Jake Burns
HDF graduate
Jake Burns graduated in May 2024 from the Human Development and Family Sciences program with a minor in Social Justice and Civic Responsibilities. Jake received the “Excellence in HDF” recognition award in May 2024 for his hard work and incredible efforts in and out of the classroom.
“Be open in any aspect. Whether it’s working with people and being open to their perspective, but also being open to different things you can do with your HDF degree… I think that’s a prevalent theme in this field, being open to change.”
Jake Burns
In which year are you?
I’m in my final year at HDF specializing in Social Justice and Civic Responsibilities.
Where are you from?
I’m from South Kingstown, Rhode Island. I actually grew up ten minutes away.
Do you do any research or activities on campus?
I’m an HDF Ambassador and I started this during Fall 2024. I go to campus events like Welcome Days, greet new students, and try to spread the HDF word. We would like to recruit more HDF majors or see if students want to double major in HDF.
Do you have any professional aspirations or goals?
My goal is to be a high school counselor. In fact, I just received an orientation at Providence College for the school counseling program starting this summer. I’m planning on doing the program over two years, but some people do it over three years. There is a part of me that wants to go further in my education, but I think I can finish with a master’s degree because I would be satisfied with that.
What do you like most about the HDF program?
Oh my God, there are so many things! Firstly, the teachers, the teaching staff. I studied two majors before Human Development and Family Sciences and the professors in the HDF department are some of the coolest professors I’ve ever had. They are very attentive and willing to work with you and convey information in a way that is easily understood and relevant. I also love learning about human development and how to help people, but I also think the reason I love HDF so much is because it helped me learn a lot about myself. As you learn about human development, you recognize yourself in different aspects of development and personality.
What does receiving the award mean to you?
It was very rewarding for the HDF department and faculty to think of me for this award. I also have a close friend who also won the award this year, so it was nice to be excited for both of us – it added to the occasion for us!
How did you find out about the HDF Program?
I was reading the URI catalog of available courses and, at the time, I was looking at HDF. However, after a while I realized that I was really dissatisfied with what I was doing, I went back to the catalog and came across HDF again. I was looking at the different concentrations that HDF offered and saw that they offered a counseling and social services concentration area.
Any words of wisdom for HDF graduate students?
Be open in any aspect. Whether it’s working with people and being open to their perspective, but also being open to different things that you can do. You may enter HDF thinking you might want to do something, but with HDF internships you may discover that you enjoy working with a different population or in a different environment that you hadn’t thought about before. I think this is a prevalent theme in this field: being open to change.
