Sarah Williams

Class of 2025
Major in Psychology; Certificate in Child Policy Research

My name is Sarah Williams, and I’m a senior majoring in Psychology with a certificate in Child Policy Research. Through the Psychology Department, I’ve had amazing opportunities to conduct research — I’m a member of the Tomasello Lab, doing my honors thesis on young children’s cognition. I also conduct research with the Salvador Lab, examining psychological differences across cultures. In addition to my research, I’m part of the PSY 101 teaching team as a Costanzo Teaching Fellow. In the future, I hope to earn a PhD in Developmental Psychology and pursue a career in academia.

Favorite Class: My favorite class at Duke is PSY 101 because it provides a fascinating overview of psychology topics, including the brain, cognition, social psychology, and development. Not only do students learn about these topics in lectures, but they also have the opportunity to explore and apply them in discussion sections. My favorite part about PSY 101 is its emphasis on research methods through the Research & Writing Project and curriculum with many empirical findings. I took this course as a freshman, and its carefully designed structure allowed me to develop relationships with my peers, teaching fellow, and professor!