Meet the Team - Maya 👋🏽

Hi everyone, I’m Maya and I’m the new Digital Curator for YoungBlackPsych :D

A little bit about me and how I got here:

I’ve been interested in psychology ever since I was in high school so enrolling onto a psychology degree seemed like a no brainer. I moved out and attended the University of Huddersfield for three years and in that time, I learned more about myself than I ever thought I would.

Over the course of my studies, I completed modules in social, contemporary, developmental, behaviourism and clinical psychology as well as states of consciousness (my favourite) and yes… research methodology; I really felt like a jack of all trades.

However, during my first year, although I was happy to be living ‘the student life’ I was still as shy and socially withdrawn as I was when I first arrived and overall miserable so I decided it was time for a big change! I was going to join… a society! dun dun duuuun! I hopped on the student union website featuring all the different clubs and scrolled and scrolled until I found… Pole fitness! It looked edgy, scary, fun and oh so beautiful, so after a lot of research on YouTube and self-pep talks, I knew this was the one. Needless to say, I loved it from the very first lesson; it completely took me out of my comfort zone, and I met so many amazingly strong and resilient women.

I love being active and enjoy hobbies that are fun and push me out of my comfort zone. I’ve been going to Pole Fitness classes for over three years because as soon as I attended my first session, I fell in love with how it made me feel and realised how much stronger I could become if I put the work in. I started going to the gym in my student accommodation after realising how much strength and stamina was required to progress onto more intermediate Pole moves; something I keep up today. Having a new hobby, I was passionate about, made me feel like I had a life outside of studying and created the work life balance my mental health desperately needed.

After a lot of hard work, persistence, procrastination, and a global pandemic I am proud to say that I achieved an upper second-class honours. But even though I have my degree, like my students who have graduated, I am undecided on what field I’d like to pursue. So, now I’m currently working in a coffee shop, keeping up with my hobbies as well as exploring new ones (officially a beginner roller skater) and joining YoungBlackPsych.

My role, as Digital Curator will include crafting blog posts on a variety of different topics that are interesting, informative, and insightful, from mental health to concepts and phenomena that address how to improve your well being