Among all the graduates this spring, Highline will be thrilled to see campus staple Emma Thirkilsden off to Washington State University, Vancouver. Thirkilsden came to Highline to study chemical engineering and play soccer, but found a place among CREW, student staff, and embedded tutoring. 

She will be graduating this spring and transferring to complete a bachelors in psychology. She hopes to break into the new field of Industrial Organizational Psychology, or I/O Psych for short. She will be working with companies to focus on behaviors within the workplace. 

But her academic journey did not begin like that. 

Thirkilsden started her studies as a chemical engineer, getting many STEM pre-requisites on her docket. “I was good with science and math classes but I was not passionate about it at all,” she said. This led to some exploration into electives. She enrolled in a psychology course and fell in love.

“I’ve had such amazing experiences with my professors, especially my psychology professor Tylir McKenzie,” said Thirkilsden. She recounted the group discussions and work she had done in her classes, and raved about her sociology and English classes. 

Tylir McKenzie, or Dr. T, is a beloved professor on campus who teaches five different psychology classes. When nominating Thirkilsden for a Thunderword spotlight, they said, “She’s been student of the month previously, but is always working in some way on campus…Whether it’s the coffee shop in [Building 29] or being an embedded tutor for psychology, she’s always doing more than most.”

Originally growing up in arid Albuquerque, N. Mex., Thirkilsden moved to Vancouver, Wash., with her beloved family to finish her senior year. She quickly shined on her new soccer team. Scouted and recruited by Highline, she took her place with the Thunderbirds. 

She very quickly rose within her community. During her time with Highline, she attended many events held both on and off campus, volunteered with CREW where she met her partner and many friends, and joined the women’s soccer team, who went all the way into the Elite 8 this past season. 

Thirkilsden feels especially proud of her athletic accomplishments – gaining an athletic scholarship to attend Highline and taking the financial burden off of her parents. Her parents, who she plans to move back in with after graduation, redirected her college fund to medical treatment after her father’s stage IV lung cancer diagnosis. 

“I love my family. I love my friends. And helping them in any way I can means a lot to me so being able to help them financially and not having to worry about my education,” she said. Thirkilsden’s father has gone into remission since his original prognosis of only a few months – a prognosis he has outlived by more than a handful of years. 

Thirkilsden’s advice to any new freshman joining the Thunderbirds is this: Use the resources on campus. Highline offers free, professional counseling in Building 6 and a food pantry open twice a week. Get involved with the community and clubs available to students. 

Congratulations Emma! You deserve to be proud of all the accomplishments you’ve attained, whether it be on the field, in the classroom, or within the community. Welcome to the ranks of Highline alumna!