Hi!
I'm Katie Lawrence
When I started at Auburn in the Fall of 2020 I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do. I was hoping for a combination of teaching, research, communication, social policy, and science. Certain that no such degree existed that could encompass all of those interests, I struggled to find my place.
​
That changed when I began working with the Alabama Youth Relationship Education project. After finding out about them through my Introduction to Psychology course, I went on to become one of their service-learning students. After working for three semesters with the project I was asked to come on as an intern.
​
This project introduced me to the world of Human Sciences, and I was able to find my degree path and a home for my dreams in Human Development and Family Science. It is a degree path that has allowed me to grow towards mastery in everything from family dynamics to neuroscience, covering all of my interests that I arrived at Auburn with.
​
Learning about the human body and mind from a holistic and systematic perspective has allowed me to see the world in a different way. I believe that this new perspective will enable me to help families and individuals alike for years to come. ​With my B.S. In Human Development in Family Science, I'm continuing to work for Alabama Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education as an intern, helping to run the operations of both the couples' and youth education projects. I've applied to the Master's in School Counseling program at Auburn, and plan to use that degree to serve teens and their families in the school setting.
My story
What is Human Development & Family Science?
Human Development & Family Science at Auburn University is a major focused on providing students in the program with knowledge regarding family systems, individual development within family contexts, and an understanding of policies that affect children and families. Through my time in the major I've been able to take classes that cover topics from nutrition, to social policy, to family dynamics and mental health. The courses within the major have equipped me to understand individuals from diverse perspectives, see families as systems with parts influencing one another, and to understand what we can do as a society to better help families.