Spotlight on Dr. Rocky Lo

By: Kaitlyn Lee

Trine University is excited to welcome its new psychology professor, Dr. Rocky Lo, a specialist in socio-cultural studies, to its Jannen School of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Lo stated that he was drawn to Trine due to its student-oriented culture and the welcoming nature of his future colleagues. Lo would like to thank Trine University and Michael Blaze for allowing him this opportunity to prove himself, and hopes to eventually rise within the ranks of Trine’s faculty to become a full-time professor. 

The 29-year-old professor started his career in academia after receiving his Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy from Central Michigan University. There, he discovered a passion for the humanities and decided to further his education in a more scientific direction at Walden University, where he received a Ph.D in psychology, specializing in sociocultural studies of the acculturative experiences of Hmong (people native to Southeast Asia, such as Southern China, Vietnam, Laos, etc.) refugees, a topic chosen largely in part due to his Hmong heritage. Upon prompting, Lo expressed his desire to extend his passions to Trine’s educational curriculum, 

“If students are generally interested, I’d be more than happy to help put [a socio-cultural centric program] together,” Lo said. By prioritizing what appeals to his students, Lo exemplifies a standard upheld by his fellow Trine faculty members.

Lo’s dedication to the students of Trine can be epitomized by the expectations he has set for them. While Lo uses humor in order to connect with his students, he asks his students to maintain a professional relationship with him above all else. However, he still recognizes the need to communicate and work with students on a variety of issues; he wants his students to know that he’s a resource and is here to help you. That being said, when it comes to seeing students excel in his classes, he wants them to show him that they’ve learned more than what they knew going into the class because he bases their success all off of their progress. Therefore he hopes to encourage students to “grow and develop” in all aspects of their schooling, from writing skills, to material comprehension, to skill application. In this sense, Lo is right at home here at Trine due to his unwavering dedication to his students and their learning.