Psychology major DJ Djobaih smiles on a field trip at the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco in February. She said she wants to work as a child psychiatrist because she believes child development is critical.
Photos courtesy of DJ Djobaih
First-year DJ Djobaih is a Psychology major from Elk Grove, CA. Since her childhood, she said she has always dreamed of helping others and becoming a psychiatrist.
Djobaih said in elementary school, classmates would call her a therapist because she was empathetic and good at talking to people.
“I’ve always been pretty book-smart, but I never had any cool talents,” Djobaih said. “What I was really always good at was my interpersonal skills.”
Djobaih said her dream of becoming a psychiatrist skyrocketed when she took AP Psychology during her senior year of high school.
“That confirmed to me that I should go into the psych field because it was a super inspiring class,” Djobaih said. “Even the fact that it was a lot of work didn’t bother me because the work was meaningful to me.”
Djobaih wants to work with younger audiences as a child psychiatrist. She said she believes child development is especially important because of how impactful one’s childhood is.
“It’s really important that we help kids from the beginning,” Djobaih said. “If I went into child psychiatry, I could really make a long-term difference into these children’s lives up until they’re adults.”
In high school, Djobaih said she was a member of the National Honors Society all four years and became vice president of her school’s chapter.
“I loved doing community service; it was amazing,” Djobaih said. “That’s something I want to carry on now — more community service options in college.”
Djobaih said she also played softball her sophomore year. Her friend motivated her to try out because the team was low on players.
“It was really interesting because I’ve never been athletic,” Djobaih said.
Djobaih said when she started, she wasn’t very good, but after a while, her skills progressed. The team had a successful season with Djobaih, who won two game balls and received an award for most improved. She would like to continue playing softball on an intramural team at Pepperdine.
When applying to colleges, Djobaih said her parents encouraged her to consider Pepperdine because her step-sister went there. Once she researched the University, she admired the campus and the faith-based community, which was an important factor for her as a Christian.
“I wasn’t too connected to my religion as I should be, so going to a Christian school I felt would have helped me with that and helped me come to terms with my faith,” Djobaih said.
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