Complementing her undergraduate studies in psychology at New York University, Greenwich, CT, resident Olivia Savitz serves as a research assistant at the university’s West Interpersonal Perception Lab. There, Olivia Savitz joins with fellow students and the lab’s principal investigator, Tessa West, to study the effects of stress in various interpersonal settings.An associate professor of psychology at NYU, Tessa West holds a BA in psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and both an MA and PhD in social psychology from the University of Connecticut. She joined NYU as an assistant professor shortly after completing her doctorate in 2008 and accepted her associate professorship in 2015.An active researcher in the fields of social and personality psychology, Tessa West has received more than $3 million in awards and grants over the course of her career. She has written or co-written dozens of articles that have earned publication in journals, and she currently serves a number of these same journals in editorial capacities and as an ad hoc reviewer. In recognition of her achievements, Tessa West has garnered accolades from, among others, the Foundation for Personality and Social Psychology and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. She maintains memberships in the latter organization today, as well as belongs to the American Psychological Association, the Society of Experimental Social Psychology, and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.
A psychology student at New York University, Olivia Savitz previously attended Lafayette College, becoming active with various charitable groups on campus. With a passion for environmental advocacy, Olivia Savitz raised awareness for Greening Lafayette, increasing student knowledge about local environmental matters and bringing the community together for a common goal.A module of the Lafayette Connected Communities Program, Greening Lafayette launched in 2016 and has seen great success educating upperclassmen on environmental issues such as food, water, waste and energy through organized events and discussion panels. Students who participate in the program can earn an ECO certificate of completion over their four years at Lafayette College. Upon arrival at Lafayette, students are given a green guide, outlining how best to conserve energy, as well as a list of green spaces near campus, how to conserve water, and a list of ways to get involved in local eco events. In 2014, each Lafayette student produced 550 pounds of waste per year. The current goal of the program is to educate each student on how to lower that number, and inform them on the effect this waste has on their local community and the global environment as a whole.
A resident of Greenwich, Connecticut, Olivia Savitz is studying psychology at New York University. She transferred from Lafayette University in Easton, Pennsylvania, after her freshman year. During her academic career, Olivia Savitz has remained passionate about breast cancer awareness events of the group Colleges Against Cancer.Colleges Against Cancer raises funds for the American Cancer Society. Each year, the Lafayette University chapter sponsors a Relay for Life, with the 2017 event occurring on April 7 at the school’s Kirby Sports Center. The public event featured opening ceremonies, survivors’ speeches and lap, awards, and a raffle drawing. On completion of the Relay, closing ceremonies were held.Through the Relay for Life event, the Lafayette chapter raised more than $29,000, with Will Pfadenhauer bringing in the most donations at more than $1,500. For its efforts, the American Cancer Society gave the chapter the Aaron O. Hoff Award for its commitment to service.
Olivia Savitz studies psychology at New York University and has a particular interest in the psychology underpinning marketing strategies. Previously attending Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, Olivia Savitz found a detective fiction course interesting as she read classics of the genre such as Silence of the Lambs and Mystic River.Published in 2001, the latter work represented a departure for author Dennis Lehane, as he replaced the graphic violence and crime depictions of books such as Gone, Baby, Gone with a more introspective penetration of the dark corners of the human psyche. Mystic River takes place in a blue-collar neighborhood of Boston and brings focus to unspoken acts that come to haunt childhood friends decades later, when one of them experiences the loss of his 19-year-old daughter, who is murdered in a park. Grieving turns to a thirst for revenge, yet events are murky and the tangled web that unravels tests the bonds of friendship. Lehane’s breakthrough novel was applauded for its psychological acuity and willingness to address taboo subjects in a realistic way.
