Piedmont Profiles: Michael Rahilly

Dr. Michael Rahilly, Assistant Professor of Psychology, became a faculty member at Piedmont Virginia Community College last fall.

After teaching at community colleges, state colleges and universities, Dr. Rahilly has found he prefers teaching at the community college level, where there is a diverse student population.

He has “always had a real love of learning and discovery” and enjoys nurturing and inspiring students who wish to immerse themselves in education.

Dr. Rahilly initially attended Virginia Tech’s engineering program but changed his major  after taking a general psychology course.

He found that he enjoys working closely with  people and helping them realize positive outcomes. After receiving his doctorates degree from UC-Davis, he stayed in California for approximately 14 years where he worked in the clinical field. He then moved to the southwest corner of Utah, near Zion National Park, where he resumed teaching.

When one has an informal conversation with a psychologist or psychiatrist, many of us wonder if we are being analyzed as we speak. Dr. Rahilly says he does not do this anymore, because he “found it exhausting and it interfered with real life. You just want to relate to them as a person.”

His face lit up and his voice projected passion when  asked if he still gets excited about teaching.

He said, “I am  particularly looking forward to this weeks developmental psych class, where we are talking about morality and aggression. We start with this moral dilemma, and I ask students to think about it, write down how they would act. It gets a lot of people engaged, a little controversy is always good.”

“It’s nice to witness one individuals’ perception of the world versus another’s” and engage in broad minded thinking. Dr. Rahilly enjoys PVCC students for their ability to reason outside of the box and being able to address critical thinking questions.

He summed it up by saying, “ Seeing students become energized in class is really rewarding.”

Thinking back through his academic travels, one of Dr. Rahilly’s favorite places is the northern California and Oregon coastal region. However, he is happy to be back in Virginia where he can pursue one of his hobbies – gardening.

With his wife’s ranching background and his children’s natural interests, gardening is a family event.

He is looking forward to starting his vegetable plants and choosing which fruit trees he will be planting.