Sierra Peters, M.S.

Current School: Florida State University

Sierra is a 5th Year PhD Candidate in the Social Psychology Program at Florida State University where she works primarily with Dr. Andrea Meltzer and Dr. Jon Maner. Broadly, she draws from social and evolutionary perspectives to explore how long-term romantic relationships begin, develop, and dissolve. Specifically, her program of research examines how various individual difference factors that both couple members bring into their relationships (e.g., mate preferences, attachment) influence their relationship processes and outcomes (e.g., infidelity, satisfaction, and stability). In addition to conducting research, she is also an instructor for Social Psychology. This semester, she is teaching a class of 220 undergraduate students! She is also the Senior Teaching Assistant to a graduate-level Meta-Analysis course. Further, she enjoys serving as the Graduate Student Advisor to FSU’s Psychology Club.

Over the summer, she was selected to be the Senior Teaching Assistant for FSU’s Psychology Program in London, England. Specifically, from June through August, she helped teach two psychology courses that used the city of London as their classroom. This was an incredible experience that she will never forget! She is excited to be on the job market this year and is really looking forward to getting a job as a psychology faculty member at a college or university soon. She hopes to inspire curious young minds in the same way that her undergraduate mentors inspired her.

The DDM Lab was integral to her development as a scholar and as a person. It was through the hands-on research experience, mentorship from Dr. Lopez, and support from her fellow lab mates that she realized she wanted to go to graduate school to pursue a PhD in psychology and become a faculty member at a college or university. In the future, she hopes to mentor undergraduate students and help them find their passions in a similar manner.