A Change of Course

Isabel Price ’18 was lucky to have Professor Lynn Garrioch as an advisor during her time at Colby-Sawyer. “I transferred into the psychology program when I was a sophomore. I felt a bit behind, but the second I walked into Professor Garrioch’s office, my mind instantly was at ease. She always had a kind, calm demeaner about her that assured me we were going to be able to figure anything out. Even as an alum, I look up to her as a mentor, and now a friend who pushes me to be the best version of myself. I cannot thank her enough for that,” Price said.

Garrioch arrived at CSC in 2001 after teaching psychology at the University of Victoria. During her time here, she taught many psychology classes, but her favorites were Psychology and Law and Social Psychology. An honors class titled The Exonerated was a combination of both of these classes and was her all-time favorite class to teach. She explains, “In it, students learned factors that contribute to wrongful convictions. They read research showing that because jurors believe confident eyewitnesses are accurate witnesses, misidentified perpetrators are often convicted. In fact, confident eyewitness testimony is the most powerful testi­mony in a criminal case, more compelling even than fingerprint and DNA evidence.”

Teaching is not the only thing Garrioch has excelled at here at CSC. She worked diligently on the National Science Foundation grants with colleagues outside of her department and also served as an advisor for several psychology students. “I love watching the students grow. The change they undergo from when I first meet them to when they graduate is so incredible. I get to watch them grow from 18-year-olds to confident leaders,” she said.

Upon leaving the college, Garrioch will return to her home country of Canada and has accepted a position in administrative work in a school system. She said, “I am excited and scared. I’ve always been a teacher and it will be different for me.”

As Garrioch leaves her teaching post at CSC, she has this advice for others wanting to follow her footsteps: “Get to know people across the college, various departments and various schools. Put yourself out there and get to know your colleagues.”

Garrioch said, “As I leave Colby-Sawyer College, I know I will miss my students and colleagues. Over the years, I have developed deep friendship with both students and colleagues. Colby-Sawyer is all about the people. I love Colby-Sawyer. I am going to miss it dearly, and I plan to visit often.”