Brenau Scholar Paige Silvey
Born and raised in Washington, Georgia, Alyssa Paige Silvey lived in a small community where she didn’t really fit in. Her mother worked as a bank teller, her father at an auto parts store, her brother treated patients as an eye doctor, and her sister worked in air conditioning repair. Silvey, meanwhile, was having trouble figuring out her own career path.
That is, until she found herself escaping into the colorful world of video games. Immersed in stories of psychological thrillers and fantasy adventures, Silvey began contemplating a career in game design. She wanted to create games that offered other gamers fun fantasy escapes as well.
But her career interest took a sharp turn when she met her therapist who helped her through many rough times and guided Silvey toward majoring in psychology.
“I want to really help people in these matters, help them with mental issues in the same way my therapist helped me,” Silvey says. “That’s how it all fell into place.”
As she considered studying psychology at Brenau, the more she learned about the university, the more she fell in love with it.
“What drew me to Brenau was the Women’s College, and I love the idea of a strong community of women,” she says. “Then I started looking into how small Brenau was and how tight the community was, and all the clubs, because I definitely wanted a college that was small, where everyone who passes me goes, ‘Hey Paige!’ and knows who I am.”
She has wasted no time integrating herself into the Brenau community and joined the Mu Sigma Chi math and science club, Identity (Sexuality and Gender Alliance) and the Psychology Club. She enjoys drawing and writing and has added creative writing and gender studies minors to her roster.
Silvey wants to learn more about “virtual therapy,” which would combine her two main loves of psychology and video games. She credits her Brenau scholarship for making it all possible.
“When they called me to inform me I was chosen as a Brenau Scholar, I almost started crying,” recalls Silvey. “I got to go to my dream school thanks to that. I feel like a lot of people look up to me now, so people feel comfortable coming to me for help and for school issues.”
Silvey hopes to become a peer tutor in the Math Science SPA, as she excelled at algebra all through high school. She would love to help underclassmen with their homework in subjects they may struggle in.
After graduating from Brenau, Silvey hopes to pursue a master’s degree in psychology or seek a paid internship to help save up for earning a second degree.
In the meantime Silvey wants to tell all her Brenau sisters, “Come see me, say hi, and talk to me. I’m a person who loves to help others.”