Quality and Good Grades

Growing up in the U.S.S.R., I heard the word “quality” a lot. To an average Soviet family living in a non-competitive economic environment, “бракованые товары” (defective goods) were a fact of life. Quality was a relevant topic.

My father, a professor of auto-engineering, had similar concerns about quality of education. He often sighed that many of his students were not adequately prepared: they lacked both knowledge and  motivation to become the kind of engineers our country needed. I took my father’s comments to heart, feeling anxious: “what if I grow up to be a charlatan?” The thought of disappointing my father, my family, my country, and above all, myself, was painful, so I put my trust in teachers (and later, professors) to teach me all I need to know to become a quality professional. I also found comfort in protocols and methods as I worked to earn my early childhood education, then graphic design, and finally, psychology degrees. I graduated Summa Cum Laude from all three programs, driven by natural love of learning and the fear of being branded a fake.

As a graduate student, I re-examined my fears and questioned my philosophy early in the program. Yet, self-confidence is still stumbling stone. I registered for Interviewing Theory and Practice course as a doctoral student because I recalled my experience in Clinical Interviwing course as an undergraduate psychology undergraduate.

As I progressed through my online psychology program,