![\"Austin](\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Austin-Peay-State-University-APSU.jpg\" "\\"Austin")
Clarksville, TN<\/strong> – Folks don\u2019t hurry around Washington, D.C., wearing high heels, especially red-soled Louboutin heels. That\u2019s an observation Austin Peay State University psychology major Loren Carmichael recently made in a blog about her Peace Corps internship in the U.S. capital.<\/p>\nThe Memphis native is spending her summer working with the Peace Corps\u2019 Counseling and Outreach Unit, which provides phone consultation to volunteers struggling with emotional health. The unit also handles emergencies affecting volunteers and their families.<\/p>\n
![\"Austin](\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Austin-Peay-State-University-student-Loren-Carmichael.jpg\" "\\"Austin")
<\/a>Austin Peay State University psychology major and Memphis native Loren Carmichael is spending her summer working with the Peace Corps\u2019 Counseling and Outreach Unit, which provides phone consultation to volunteers struggling with emotional health. (The Washington Center)<\/p><\/div>\n
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\u201cI help the psychologists on staff to assist Peace Corps volunteers in any way needed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
But she\u2019s also getting time to tour Washington \u2013 and to write that blog, which she\u2019s doing for The Washington Center, which connected her with the Peace Corps. The Washington Center provides immersive internships in the Washington, D.C., area to college students.<\/p>\n
Her first blog discussed four myths depicted in Washington, D.C.-centered TV shows. One observation: Nobody walks around D.C. in high heels.<\/p>\n
\u201cOlivia Pope (a character in the show \u201cScandal\u201d) is famous for her beautiful, red-soled Louboutin heels, but you will not see those walking around downtown,\u201d Carmichael writes. \u201cEverybody wears tennis shoes or flats.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Matthew Kenney, who oversees Austin Peay\u2019s honors program, recommended The Washington Center to Carmichael. And an adviser at the center matched her up with the Peace Corps Counseling and Outreach Unit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t even know they had a counseling unit,\u201d Carmichael said.<\/p>\n
She spends a lot of her time doing research for the psychologists, pulling articles, for example, about eating disorders and patient relapse times following counseling.<\/p>\n
Carmichael also gets to spend time with the psychologists to talk about their careers. She recalled one of the recent visits:<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked how she decided to do this, what kind of schooling she went through,\u201d Carmichael said. \u201cThe pros and cons (of being a psychologist).\u201d<\/p>\n
The biggest takeaway Carmichael had from the conversation was \u201cyou\u2019re going to have to deal with people\u2019s pain, and you\u2019re going to have to have a healthy balance (in your own life).\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to the blog, Carmichael is attending Washington Center classes about forensic psychology, or applying psychology to legal matters, helping judges and attorneys understand how psychology affects their cases.<\/p>\n
Five other Austin Peay students are attending Washington Center internships this summer: Cassie Meadows, Monica Pan, Alexandria Banta, Hayley McDowell and Payton Nicoll.<\/p>\n
Carmichael wants to attend medical school after she graduates from Austin Peay.<\/p>\n
For more<\/h3>\n
See Carmichael\u2019s blog at www.twc.edu\/articles\/top-4-myths-dc-tv-shows<\/a><\/p>\n