Mental Health with Dr. Quinn 

Interviewed and Written by Olivia Horne and Alejandra Pabon 

Edited by Marisa Garreffa and Una Soliday 

Second semester is always a little quieter, especially without the buzz of our New York professors livening up the office. We miss our First Year Seminar professor, Dr. Beth Quinn, who’s now back States side! Dr. Quinn used the FYS curriculum, shaped under the title “You Learn By Living”, as a method of transferring her best advice about equality, success, and happiness to her eager students. Her teaching inspired us to examine our values, investigate the role of women in art, and identify what exactly we hope to get out of life after Marist and how to get ourselves there. 

Dr. Quinn is a strong source of knowledge and realness. She spoke to us frankly in the classroom, speaking sincerely and directly, always exactly outlining her point. Her class often turned into a Q&A about life in general and how to write your own story. Dr. Quinn herself has a fascinating story: when she was our age, she thought she’d be a neonatologist, a doctor who specializes in working with premature babies. She learned that she was more interested, not in the medical and physical aspects of the job, but in dealing with the emotional and mental experiences of others. Now, Dr. Quinn is a psychologist and a captivating teacher who always makes her students smile.  

While she was here, we sat down and asked her all about her life, her work, and her inspiring take on college and life between Italy and the U.S. Our conversation covered Italian culture, mental health, and being the best college student you can be – here are the highlights.  

Interviewers: Why did you decide to teach in Italy for the semester? 

Dr. Quinn: When I was in college I never studied abroad, and one of the things that I thought in my career would be so fun was something like this. But life gets in the way. I have children, grandchildren, a husband, I have responsibilities. But I got an opportunity and thought about what it would be like to get out of my comfort zone and do something different. You know, what immersing yourself in another land and another culture would be like. How would I grow?… I think I experienced some of the same things that the students experienced. 

What has been your favorite place you’ve been to while here? 

 
The first thing that comes to mind is I absolutely love San Minato. I love the journey there, the climb up the stairs, the view. I love going to the back where the Crypts are. I walk along the Arno regularly. I’m not a big fan of Ponte Vecchio cause there’s way too many people. But I love it here. There’s one thing after the next. You know I took you all to the Santa Maria Novella and I love that church and the pharmacy. It’s just beautiful. 

But if I had to pick, I’d pick San Minato. You can just sit up there and contemplate the universe because everything seems so small. And you’re like “I’ got this”. And I also love the Piazza below. I love the nightlife. You walk up there and, particularly on weekends, there’s different music and people are dancing in the streets. Everyone is carrying one like they’re just having a lovely time… Up there they’re like having a party in the middle of the Piazza with total strangers. It’s like flash mob kind of stuff. And to me it’s very heartwarming. With everything going on in the world I can feel discouragement about human beings. And then I go up there and I watch these people just letting it all go. Being nice to each other and having a good time. It restores my faith in humanity. 

How have your lessons and teaching methods changed while in Florence? 

Much more relaxed and flexible. My course here is different from my course at home. Yes, I do teach First Year Seminar, but here it’s supposed to be very experimental and out of the classroom. It’s not as much about content as much as skills being built. 

I have a responsibility to ensure students learn certain concepts in psychology, certain practices in psychology. FYS (First Year Seminar) isn’t about that, it’s about teaching students how to adapt and adjust to college. Because I’m a psychologist we put some of those life skills and things, but really my job is to help strengthen your writing skills, to help you develop better critical thinking skills, to develop our info literacy skills. Really to help you be ready to be the best college student you can be and actualize your potential. Which is a little different from learning about Freud and psychosexual stages!

What do you think is a college student’s secret weapon? 

Okay, that’s a tricky question only because you’re going to make me say one. And I think there is one, and that is perseverance. I think that has gotten me furthest in life is setting a goal and not quitting. Certainly, I can walk away from something that’s a mistake, but life is hard, and life is messy. I think perseverance is really important. The ability to believe in yourself and all the opportunities that can help you actualize your potential is really important. Because if you don’t believe you’re valuable or able to do those things, it’s really hard to keep putting one foot in front of the next. 

Do you think a large part of the college experience is about having good mental health? 

Oh, absolutely. You cannot actualize your potential if you are not psychologically healthy. You can’t really live the life you want to have in terms of peace of mind. Happiness, that doesn’t come to you if you are really struggling with your mental health. To me, all the academic stuff can’t happen unless you’re good with you. You have to believe that it’s an important thing, and we haven’t always done so. 

The American culture does not support work-life balance, which is something I’ve done more studying about. If you don’t have that, it’s really hard to be happy in life. 

Have you seen any differences between Italy and the United States in that sense? 

Yes. I love some of the practices. Michael Moore did a documentary called “Where to Invade Next”, and I recommend every student here to look on the piece on Italy. Because he comes to Italy and he interviews people, and they talk about things like getting paid time off for honeymoons and the number of vacation days you get here. And the way it’s honored in the US to work 24/7, it’s not like that here. Here we value the time we spend with people we love. Having time to be with yourself for a bit and not grind, grind, grind.  

So, I see a huge difference here. People here would be horrified by the kind of drive we have in the US. And it’s perfectly fine if you’re doing something you love and you feel very good about that. But most Americans say they hate their work and yet it’s what they spend most of their time doing and it makes them feel really bad about who they are as a human being. There’s something wrong with that picture! 

So, here, we have to walk everywhere. Do you think that being outside more and walking is helpful to the students coming over here with their mental health? 

Absolutely. I had a person I my training time tell me something, and it’s a bit of a minimization of psychological symptoms, but it’s good advice. And that’s, “the first thing I want to do for every single one of my clients is give them a pair of running shoes.” Because getting outside, getting to breathe fresh air, even though our air quality isn’t great over here, and looking at beautiful things helps. 

And the more we can do for ourselves physically to feel well, has a positive effect on our mental health. If physically you don’t feel well, you don’t eat well, you don’t sleep well, it’s very hard to manage your psychological symptoms. 

Are there places on the Poughkeepsie campus students can go to get this outside experience? 

There are three places students particularly love. There’s one called Marist Beach, and it’s the center of campus green and it slopes down. In the cold weather they sled, and in the nice weather they sit out and they read. And it’s beautiful and there’s all kinds of outdoor seating so you can sit.  

We also have a walking path where you can go right down to the beautiful Hudson River, right? And we have a dock there so you can walk. And for those who are sensitive to the sun, there’s a little gazebo where you can be covered. That’s a very nice place. in between classes, and I often walk down there just to clear my head. 

And then the third place, that’s very popular, is the Preserve. So, you can walk through and look at different foliage and things like that. And that’s at the edge of campus and it’s a very peaceful place. The Poughkeepsie campus is spectacular for green. 

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We learned a lot from Dr. Quinn, and as Spring is just starting here in Florence, we are taking her advice about regular walking and getting outside. Freshmen Florence Experience students, as well as Bachelor’s students who might make it to Poughkeepsie, can’t wait to reconnect with her on campus. Thanks Dr. Quinn for the great conversations, the classes, and the wisdom.