{"id":3598,"date":"2019-07-30T11:36:02","date_gmt":"2019-07-30T15:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cah.ucf.edu\/imprint\/?p=3598"},"modified":"2019-07-30T11:36:09","modified_gmt":"2019-07-30T15:36:09","slug":"psychologist-extraordinaire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cah.ucf.edu\/imprint\/psychologist-extraordinaire\/","title":{"rendered":"Psychologist Extraordinaire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Monique Mendez<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A nominee of a prestigious award before she turned\nthirty. A doctorate in psychology who was featured in six top research\njournals. A researcher working for the United Air Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is Dr. Victoria Claypoole.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a post-doctoral research psychologist for the U.S.\nAir Force Research Laboratory, Dr. Claypoole focuses her research on the\nintersection of social facilitation and sustained attention. She uses the\nskills she developed during her time at UCF to enhance the performance of\nairman systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her work has been featured in psychology journals\nincluding Psychological Review<\/em> and Computers in Human Behavior<\/em>.\nAdditionally, she mentors UCF psychology graduate students and supports UCF\nathletics as a season ticket holder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 1: Getting Started<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Claypoole\u2019s innovative journey began when she\nenrolled in a psychology class during her first year of college. Psychology\ncaptivated her interest from a young age; however, her high school did not\noffer the class, which prompted her to take Intro to Psychology at the\nUniversity of Florida. She was incredibly interested and knew that she wanted\nto follow that path. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She eventually discovered her love for cognitive psychology,\nas she was interested in memory and attention. During her undergraduate career,\nDr. Claypoole \u201cwas very fortunate to be accepted into the Ronald E. McNair\nFellowship program.\u201d This prestigious program at UCF allowed her to conduct\nindependent research under the direction of a mentor. Her mentors Dr. Christine\nStopka and Dr. Samesha Barnes were integral in fostering her love for\npsychology and research. During the two years she spent as a McNair Scholar,\nDr. Claypoole continued to foster her passion for research, data analytics, and\nacademic writing. It was this program that solidified her career interest as an\nacademic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immediately after graduating from UF, Dr. Claypoole\nstarted the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology Ph.D. program at UCF. Only\ntwenty-one years old at the time, she found it immensely overwhelming. In her\nown words, she was now \u201cin a room full of incredibly smart people, most of\nwhich were much older than me and had already achieved great success.\u201d Luckily,\nshe said, her advisor Dr. James Szalma helped her transition from an undergraduate\nresearcher to developing her own brand. He translated all her broad research\ninterests to a specific domain that had far-reaching implications. She soon\nbecame an expert in sustained attention and one of the leading researchers at\nthe intersection of social facilitation and vigilance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 2: Gaining Traction<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Claypoole did not stop there. As a graduate\nstudent, she published research articles, presented research at conferences,\nand taught several courses for UCF\u2019s psychology department. Her portfolio of\nwork grew and was eventually noticed by other researchers outside of UCF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While networking at conferences, she met a researcher\nfrom the Air Force Research Laboratory who was in the market for a\npost-doctoral researcher. Dr. Claypoole emailed him her Curriculum Vitae and\neventually got the job. According to Dr. Claypoole, though, it was the opposite\nof picturesque. \u201cBy the time I was offered the post-doctoral position, I had\napplied to about thirty jobs (all with different applications and writing\nsample requirements), received four interviews, and only had one other offer.\u201d\nEven with having a Ph.D. at the age of twenty-five and an extensive CV, the job\nmarket was highly competitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She shared some more advice regarding the job search:\nnever underestimate the importance of networking. \u201cYou never know who may be\ninterested in hiring \u2013 and do not get discouraged with perceived failures. You\nmay have to submit thirty job applications before you get an offer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 3: Finding Routine<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In late March, Dr. Claypoole was offered a position at\nDesign Interactive Inc., a female owned business located across the street from\nUCF. According to her, a typical day at DI means she is usually busy with work\nmeetings, collaborative conversations, and what she calls \u201cplay time\u201d \u2013 the\nteam had a company-sponsored Easter egg hunt her first week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Claypoole said that she works on three to four\ndifferent projects every day. She is always running around and working on something\nnew, with no time for complacency. \u201cThe coolest part about my job is that I get\nto work on really collaborative and integrative teams \u2013 I learn something new\nevery day, whether that be about software engineering, UX design, or the latest\ntech in augmented reality,\u201d Dr. Claypoole said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She considers her work to be a blend of design and\npsychology. DI has a team of user experience and user interface designers that\nbring concepts to life. Dr. Claypoole\u2019s role is to provide the psychological,\ntheoretical background to the products created. When creating training\nscenarios, she says they need to be grounded in a learning-sciences based\npedagogical framework \u2013 which is where her expertise fits in. Her research\nbackground is centered on memory and attention, specifically sustained\nattention. She brings that approach and empirical backing to supplement the\ndesign aspects of the products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working at DI, there are no typical days; each project\nhas unique requirements. One day, she may write reports or proposals, and\nanother day may be designing the interface and structure for a new product \u2013\nlike how to construct augmented reality training scenarios for the Army\u2019s\nCombat Life Saver course. A typical week for her is to work on projects and go\nto the gym, Disney, and sporting events (her favorite are the Solar Bears and\nshe is a season ticket holder for UCF Football).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 4: Going Far<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Claypoole was nominated for the prestigious 30-under-30 award, her lifelong career goal. \u201cMy nominator, Dr. Nicholas Fraulini, and I felt that the UCF Young Alumni values truly reflected the work I completed for UCF \u2013 from a research, teaching, and service perspective.\u201d The categories of \u201cScholarship, Bold, Trailblazing, Generous, and Resilient” represented her experience at UCF as a Ph.D. student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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