Mackenzie Hines-Wilson
Educational Level: Undergraduate
Current Affiliation: Undergraduate Student at Washington University in St. Louis
Educational Path:
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Major: Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology: Cognitive Neuroscience, Minor: Anthropology
Why is aging important or meaningful to you?
Aging is a meaningful topic in my life because the majority of my immediate family members are older adults who have dealt with various aspects – whether they be positive or negative – of aging. In particular, I spent a lot of my younger years with my late grandmother who lived in an older adult residential facility. Not only did I spend a lot of time with her, but I was able to interact with the other residents in her building and hear about their life stories. It made me realize that there are a lot of misconceptions about getting older and older adults, as if younger people have nothing in common with them, and that is simply not the case. Once my grandmother’s health started to deteriorate, I realized that I really wanted to pursue a career that focused on research and clinical care of older adults because the end of someone’s life should not be mired with difficulties. Also, our population is getting older, which means there will inevitably be more people that are older living in society, and it is important to start tailoring our society for an older population.
In what areas of aging work are you involved (research, teaching, clinical, leadership, etc) and how much time/effort do you devote to each?
Last summer, I participated in the inaugural class of the WashU Summer Research Program in Aging and Neurological Diseases through the WashU Institute of Public Health. During that program, I participated in a research project focusing on the disparities of fear of falling among Black older adults and non-Hispanic White older adults. Through that research, I have assisted on a paper focusing on this topic and presented the research at the annual WashU Center for Aging conference. Beyond that, I have spent a good portion of my last year of college shadowing a geriatric psychiatrist at WashU Medical School and participating in classes to learn about best practices for clinical treatment for these particular patients. Through this work, I have grown to enjoy both the clinical and research aspects involved in aging. Particularly with shadowing, I have had a lot more interaction with older adults, which is really important to me because it puts faces to the work that I am very passionate about.
What resources (including people, books, web sites, etc.) have been most useful in developing your career and why?
For the most part, I try to use the resources that my University has provided me. In particular, WashU has a really great center that focuses on aging, so that is how I have been able to find a lot of research and clinical opportunities. I think searching other institutions and seeing if they have any centers or groups devoted particularly to aging is a great start to explore careers in aging. Also, I have met spokespeople for the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Missouri Chapter, shadowed physical and occupational therapists that focus on older adults through WashU Med, and connected with people that help prepare older adults to live on their own or for their caretakers to take care of them. I have been fortunate to see how aging is a part of various careers in more hands-on environments and to realize that there is not one set path for aging-related work. Otherwise, I highly recommend using websites like APA and your institution’s career center to get a more general idea about careers in aging and if it is the right path for you.
What has been a challenge (academic, clinical, or research-based) you faced and how did you overcome it?
One research-based challenge I have faced is knowing that within the older adult population, it can sometimes be difficult to recruit non-Hispanic White participants for research studies, which can be due to various factors. I was fortunate enough to be a part of study that had a very strong pool of Black and non-Hispanic White participants. However, that is not always the case and that can sometimes affect the results of these studies and make them not as applicable for a population. I especially noticed this as a barrier when I did literature reviews and noticed that overall Black research participants seem to have a smaller sample size in comparison to the non-Hispanic White participants’ sample size. I think this creates a problem when trying to create programs and design clinical practices for older, non-Hispanic White adults because there are not always enough research-based conclusions to make an informed plan. In the future, that is one issue I want to address within my own individual research, to figure out better ways to tap into these populations and close the disparity gap.
What is one bit of advice you would give to students entering the field?
One bit of advice I would give to students entering the field is to not look at aging or older adults as a separate group of people, but rather to find the inevitable connections that bring us all together as people. I think that is one of the most important points I took away from my summer program and a reason I think people are sometimes wary to go into careers in aging because of their unfamiliarity with aging and older adults.
What’s next for you?
My plan is to conduct my thesis project on a topic dealing with aging. Hopefully, I can do a project focusing on neurological or neuromuscular disorders with a tie into mental and psychological health among older Black adults because these are topics that are not studied as often. For post-undergraduate plans, I want to go to medical school and have part of my practice be in geriatrics. Also, I want to pursue a PhD or MPH as well to continue doing research on older adults and helping to prepare our world for our aging population.