A Historic Time, A Historical Journey

Name: Tanya Lukasik

Year: Class of 2010 (Transfer)

Hometown: Hicksville, NY

Major(s): Psychology / Neuroscience, Women, Gender and Sexuality Minor, Pre-Medical Concentration (phew!)

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An eclectic collage of warm browns, brilliant oranges, sparkling yellows, dark bronzed greens, and deep fiery reds, embedded a vividly distinct visual impression on my early morning awakening mind.  Quickly escaping from the taxicab, momentarily alarmed by the screeching sound of the worn tires against the typically quiet North Charles Street, I was greeted by a gust of cool, crisp early morning air and overwhelmed by the mesmerizing senescent leaves in this colorful autumnal scene.  “THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY” proclaimed the entrance sign, while imaginary trumpets could be faintly heard in the background.

Walking up the stately red brick path, the pale green steeple of Gilman Hall peered over a cluster of tall trees, while a gentle, effortless, unconstrained winding breeze pushed the ostensibly untouched fall foliage lying curled along the path.  It was apparent that the seasonal transition from summer to fall had imperturbably begun.

“Welcome to Hopkins!” read the light blue banner hanging above the entrance to Shriver Hall, as several prospective students and their family members congregated at the marble steps, eagerly waiting for the Engineering and Natural Sciences Open House to begin.  After an educational campus tour, (Veritas vos liberabit!), and a brief pit stop at the “Ask-a-Student” Table to stock up on temporary tattoos and JHU stickers, my brother and I attended the welcoming lecture hosted by esteemed members of the Hopkins faculty as well as the Undergraduate Admissions staff.

Following the lecture, I traveled to the informative “Behavioral Biology/Neuroscience,” “Cognitive Science,” and “Psychology,” departmental seminars, and even had the chance to visit Psychology Professor Dr. Justin Halberda’s Laboratory for Child Development.  Afterward, my brother and I trekked to the new Barnes and Noble Bookstore where I lovingly adopted Hogsworth Hopkins (yes, he’s a stuffed animal), and returned to campus with just enough time to snoop around the historically rich Gilman Hall, a la Inspector Gadget/Nancy Drew.

As the sun began to set and Open House came to a close, I sat down on the wooden bench adjacent to the distinct white marble stairs of Gilman Hall, and recapped the highlights of this eventful day in my mind, while attempting to picture myself as a future JHU student.  One day could I possibly see myself entering Ames Hall for psychology classes, studying organic chemistry at the “HUT,” conducting clinical research at the nearby Hospital, meeting classmates at the “Beach” during my free time?  As I waited for my brother, my travel companion, to return from his chocolate cookie refuel at Levering Hall, too tired to keep up with both the thoughts racing through my mind and the fast-paced Frisbee game being held in front of me on the Keyser Quad lawn, I folded my arms, gently placed my head into my lap, and closed my eyes.

Moments into my peaceful semi-conscious slumber, I was startled by a loud clanging crash, followed by cries of distress coming from inside Gilman Hall.  I quickly turned my head, stood up from the bench, and rubbed my eyes, just as three small white rats dashed out of the open entrance doors of Gilman Hall, scurrying onto the lawn in a frenzied attempt to escape.  Several seconds later, a man dressed in a black suit came running out of the doors, arms flailing, empty rat cage in hand, in a distressing search for the rats.

Witnessing this chaotic scene, I pinpointed one of the feisty, laboratory-looking rats hiding at the corner of the stairs and walkway.  Using a spur of the moment McGuyver-esque move, I threw my sweater over the scared little rodent, eliminating his chance for a successful getaway, and was able to gently pick up the squirmy rat by his tail.  Following several minutes of hunting for the other escapee rats, the visibly upset man ceased his unsuccessful search and began to walk toward me.

“Why, I thank you for rescuing a critical part of my scientific experiment.”  In the chaos of the event, I did not have the opportunity to scan my surroundings; however, my intuition was on red alert, I sensed something was gravely wrong.  Why was this man so formally dressed?  Where were Ames, Jenkins, and Mergenthaler Halls?  Did the MSE Library finally sink into the ground?  How did the Frisbee players vanish?  Where was my brother, (and the cookies, I was hungry!), and why were antique cars, the ones you typically find at amusement parks, driving down the road?  Wait a minute, a road in the middle of the campus, right through the Lower Quad?

“Madam, is something plaguing you?  May I be of assistance?”  I attempted to utter a word, however mild shock had unfortunately set in, and I was rendered silent. 

“Allow me to introduce myself.  My name is John Broadus Watson, Professor of Psychology at Johns Hopkins University.  Are you a graduate student at the university?”  Thinking I was suffering from some sort of delusional psychosis I had read about in abnormal psychology class last semester, it took me several seconds to respond in some form of coherent English.  Recalling a web site that noted JHU had began as a graduate teaching institution, I cleverly nodded, “I am extremely interested in psychological research, and have traveled to Baltimore to visit the campus.”

Watson, seeming intrigued by my interest in psychology replied, “I must make haste.  May I offer you transport to the Hospital?  I would be delighted to answer any questions you may have during our travels.  Upon our arrival, I will also allow you to observe my ongoing experiment within the Psychobiology Laboratory, if you are so inclined.”  Pinching myself to the point to guarantee a bruise in an attempt to wake myself up from this surreal dream, I accepted his offer, and we began toward his antique automobile.

During the bumpy, uncomfortable ride, Dr. Watson provided me with an extensive biographical narrative; I learned he was a former student of Hopkins alumnus John Dewey.  Dr. Watson also noted he had arrived at the university in 1908, and was offered a position as Professor of Experimental Psychology and Director of the Psychobiology Laboratory.  My historical tour guide also provided me with a history of Johns Hopkins University Psychology Department, noting that the famous Granville Stanley Hall served as Professor of Psychology and Pedagogics beginning in 1882, was the founder of the both the first experimental Psychological Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University in 1883, and the American Psychological Association in 1892.  Interestingly, the first psychology doctorate was awarded to a Hopkins psychology graduate student, Joseph Jastrow, in 1886.

Before I knew it, in what seemed like a whirlwind of events, I was at the Johns Hopkins University Hospital.  After a brief tour of his laboratory, Dr. Watson explained that he was planning to demonstrate a famous component of “behaviorism.”  He noted the rat I had rescued was a critical part of the “Little Albert” study testing and demonstrating how humans can be classically conditioned.  Dr. Watson would present the non-threatening white rat to the young infant, subsequently followed by loud, startling chimes in order to scare the child.  Over time, he explained, the baby would become conditioned to associate the sight of the once, non-threatening rat with fear and distress.  Moments later, I observed cute, pudgy “Little Albert” enter the room and play with the rescued rat, that is, until Dr. Watson began clanging a loud bell to start the conditioning process.

Standing in the research laboratory, hearing the loud bell ring and Little Albert’s cries, Dr. Watson permitted me to observe history in the making.  Intriguingly, Hopkins had served as a backdrop for such a monumental movement in psychology.  Just as Dr. Watson began another round of clanging, I became extremely dizzy, my vision blurred, then gradually faded to black.

I awoke to the loud bell chimes of my cell phone, my brother calling on the other end.  I was back!  Scanning my surroundings for the second time, I was comforted by the reappearance of the now tired and sweaty Frisbee players and the collection of red brick halls, thankful that the MSE Library was still standing.  Had it all been a dream?  What did this all mean?

As my brother approached, cookies in hand, he asked, “Well, what do you think, can you see yourself here?”  Still in shock again, a familiar, annoyingly recurrent feeling of the day, it took me a couple of seconds to respond.  Jokingly, he continued, completely unaware of my surreal historic journey, “So, do you think you’ll be able to witness history in the making if you are accepted?”

“I already have,” I said under my breath and laughed along with him, realizing at that at that point, Hopkins was going to be the right fit, the perfect fit for me.  My ‘historic time’ at Open House, combined with my ‘historical journey’ delving into the history of psychology at Hopkins, assured me this was where I wanted to spend my remaining collegiate years as a transfer student.  Upon graduation from Johns Hopkins University, I knew that I would acquire the critical skills, technical expertise, and advanced knowledge necessary for a career in psychiatric medicine, equipped to follow in the footsteps of prominent alumni, prepared to substantially contribute to, and inaugurate notable advancements in psychological research and the medical field.  And maybe, just maybe, if I sat on that magical bench again….

Photo Captions (in order of appearance):
1) Hogsworth Hopkins, yes I promised him some free publicity
2) Entrance to Gilman Hall, home of the HUT and the Hopkins Seal
3) Tanya (myself) on the infamous bench in front of Gilman Hall
4) Gilman Hall Clock Tower – the bell chimes every quarter hour
5) John Broadus Watson
6) Johns Hopkins University circa 1920
7) Johns Hopkins University Hospital circa 1920
8) A sketch of “Little Albert” and the escapee white mouse

Comments

[Daniel Creasy]

What a great story ... perfect for the return of the Guest Blog.

[Jackie]

haha, I love this story. It's like a movie script!