Felicity Campbell-Smith

Felicity Campbell-Smith got a good feeling about studying at the University of Waikato from the moment she reached out to the student Accessibility Services team to enquire about her study.

I could just tell from the start Waikato was more person-centered and I would get the support I needed studying there. 

From Tauranga, Felicity needed extra support in her first year of study after suffering health setbacks, but she says the Accessibility Services team worked with her to make her study achievable. She studied a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Psychology and went on to complete a Master of Applied Psychology in Behaviour Analysis with the goal of becoming a behavioural psychologist.

I have always had a strong passion for working with people, so I landed on psychology and fell in love with it.

Throughout her studies, Felicity participated in various research projects, including a concussion recovery study looking at how New Zealand children recover from concussion, and two other health research projects. “The School of Psychology staff are all so respected in their fields. “I also had my own brush with concussion during the study after I had a fall, so was learning about recovery as I was making my own recovery which was interesting.”

Her advice to new students is simple: “Use all the support the University has available. There are some great services. And get involved - you learn so much more when you show up to class and engage with others. Talk to the people in your classes; they might become friends for life.”