From Wesleyan Student to Professor: A. Rowan Returns to the Classroom

Ten years ago, A. Rowan came to Wesleyan College as a student still figuring out what they wanted to study. Along the way, a psychology class changed their direction, faculty mentors helped turn their curiosity into research, and Dr. Holly Cole guided them through an honors thesis.

Today, Rowan is back at Wesleyan, this time preparing to offer a new generation of students the same kind of mentorship that helped shape their own path.

It’s a full-circle homecoming for someone whose connection to Wesleyan began long before they enrolled as a student. Growing up as the child of faculty members, Rowan spent time on campus and had an early glimpse into Wesleyan's traditions and approach to educating women.

“I saw from a very young age what Wesleyan could offer women in terms of confidence-building, community and, of course, education,” Rowan recalled. “And that was a community that I really wanted to be a part of.”

However, Rowan applied to colleges across the country, determined to make their college decision based on more than familiarity. But after weighing their options, Wesleyan's community and academic opportunities ultimately made it the clear choice, and Rowan enrolled in 2016.

They arrived at Wesleyan planning to major in English with a minor in Asian studies, specifically Mandarin Chinese. Then they took General Psychology with now-Provost Dr. Melody Blake.  Having grown up around psychology, Rowan initially had little interest in pursuing the field themselves. Blake's class changed that.

“I remember sitting there thinking, I’m not going to touch this stuff more than I have to because my parents are in this field,” Rowan said. “And in that class, I was like, ‘Oh, no. I enjoy this. This is really interesting.’”

Rowan quietly changed their major to psychology, eventually adding minors in neuroscience and English creative writing.

Their Wesleyan education also extended well beyond the classroom. Rowan studied abroad in China, participated in STUNT and cultural events through the Confucius Institute, and formed friendships that remain important today.

But some of the experiences that would prove most influential came through relationships with Wesleyan faculty.

During their senior year, Rowan completed an honors thesis with Cole, studying culture shock and stress among people exposed to a foreign language.

And, years later, Rowan has returned to fill the position once held by the professor who mentored that research. 

Their return gives today's Wesleyan students the opportunity to learn from someone who understands their experience from both sides of the classroom. As, this fall, Rowan is teaching Introduction to Psychology and Research Prep, along with a Cognitive Affective Neuroscience Lab.

In the lab, students are beginning to build a research pipeline centered around brain imaging, drawing on Rowan's work with young people at high risk for psychosis. The methodology could eventually allow students to investigate a wide range of questions, including psychiatric disorders, youth mental health and the effects of stress on different populations. Rowan hopes students will progress from learning the foundations of research to executing their own studies and potentially presenting their work at conferences or contributing to published research.

That opportunity for students to take ownership of their learning and discover where their own curiosity might lead is particularly meaningful to Rowan.  After all, they were once the Wesleyan student making those discoveries.

After graduating from Wesleyan, Rowan continued their education at the University of New Orleans, where they earned their Ph.D. They say Wesleyan prepared them not simply with knowledge, but with the ability to connect ideas, ask questions, and confidently contribute in spaces where their voice might otherwise have been overlooked.

“My ability to synthesize ideas and integrate information was something that I definitely developed here,” Rowan said, noting that those skills helped them pursue research ideas early in graduate school.

Just as important was the confidence Wesleyan helped cultivate.  Rowan entered graduate school prepared to assert their ideas and claim ownership of their research, particularly while working in areas such as biopsychology, neuroscience and statistics.

For Rowan, one of the most exciting parts of being back is not simply returning to a familiar campus. It is taking on a new role within the community that helped shape them.

They remember Wesleyan as a place where curiosity was encouraged and where professors did more than teach their disciplines - they challenged students, made themselves available, and helped them discover possibilities they might not yet have imagined for themselves.

Now, Rowan gets to create those moments for someone else.

“I think I’m most excited about getting to pass on the skills that I’ve developed over the past decade,” Rowan said. “I get to share that information with students and hopefully nurture their curiosity the way that mine was nurtured. And I think that’s the whole point.”

A decade ago, Rowan was the student whose curiosity Wesleyan faculty helped nurture.  Now, they are back to nurture the next one.