Felicity Caudill is a psychology major in her second semester here at Bakersfield College. Her dream one day is to be a child psychologist specializing in childhood trauma.

“When children experience trauma, they can get scared and shut themselves away from the real world, or they can start getting themselves into trouble if they don’t go into therapy,” said Caudill.

“A child psychologist helps them get over their condition and move past it to live a normal life.” According to the magazine Psychology Today, childhood trauma is a major predictor and agent of problems not only mental; such as anxiety, depression, and relationship issues, but also other health problems related to alcoholism and drug abuse.

“I feel like children suffer from a lot of trauma at a young age, and often they lose their way. And they end up picking up really bad habits, and those can develop into worse things when they’re older if they are raised in a bad atmosphere, ” said Caudill. “So if I can help them, you know, when they’re young and help stop the impact on them then hopefully that’ll guide them in the right direction, and prevent them from doing the same things that were done to them.”

Caudill is enjoying all of her classes and the opportunities and amenities on campus that help students if they’re struggling.