Showing posts with label true story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label true story. Show all posts

Friday, April 8, 2016

BE INSPIRED: MEET DR. E.J.R. DAVID, A PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENTIST

E.J.R. David, is currently an associate professor of Psychology, author of two books (Filipino - American /Postcolonial Psychology: Oppression, Colonial Mentality, and Decolonization), Director of Alaska Native Community Advancement in Psychology (ANCAP) Program, and a Filipino American community activist. He is also a psychological scientist who has published in scientific journals that concerns the topics in Filipino American psychology and mental health. He has been a featured speaker on The Filipino Channel and other community on-line and print publications, as well as on several television and radio programs (see source). He received the Distinguished Student Research Award "for his significant contribution in psychological research related to ethnic minority populations" by American Psychological Association Division 45. Dr. David was also honored by the American Psychological Association Minority Fellowship Program in 2012 with the Early Career Award in Research for Distinguished Contributions to the Field of Racial and Ethnic Minority Psychology, citing his "outstanding scientific contributions and the application of this knowledge toward the improved mental and physical well-being of people of color (see source).

MORE OF HIM (Interview from www.filamako.com):

Please tell us who you are.

What’s up everybody, this is E.J. David, author of Filipino-/American Postcolonial Psychology. I grew up in Pasay to Kapangpangan parents. I also grew up in Paranaque and Las PiƱas, while going to school in Don Bosco Makati. When I was fourteen, I moved to Barrow, Alaska, which is the northern most point in the United States. I played competitive high school basketball and was an all state basketball player for two years. After that, I attended the University of Alaska Anchorage to obtain my bachelors degree in psychology, while working at a local mental health agency and also a roughneck in the oil fields around Pluto Bay. Then I attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where I received my Masters and Ph.D. in Clinical Community Psychology. Now, I am a faculty member in the psychology department at the University of Alaska Anchorage with my primary duties being with the doctoral program and the students in the clinical community Ph.D. program.

What inspired you to pursue a career in psychology?
None of these were really planned. I was never really the type of student, who was really into school when I was young. All I really cared about was basketball. I had no intention of going to college and becoming a doctor or professor. All I wanted was to eventually play in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), which is like the NBA of the Philippines. I wanted to be a professional basketball player. If I was going to college, it was so that I could play college basketball. I didn’t care about school at all. When I was a sophomore in high school I became really curious why people made fun of my Filipino accent, the way I dressed, and my Filipino values and mannerisms. I also began to ask myself, why I made fun of FOBs (Fresh Off the Boat). I questioned why I regarded lighter skin as more attractive and many products in the U.S.A. as better than anything from the Philippines. I also began to see that many Filipinos and Filipino-Americans thought the same thing. Given that psychology is the scientific study of human thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors, it gave me hope that somehow read more...

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I happened to see the post of Dr. EJR. David on twitter which was retweeted by Asian American Psychological Association. The article was entitled, "Why are Filipino Americans Still Forgotten and Invisible?" and it was published in Psychology Today (here).  Luckily, I was able to get the original article from him and it was published here! (click here to read

Follow him on twitter: @ejrdavid

Be inspired! #Mahupsych #lovepsych #proudpsych