet American culture at a Fourth of July picnic on Nicollet Island, complete with hot dogs, potato salad, and fireworks. The students are enrolled in an Augsburg summer session course and are participating in a program on Minnesota history and culture. Before returning home on August 7, they will complete a project about Minnesota and Augsburg that they will present in China.

None of them has had time to think about home, however, with a busy schedule of field trips, visits, and events. They’ve enjoyed a variety of museums in the Twin Cities—art and history museums, the State Capitol, Ft. Snelling—and also noted how many more historical sites they have in China than here.

Two weeks ago, the UIC students joined with Augsburg first-year TRiO and Pan-Asian students for a canoe trip and picnic on the St. Croix River, paddling down river from Taylors Falls.

While some students from UIC have visited Augsburg previously, the goal of this visit is to launch student exchanges between the two colleges. Additional UIC students will come to Augsburg during spring semester next year, and Augsburg students will plan to study there.

Faculty, also, share in this partnership. This year during fall semester, philosophy professor Bruce Reichenbach will teach at UIC. His assignment follows that of recently-retired Joyce Pfaff, professor emerita of health and physical education, who spent last year at UIC teaching physical education and starting fitness classes.

United International College is a four-year college jointly founded by Beijing Normal University and Hong Kong Baptist University in 2005. Its mission is to build a new model for liberal education in China and to nurture graduates with international perspectives. The college has 3,300 students who study in classes all taught in English.

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