“I’ve had the coolest mentors of all time” – teaching and research experiences change everything for undergrad

Maya Mammon’s two-year stint as a teaching assistant proved to be ideal aversion therapy.

“I was a really shy and quiet kid,” says Maya. That introversion carried over into her first two years at McMaster where she dreaded making presentation and was scared to put up her hand in class and give a wrong answer.

But then came the opportunity to be a TA for intro psych – it’s one of Mac’s largest courses with nearly 6,000 students every year. It had been Maya’s favourite first-year course thanks to the content and the instructors – professor Joe Kim and adjunct associate professor Michelle Cadieux. The dynamic duo’s a big reason why Maya switched from Life Sciences to Psychology. “They’re comedic geniuses and teaching gods.”

The pandemic was the other reason Maya switched programs. “Everyone’s mental health took a serious hit during COVID lockdowns. It impacted all of us in ways we still don’t fully understand. Young people missed out on socialization, which for me was always the best part of school. Psychology is one way we can figure out what happened and how to help young people going forward.”

Maya didn’t realize she’d have to give a mock lesson as part of the job interview. “Had I known that, I never would’ve applied.”

She got the gig, joining a crew of 40 TAs who run dozens of tutorials three days a week from morning to night. When the TAs first got together, Maya felt like she was trapped in a room full of Type A personalities who’d all served as presidents of their high school student councils. “They were all prototypical leaders. I was not.” Maya soon came to realize that her fellow TAs were less like student council presidents and more like theatre kids who were redirecting all their energy and enthusiasm from the stage to the classroom. She was in her element.

Maya’s introversion proved to be her superpower. She’s quick to read a room and get inside people’s heads, knowing what makes them tick and what ticks them off. She could also empathize with the quiet and reserved students in her tutorials. “Being the shy kid sucked for so many years but it definitely made me a better TA. Introverted students know I have their back and trust that I would never embarrass them in front of their classmates.”

Intro psych TAs complete a mandatory Science of Learning course before they start teaching. The course was a revelation, says Maya. They got to work with Joe and Michelle, learning how to teach, honing their presentation skills and continually revising the course content. “It’s such a unique experience. It makes us feel really close to the intro psych course – it’s not just something we’re told to go and teach, it’s something we’re proud to share ownership of and help shape.”

With Joe and Michelle’s mentorship, Maya found her voice and the confidence to start using it. Her parents were amazed by the transformation. “When I was a kid, they couldn’t get me to speak up. Now, they can’t get me to shut up.”

Midway through the year, Maya got called to a meeting with Joe and Michelle. She thought she’d done something wrong. Instead, she was offered a promotion into one of the two coveted head TA roles. She’d now spend her fourth year supervising 38 TAs.

Maya had only ever managed little kids as a summer camp counsellor. She was now being asked to supervise her peers. “It was a big learning curve. I had to find that balance between being approachable and being stern and holding firm. It wasn’t easy at first giving direction and occasionally laying down the law with friends and classmates.”

Those friends and classmates got some payback with the year-long storylines that TAs create for their tutorials. “They made me sing songs from Wicked in front of my students. Sometimes it felt a little like hazing. But it was done in a spirit of fun and was always meant to keep students engaged and coming back for all 11 tutorials.”

Along with becoming a TA in her third year, Maya joined assistant professor Gabriel Xiao’s Baby Lab. Word’s gotten out and the lab draws a flood of applications from students looking for placements as undergrad research assistants. “Who doesn’t want to spend time with babies, work with Dr. Xiao and use tech that’s straight out of science fiction?” It also helps that the lab has a vibe that’s different from anywhere else on campus – it has the look and feel of a daycare and is loaded with toys. Maya spent time in the lab between classes even when she wasn’t scheduled to be there.

Another promotion came Maya’s way last May, this time as manager of the Baby Lab. So who’s easier to manage – babies or students? Maya says she loves working with both and points out they have more in common than you’d think. “They’re both really food motivated.”

Like being a TA, working in the Baby Lab changed the trajectory of Maya’s life. Her original plan was to go into teaching – it’s in her DNA and was the first job she ever had. Her mom’s a teacher with special needs kids and Maya spent her formative years helping out in her classroom. Being an intro psych TA let Maya work alongside and learn from two other remarkable teachers who are resident experts in the best practices and latest advances in teaching and learning. Research was never on Maya’s radar growing up or during her first couple years at Mac.

But her experience in the Baby Lab changed everything. She’d landed one of the department’s undergraduate student research awards thanks to Gabriel’s encouragement and support. She spent her last summer as an undergrad working on a research project, looking at the role of informant emotional consistency on shaping toddlers’ social behaviours. She then spun that research into her fourth-year thesis project. “If Dr. Xiao hadn’t signed off on my USRA application, I wouldn’t have gotten the grant and I would’ve spent my summer doing something else unrelated to research.”

Maya’s returning to McMaster and the Baby Lab as a graduate student earning a Master’s in Psychology under Gabriel’s supervision.  She hopes to use research to support child and adolescent well-being, with a focus on exploring the impact of caregiver-child interactions on socio-emotional development.

“Working as a TA and the manager of the Baby Lab changed my life and put me on a whole new path. I’ve had the coolest mentors of all time who’ve shown me how to be teacher and a researcher. For some reason, people in Psychology, Neuroscience & Behavior took a liking to me and it’s made all the difference.”

Check out Maya’s science communication and well-honed presentation skills with her “It’s all written in the stars: the psychology behind astrology” PNBTalks guest lecture.