Adjunct Spotlight: Chelsea Schnabelrauch Arndt

By Nicole Frank –

Department of Psychology

Chelsea Schnabelrauch Arndt began teaching for the FHSU Department of Psychology in Spring 2015, and has also taught courses for Kansas State University for about four years. Currently, she teaches PSY 415 Adolescence at FHSU.

Schnabelrauch Arndt earned her baccalaureate degree in Psychology from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI, and her masters in Experimental Psychology (emphasis in Social Psychology) from K-State. She recently defended her dissertation, and will be awarded her PhD in Experimental Psychology (emphasis in Social Psychology) from K-State in May.

Schnabelrauch Arndt’s research, in broad terms, focuses on attitudes and persuasion. She has done specific research on employing persuasion techniques to encourage individuals to reduce their consumption of meat. Her dissertation focused on personalizing messages to investigate whether such messages are more effective at persuading people to consume less meat.

Schnabelrauch Arndt explains, “It’s a very interesting area of research that hasn’t really been explored yet. I love how applicable my research is… Everyone that I talk to about my research is interested in it to some extent and has some previous knowledge about the topic, so everyone loves discussing it. It’s great seeing how my research interests non-academics and non-researchers.”

Describing her experience teaching for the Virtual College, Schnabelrauch Arndt says, “I enjoy having students who are overall so motivated to succeed. Many of the FHSU Virtual College students are non-traditional students with families and jobs who are wanting to go back to school. It always amazes me how so many of them work so hard and juggle so many different things in their lives. And many of them do this so well. It’s empowering to see these individuals take charge and own their education. They’re driven and excited about learning. It’s really a pleasure teaching these types of students and getting to know them over the course of the semester.”

When not grading projects and papers, or engaging in other career and education aspirations, Schnabelrauch Arndt enjoys watching a movie or Netflix with her husband, David. She shares, “As a graduate student, I haven’t had that much free time over the last five years, so whatever free time I do have, I like to spend it relaxing as much as possible. Lounging on a couch and watching movies and TV shows is certainly a great way to do that.”