Jennifer Keane

When it came time to apply for college, Jennifer Keane had a clear number one choice. Since she knew she wanted to be near her home in Clifton Park, New York, and she wanted small classes where she could develop “real relationships” with her professors, Sage had always been at the top of her list. 

Turns out, Jenny knew herself and her needs quite well. 

“I would say the most valuable aspect of my time at Sage was the fact that all of my professors knew me as a person, not just a faceless number in a class,” she says. “It was invaluable to be able to meet with professors to discuss my future goals. All of my professors seemed to genuinely care about my future, which I don’t think you get at a larger institution.”

Today, Jenny is completing her PsyD in Clinical Psychology at Indiana State University, while working in a state hospital with individuals diagnosed with a serious and persistent mental illness.

“I would definitely say Sage prepared me for graduate school,” she says. “There was certainly a learning curve, but that would have been the case coming from any institution. During my senior year of undergrad, I had the opportunity to take a graduate level psychotherapy course. This helped me get the foundational knowledge I needed to succeed in my clinically-oriented classes during the first year of my doctorate program.”

Jenny started out at Sage as a dual English and History Major, before realizing she had a passion for understanding the human mind and changed her major to Psychology with a minor in Chemistry.

“Dr. Julie McIntyre and Dr. Susan Jenks were both extremely influential in my decision to pursue a doctorate level degree,” she says. “They acted as phenomenal role models of strong women who pursued high levels of education to reach their career goals.”

Asked how she changed and grew during her time at Sage, Jenny says: “I became more confident in myself and came out of my shell. I learned to express myself in an authentic manner without fear of judgment from others. And, working in the admissions office and as a teaching assistant helped me solidify my work ethic.”

Jenny believes that while Sage may not be known for its research, “there are so many opportunities to complete important and meaningful academic research projects with faculty members.”

“In my opinion,” she adds, “the fact that Sage is smaller worked to my advantage. It allowed me to get involved in research with professors who knew me as more than a student in their lab. Additionally, I’ve found that about half of my colleagues came from smaller non-research heavy institutions.”

When she completes her doctoral program, Jenny expects to work in either a Veterans Affairs or state hospital setting, while also continuing  to conduct psychological research.