Winter 2005 - Keuka College

ope Ireland
Keuka Lessons Make Emerald Isle Adjustments Easier
Heed your professor’s advice.
That’s what Jennifer Wilson O’Raghallaigh (“O’Reilly”)
did when, at the suggestion of Professor of Political Science
and Economics Jeff Krans, she applied for a Rotary
Ambassadorial Scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in
Ireland.
And, that’s how the 1994 Keuka graduate met her husband,
Eoghan (“Owen”)—the reason she moved to the country
in 1997—while taking a class in the Irish language, Irish
Gaelic.
“Eoghan works in a field that really requires him to stay
here,” said O’Raghallaigh, who dual majored in English and
psychology at Keuka. “Luckily, I also enjoy being here.”
After receiving a master of philosophy degree in
women’s studies from Trinity College in Dublin,
O’Raghallaigh went on to earn a doctorate in clinical psychology
from Trinity, where she is completing a master of
science degree in psychoanalysis.
She is employed as a senior clinical psychologist in liaison
psychiatry at a major Dublin hospital.
“My work involves a range of research, assessment, and
intervention skills,” said O’Raghallaigh. “I work closely
with medical teams across the hospital environment and
constantly meet with new and exciting challenges.”
Europe wasn’t all that foreign to O’Raghallaigh when
she arrived there in 1994.
“Because my dad was in the Air Force, my family
moved around quite a bit when I was growing up,” said
O’Raghallaigh, who was born in Merced, Calif. “We spent
the majority of our time in Fairfax, Virginia, just south of
Washington, D.C., but we also lived in England and in
northern and southern Belgium.”
And adapting to another culture was made easier
because of Field Period.
“Every year at Field Period, [Keuka students] are
dropped into a new culture and required to adapt to new surroundings
and new demands in a professional and competent
manner,” said O’Raghallaigh. “I think that I probably
brought some of those skills with me to Keuka, but having
the experiences that I did in those four years extended my
repertoire of coping strategies under pressure and let me
believe in my ability to survive the uncertainties and start
something new.”
Another Keuka plus, according to O’Raghallaigh, is the
direct contact students have with the faculty.
“Being able to engage in discourse with professors when
I was at an undergraduate level allowed me to develop a
sense of confidence that may not have emerged if I only had
contact with graduate student instructors, as happens so
often in other colleges and universities,” she explained.
O’Raghallaigh has found similarities and “subtle differences”
comparing the U.S. and Ireland.
“A grocery store not far from me just announced it
would be open 24 hours, and that is a first,” she explained.
“I also heard a rumor that Starbucks is coming to Dublin.”
After giving birth to her daughter, Meabh (“Maeve”),
she was “entitled to 18 weeks of leave with full pay. I’ve
been able to work half-time and Eoghan has been able to
change his hours around so that he can be with her when
I’m at work. I’m not saying we couldn’t have worked something
out like this if we lived in the States, but it is a lot
more common here.
“Ireland is certainly not the best in Europe for this,”
added O’Raghallaigh. “I understand that in Sweden parents
get a year off at full pay. Now that the European Union is
developing social policies, I expect things here will get even
better for parents.” —Tanya Cornell-Kestler