Annabelle Bass selected as one of 12 seniors for the Henry Barnard Scholar Award

Please join us in congratulating Annabelle Bass from the Department of Psychological Science. She was selected as one of 12 seniors for the Henry Barnard Scholar Award. This competition spans all 4 CSUs! Dr. Andrea June said, "her academic excellence and community engagement made her our most qualified senior this year." Annabelle wrote to the department: "I would like to extend appreciation to everyone in the department for their dedication to fostering psychology undergraduate students. When I was choosing what college to attend, Central was my first choice and one that I would make again -every time. Psychology was something that I chose because it had interested me when I was young (I had found one of my aunt's old college textbooks). While here and in this major, I have really grown as a person. Thank you to all of my professors and all of the other professors that I didn't have but have interacted with or helped me. You all truly have built an exceptional psychological science program, one that I am proud to be graduating from."

Annabelle shared with us her exceptional essay written for the award:

“All you can take with you is that which you’ve given away” – Pa Bailey, It’s a Wonderful Life

When I was much younger than I am now, I did not like It’s a Wonderful Life simply because I had not understood the meaning of the film. It was much to my surprise viewing it this past year that I felt George Bailey’s life was just like my own. We are both entirely dedicated to our family, our community, and to living a good life. I was “born older,” like George, so I have been consistently ahead of my peers in orienting my life. From a young age, I knew that I would not be able to attend college without financial aid, so I focused on my studies while I was in high school to earn scholarships. I am incredibly proud to be graduating from Central Connecticut State University as a double major with Psychological Science and Criminology in only four years. This accomplishment is a demonstration of my focus, determination, and surety.
I additionally would not have been able to realize this without the Honors Program at Central. The Honors Program comes with opportunities for tuition scholarships, of which I have been fortunate enough to receive the full-tuition scholarship for the last three years and the half-tuition for my first year at Central. I saw this scholarship as a lucrative opportunity to take full advantage of the education offered by Central, thus I have successfully pursued a double major. Not only did the Honors Program satisfy the need to challenge myself, but it also provided me with the skills necessary to navigate difficult topics, conduct research, and think critically. The culmination of these skills are housed in my Honors thesis, which tackled the issue of young adult alcoholism from a multidisciplinary perspective including psychological research and fictional literature.
My educational success is a testament to who I am as a student and person. My grades and GPA are truly reflections of my abilities, growth, and philosophy toward education. At its simplest, a proper education is the impartment of knowledge with the intention of gaining a full understanding of the material. In order to assess one’s comprehension, tests are created to assist the student in qualifying their gained knowledge. It is too often that people fall prey to the routine of learning the material for a test and then forgetting it. In doing so, people are not getting a true education but rather a faulty one. 
It has been my philosophy to learn the material in its entirety, instead of focusing on what will be on tests. Thus, my grades are not arbitrary but true measures of my gained knowledge. I credit this focused perspective for my academic successes and for the quality of instruction that I have received from my professors. I pride myself on being a positive classroom presence. To do so, I come to class prepared, encourage participation from others, and am always ready to discuss the topics at hand. I carefully manage my input in class so that others have the ability to contribute, while also offering the professor a dependable student to call upon when needed. 
Outside of the classroom, I have been able to supplement my psychology education through research. Over the last two years I have been involved in independent research with my Research Methods professor, Dr. Horowitz. When first joining his research team, I was able to work with other psychology students (who have since graduated) and gain valuable interpersonal skills. After the conclusion of that research, as a group we presented a poster of our work at the APS (Association for Psychological Science) Conference in Boston, MA. Currently, Dr. Horowitz and I are working on a supplemental study concerning the effects of violent video gameplay on attitudes toward police. I am independently collecting data and writing up the study. As a team, we are analyzing the results and determining further courses of action.
While Central has given me a considerable educational gift, it has also provided me with a multitude of opportunities to return the favor. Being actively involved on campus for commuter students such as myself, can be very difficult. However, I felt a need to give back to Central so I made it a point to do as much on campus as I could while also managing things at home and work. Community service is a key element to not only helping your community, but supporting its endeavors. To me, the service that I have been able to participate in allows me to be the kind of person that I needed when I was a kid.
Most recently, my active involvement in the Central chapter of the Golden Key (GK) International Honor Society allowed me to be elected Secretary. While fulfilling this position, I spear-headed a children’s book drive initiative that ended up collaborating with the Ana Grace Foundation at Central. Previously as an active member in Golden Key, I also participated in the “Warm the Children” community service mission. This project aims to provide less fortunate families with a structured shopping trip to procure clothing for the family, on a specific budget.
Additionally, I have also been able to get involved with projects outside of the various clubs I am a member of. One example would be my volunteering to help carry out a presentation by AARP that utilized Frank Abagnale as the primary speaker concerning personal security in this digital age. As a young man, Mr. Abagnale led a successful life as a con man while avoiding arrest by the FBI for years. After being caught, Frank served some time in jail and has since become a consultant with the FBI concerning similar crimes to those he had committed in the past. As a volunteer for this program, I worked to set up on campus directions, collaborated with members of AARP and other students involved, and assisted in clean-up.
Furthermore, I was able to formulate a presentation of my own on campus, as a FBI New Haven Citizen’s Academy Alumni Association member. This presentation was of an FBI film, “Chasing the Dragon,” that aims to spark an open conversation about the opioid epidemic facing America today. The presentation was in conjunction with the FBI, from the New Haven office, and included a panel of various experts. After the film, the panel made comments and then took questions from the audience to further aid their understanding. My work in this program was a challenge, as I had never organized an entire program on campus before. I worked with many offices on campus such as Central Campus Police and the Office of Student Affairs to set up the details and services necessary for the presentation. 
I am honored to have been nominated for this award, especially because of the notability of its namesake, Henry Barnard. His contributions to education in this country, via his service, are awe inspiring. Similar to Henry’s dedication to his field, I am dedicated to enacting real, positive social change in the criminal justice system. As our system stands, there are issues that desperately need to be reconciled and this is the foundation for my future goals. I aim to be a Special Agent in the FBI, as I feel this will be the best avenue for me to make the difference I want to see. I am exceptionally proud to have attended Central Connecticut State University. It has been a pillar of positive change in my life that I am grateful for. Throughout my years at this institution, I have been able to further develop my character, community service, and create opportunities for myself. This was the right place for me and my future endeavors will be in honor of the education I have received here.

Annabelle, we are proud of you and wish you much success!