Josh Gaffney

Student

Before Bay College freshman Josh Gaffney decided to pursue a degree in psychology, he had already established a career in another industry. Still, with the help of Bay’s staff and faculty, he has begun working towards earning his credentials in his new field of choice.

Josh graduated from Gladstone Area High School in 2004 but did not go to college at this point in his life.

“I was going to go, and then I opted out of it at the last minute,” he said.

Instead, he entered the construction industry and worked for several different companies. However, he also had a budding fascination with psychology due to the struggles he dealt with in childhood.

“There was a series of events that got me very interested in psychology, and that’s what landed me here,” Josh said.

Josh had the opportunity to take some time to think about his future when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in 2020.

“That was when I was like, ‘I’m definitely doing this,’” he said.

According to Josh, he started taking college classes during the winter 2022 semester and continued during this year’s summer and fall semesters. He said things at Bay have been going “really well” for him academically.

“I ended up making the dean’s list. So far, everything’s been pretty smooth,” he said.

Currently, Josh is working on classes focusing on his major and general education courses.

“I’ve had three psychology classes, all of which have been excellent. I’ve got really good grades in all of them,” he said.

Along with his classes, Josh is working on getting into Phi Theta Kappa while at Bay.

“I didn’t really consider it until it was brought up to me by my advisor due to my GPA,” he said.

Josh plans to graduate from Bay after the fall 2023 semester or so.

“I’m not exactly sure (what I want to do after graduating), but I do have a basic projection. I’d like to graduate from here and transfer to Northern Michigan University. I’m definitely interested in neuropsychology,” he said.

Even if this plan changes, Josh voiced his appreciation to the people working at Bay for their support.

“I’m definitely glad that I ended up coming to Bay. I didn’t have any specific goals in mind, but the staff’s been very helpful with that kind of stuff,” he said.