Love of teaching and a passion for research drew psychology professor Serge Onyper to St. Lawrence. Here, Onyper has found success and satisfaction in both, from conducting research on the relationship between student sleep schedules and academic performance to teaching inquisitive minds about the mind itself.

Onyper became interested in psychology during his junior year at Lyndon State College, particularly through his internship at a residential rehabilitation facility for adults suffering from traumatic brain injury (TBI.) After seeing firsthand the cognitive outcomes of TBI, such as amnesia, emotional problems, and decreased reasoning and decision-making abilities, Onyper says, “I wanted to learn more about the human mind, about its capabilities and limitations.”

With a doctorate from Syracuse University, Onyper his passion for psychology with students at SLU by teaching classes like Introduction to Psychology and Memory and Cognition and collaborating with students on research. He says that what he treasures most about being a professor “is being able to work closely with talented, motivated students, who are the rule at St. Lawrence rather than the exception.”

Making learning fun and engaging by drawing surprise connections between learned concepts and real-life applications is one of his goals. He provides this example: We’ve all had those moments when we ask someone to repeat what they just said, then suddenly recall exactly what it was. This is because auditory information is stored in our sensory memory buffer for a few seconds, allowing us, Onyper says, to “go back in time and retrieve it.”

Onyper says he loves watching students grow personally and academically. His dedication to making the learning process relevant and interactive fosters this and turns students into critical, sophisticated thinkers. Outside of the classroom Onyper enjoys hiking in the Adirondacks with his family.

--Lauren Liebhaber ’12