Major Moment: Novy Goetgeluk '25

Since freshman year, Novy Goetgeluk ‘25 has been involved in Bryn Mawr's athletics department. She served as captain of the field hockey team junior and senior years, and joined track & field as a junior. Beyond athletics, Novy is also a tour guide in the admissions office. Here, she shares her academic journey to declaring a psychology major and a neuroscience minor. 

Entering Bryn Mawr, which departments interested you? 

Even though I've always had a feeling I wanted to do something in the psychology/neuroscience field, my first semester at Bryn Mawr confirmed that even more! I took Intro Psych with Professor Orvell that semester and haven’t stopped taking psychology courses since—I’m now a psychology major and neuroscience minor.  

Which courses helped shape your academic path?   

I have always been super interested in human behaviors and decision making, so psychology always felt like the right path. I considered biology and neuroscience, so I took courses in all three departments my freshman year—I really wanted to give myself the opportunity to explore them equally. The problem, however, was that I loved all three; when I had to make a final decision for which major I wanted to pursue, I spoke with my academic advisor about each of the options and she gave me lots of great advice. I knew I didn’t necessarily want to work in research/lab settings, and I wanted to work more one-on-one with people which is why the psychology major ended up making the most sense, and I was still able to minor in neuroscience and take courses in neurobiology. It felt like I was getting the best of everything!  

Tell us about a course that sparked your curiosity.    

My favorite class has been Sports Psychology with Professor Cohn—a psychology course that explores the different aspects of sports and performance psychology, including different theories of motivation and strategies to promote team cohesion and performance. For an extra credit assignment, we were instructed to interview a working professional in the field and ask them about their experiences and journey into this field of work. This is how I ended up realizing this is exactly what I want to pursue for my professional career, and my professor was eager to help me make these plans become a reality.  

Tell us about a time you were able to put learning into action.   

 My Sports Psychology course put me into contact with a number of working professionals in the field and, with the help of my professor and the Career & Civic Engagement Center, I was able to land an internship opportunity for the summer in a clinical and sport psychologist’s office in Haverford! There, I was able to get hands-on experience in the field that completely confirmed my passion to pursue a career in it! On top of that, I was able to network and meet a lot of different people throughout the summer which, as we all know, is the key to a successful career in almost every field.  

"Even though I’m a psychology major with a neuroscience minor, I still enjoy taking classes in the religious studies and history departments."

What advice would you give to a first year on the process of declaring a major(s)?  

Don’t overthink it too much. Yes, of course, this feels like a huge decision, but your major doesn’t strictly define the path you will be able to take. Keep exploring all of your different interests because college is truly the time to do it! Even though I’m a psychology major with a neuroscience minor, I still enjoy taking classes in the religious studies and history departments on topics that sound interesting to me—that’s one of the many perks of attending a liberal arts college. Feed every bit of intellectual hunger that your brain is asking for and make the most of your college experience because of it!