Northcentral University

PETER TSAHIRIDIS Master of Arts in Health Psychology (2012) 21 The son of a Greek immigrant father and Greek/ American mother, Peter Tsahiridis was the first in his family to earn college credit. However, his academic path was not always smooth. "I initially failed out of undergraduate school," says Tsahiridis. "I joined the Marine Corps and when I got out, I wanted to learn everything." Today, Tsahiridis holds a law degree from the Appalachian School of Law, a master's degree in history from the American Military University and a Master of Arts in Health Psychology from NCU, which he received in 2012. He's currently working towards his PhD in Organizational Psychology from Grand Canyon University. "History is general knowledge, and psychology shows you the motivation of why historical figures did things," he explained. "I use my history and psychology degrees in everything I do." The Branson, Missouri resident teaches history at Independence University and Missouri State University. He also teaches health psychology at Southern New Hampshire University. The way his degrees marry together becomes obvious in his most recent book The Cold War: A Battle of Global Ideologies. "There is a lot of history in the book, but it's also all psychology," he explained. "It looks at why we were afraid of communism and why they feared capitalism." "I had very helpful and professional professors at NCU," he explained. "It wasn't easy, but I learned a lot. NCU was one of the first to offer health psychology. By the time I graduated, opportunities in health psychology were open to me." Clearly, Tsahiridis doesn't lack for passions, and he advises students to do what they love and to focus less on money. "I've found that if you really love what you do, the money does find you," he said. "I tell them not to give up the dream of getting a degree. NCU opened so many doors for me."

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