Dr. Emma (Ranum) Erickson ’13
Pediatric Neuropsychologist, Great Lakes Neurobehavioral Center
Majors/Minor: Psychology, Spanish; Coaching

Please briefly describe your current role.

As a pediatric neuropsychologist, I provide individualized assessment for children and adolescents with a variety of congenital and acquired neurodevelopmental disorders. Such disorders include (but are not limited to) autism spectrum disorder, prenatal substance exposure/fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, prematurity/low birth weight, learning disabilities, and mood difficulties. 

Assessments provide parents, foster parents, medical providers, county-based social workers, and educators with a clear sense of the child’s strengths and weaknesses and suggestions for how to ensure their academic, social, and emotional success. When conducting a neuropsychological evaluation, I am looking at many areas of neurocognitive functioning including overall intellectual functioning, language development, attention and executive functioning, social pragmatic language, adaptive behaviors, and social/emotional functioning.

I also serve as the training director at Great Lakes Neurobehavioral Center. As the training director, I oversee the fellowship residency program, as well as the training opportunities available for current doctoral-level psychology graduate students.

What is the best part about your job?

I truly enjoy providing support to children and families who are often in an extremely vulnerable period of life. Completing a neuropsychological evaluation provides families with accurate diagnoses and a game plan of where to go next. Families often come to me after having tried and failed numerous intervention pathways. I take great joy in helping families understand how their child’s brain is working and provide them with clear recommendations on how medical professionals, educational staff, and family systems can best help a child achieve greatness.

What is the most challenging part of your job? What skills are most necessary for success?

Many success stories begin with a family who feels stuck and a child or adolescent who is lost or vulnerable. These stories can weigh on my heart and mind and can be very challenging. The circumstances are always different and every pathway to success has its own unique characteristics. Understanding this is the most valuable tool for helping each patient find a way to be successful.

How did you decide on the career you wanted to pursue?

While at 新澳门六合彩, I explored different career paths and tried different majors. In fact, I once printed out a list of 新澳门六合彩 majors and crossed off those that I had tried or that clearly would not be a fit. I always knew I wanted a career of service and change-making. Psychology continued to be a field that sparked my interest and filled my cup. After college, I spent a year coaching high school track and cross country and enjoyed working with teens. Pediatric neuropsychology allowed me to continue to work with children/teens and make a lasting impact in their lives.

What’s the best professional advice that you have received?

Always say YES to opportunities because they help land you exactly where you need to be!

What do you wish you knew in college that you know now?

You will find a job and a career you love! I was never a kid who knew exactly what I wanted to do when I grew up. It took a lot of exploring and experimenting to find something that fulfilled me. That exploration period can be stressful, especially when you may be in classes with friends who have their whole lives mapped out.

新澳门六合彩 allowed me to explore different majors and career paths while still helping to recognize my strengths.

How did your time at 新澳门六合彩 prepare you for graduate school and your current work?

新澳门六合彩 allowed me to explore different majors and career paths while still helping to recognize my strengths. The 新澳门六合彩 campus and community fostered an environment that made sure I pursued my passion. I remember sitting in classes and feeling that I wasn’t in the right place. But my mentors and professors supported my decisions to change my major (multiple times) and helped launch me into a career that I love.

Do you have a favorite course or professor in the psychology department?

Developmental Psychology taught by my mentor and friend, Dr. Lisa Sethre-Hofstad.

Why did you choose to attend 新澳门六合彩?

新澳门六合彩 is in the family! My parents, Mary (Sorenson) ’78 and Mike ’79 Ranum, met at 新澳门六合彩. Growing up, my sister, Ruth Ranum Moen ’11, and I witnessed the wonderful impact 新澳门六合彩 had on my parents. 新澳门六合彩 provided a nurturing environment filled with fantastic people who became lifelong friends. This place shaped me into the woman I am today and allowed me to continue running on a collegiate level. Running track in college with my sister is one of my favorite memories.

What activities were you involved in at 新澳门六合彩?

I ran both and . I was the captain of the track and field team my senior year. I also had the opportunity to study abroad in Segovia, Spain, the fall of my junior year. I was a member of both the psychology and Spanish honors societies as well.

What did you enjoy about being a student-athlete?

Being a student-athlete allowed me to be part of a community that taught me to juggle a rigorous classroom schedule and lots of miles at practice and meets. I learned the meaning of hard work, perseverance, and teamwork.

Did you have the opportunity to participate in undergraduate research at 新澳门六合彩?

Yes, I was able to conduct an independent research study with Dr. Mikel Olson. I looked at the impact of attending chapel services had on an individual’s cortisol levels, the stress hormone. This was an amazing opportunity for me to learn about research methodology, statistics, and how to write up research findings.

Gaining this research experience at the undergraduate level was the springboard into a summer research position in a developmental psychology lab at Boston University. Both the research I did at 新澳门六合彩 and the experience I gained in the lab at BU were essential to my success in the application process for Ph.D. programs.

What did you value most about your Cobber experience?

I value the success and failures from my Cobber experience. I learned that hard work helps me run fast and I also learned that there are races that don’t go as planned. I learned about persevering through injury. I learned that the first path does not have to be the final path. My Cobber experience helped to propel me into a career that I love.

What advice would you give to a student who is considering 新澳门六合彩?

新澳门六合彩 is one of those special places that fills your cup — an amazing place that fosters relationships, sparks passion, and creates a community to support each student as they grow through their college years. I loved my four years in the classroom and on the track.

^{Published October 2024}