Kate Dieffenbacher began her college career at Northeastern University, where she spent her first year before deciding to transfer.

As she thought about what she wanted from her college experience, Dieffenbacher realized she was looking for a campus where she could feel more connected to the community and get deeply involved outside the classroom.

“I wanted to find a greater sense of community and really immerse myself in campus life,” she said.

When she transferred to WashU in the fall of her sophomore year, she quickly began doing just that. She joined the run club and Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity and started working in marketing for WashU Athletics, where she helps run the music and video board during game-day operations.

In high school, Dieffenbacher worked on her school newspaper and loved working with people and promoting events. She thought those interests might translate well to marketing and entered college with a business-focused path in mind.

But as she began taking psychology courses, she found herself increasingly interested in the questions behind consumer behavior: how people think, what motivates them, and why they make certain decisions.

“I became interested in human behavior and what motivates people and causes them to make decisions,” she said. “When I got to WashU, I started understanding how the two fields overlap, especially with consumer behavior. Right now, I’m focused on that intersection.”

That overlap ultimately shaped her academic path at WashU. Dieffenbacher is now pursuing a major in psychological and brain sciences through Arts & Sciences alongside a marketing major through Olin Business School, allowing her to approach consumer behavior from both psychological and business perspectives.

Last year, those interests began to converge even more. She took a digital marketing and analytics course through Olin while also studying experimental psychology, giving her experience with data and research methods in both fields.

“Immersing myself in data and in the experimental design process was fascinating,” she said. “The digital marketing and analytics course made me more interested in the data side of the psychology field as well.”

Dieffenbacher is still deciding what she wants to pursue after WashU, but her two majors have given her several directions to explore.

“Though I’m leaning toward something business-related, like market research, brand management, or digital and social media marketing, I’m still trying to stay open to different possibilities,” she said. “Even if I don’t end up pursuing marketing, psychology is such a crucial thing in all industries. At the end of the day, if you are working with or for people, you have to be able to understand them.”

For first- and second-year students, Dieffenbacher recommends making use of campus resources and taking advantage of opportunities such as the many speakers who visit WashU each year. She also has a message for fellow transfer students who, like her, may feel they are starting a step behind.

“Don’t worry about the timeline; everyone moves at their own pace,” she said. “Immerse yourself in your passions and values, and focus on what you want to get out of WashU.”

Still exploring your academic path? Stop by the Major-Minor Fair on Monday, Oct. 12, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the WashU Athletic Complex to meet faculty and staff and learn more about majors and minors across WashU.