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From there it was on to her postgraduate work at the University of Kansas. Before earning her Ph.D. in psychology, Sharon was a project director for a study called "Moving Beyond Cancer," which examined the effects of psychosocial counseling intervention for women battling breast cancer. The study was a reflection of her interest in psychology and health.
"I was really interested in the merging of mental and physical health, the integration of mind and body … wellness," she says.
Following her interests in psychology and health, she continued her graduate therapist training in Kansas. In 2002, she moved to California to continue her work as a psychology intern and postdoctoral fellow in areas like hospice, cardiac psychology, andrology and bereavement.
Despite her very full work schedule as a practicing psychologist, Sharon found herself drawn to teaching, a field she'd been introduced to during graduate school. While it's not unusual for graduate students to teach, Sharon was given the unique opportunity to design and teach her own course.
"I was supervised by a senior faculty, but I had my own class as a graduate student," she explains. "Not just teaching an assistant class, like many grad students, but (I was) really, truly creating my own class from scratch. So I knew pretty early on that whatever direction my psychology career took me that, in some way, I wanted to have a teaching component."
Wanting to bring that teaching component back to the forefront of her career, Sharon began applying to colleges and universities around the country. Coming from a liberal arts background herself-a background she credits for helping her succeed-she was looking for a smaller, liberal arts college focusing on undergraduate education in a small town environment. Enter Fort Lewis College.
"In terms of place and department, (Fort Lewis College) was definitely the first choice for me," she says, adding that, "I'm glad to be in an undergraduate-focused environment."
That's not to say that the College doesn't look beyond the bachelor's degree to graduate school and career. In fact, Sharon hears from her former students about how well Fort Lewis prepared them for life after graduation.
One former student related to her the experience of arriving in a graduate program and speaking to his fellow classmates.
"He's already been to professional conferences and presented the research that he did here at Fort Lewis," Sharon says. "(Other) students in that master's program, they had never even been to a conference. And so, I think we-our department in particular, but the College in general-really work hard to prepare students."
Working hard to prepare students for the next steps in career or education is a hallmark of all the faculty at Fort Lewis College and Sharon is no exception.
She has concerns that sometimes teachers focus too much on connecting with what they're teaching and forget about connecting with their students to ensure the students are getting the most out of every class.
"One of my big goals in the classroom is to engage (students) and help them connect with the material. I don't think I ever lecture the whole time," she says. She goes on to explain that during every class she "has something that gets (students) applying or analyzing or being creative with the material."
Sharon's commitment to being a great teacher goes beyond just teaching in the classroom.
"It's a priority for me to mentor students individually so they get that professional development. I think that many of our upper level undergraduates get at least a beginning graduate experience here."
Aside from teaching, Sharon continues her own research. In the past three years, she has won three grants. Two of those grants deal with studying the effects of meditation on student stress and coping. She also has publications appearing in a variety of psychological and clinical journals and continues to present at conferences across the country.
But as dedicated a teacher and scholar as she is, Sharon is currently focusing on her newest job title: mom. She is currently out on maternity leave after the birth of her daughter, Cypress.
"This," she says of being a new mom, "is a whole new adventure for me."
Author Mitch Davis is the public affairs officer at Fort Lewis College. He can be reached at 970-247-7401 or davis_m@fortlewis.edu.
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