The Educational Psychology department is proud to recognize several students who recently received awards:
Lauren Knuckey, School Psychology PhD student, received a 2024 Thora Wick Homme Memorial Scholarship from the School of Education. Lauren writes,
“My name is Lauren Knuckey (she/her), and I am a fourth-year doctoral candidate in the school psychology program. Currently, I am completing an advanced practicum at a community mental health center and conducting research for my dissertation. My dissertation uses a mixed method approach to develop a family-school-community collaboration framework based in liberation psychology. Furthermore, I will be moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota this August to complete my year-long doctoral internship at Allina Health. I am very excited for this training opportunity in a new-to-me setting. Through both my internship and dissertation work, I am focused on growing my skills as a researcher and practitioner to provide excellent, culturally-responsive services to my future clients.
Graduate school is often accompanied with significant financial stress. I am grateful to have received this award to ease some of this burden and provide myself with the mental space to focus on research and successfully prepare for my internship. Regarding my research, liberation psychology is a cutting-edge, under-researched area in school psychology, and I will use this award to further this work in my dissertation. Through this award, I can more easily cover study costs and travel to conferences to share my work and learn from others. Likewise, there are significant financial costs associated with moving and preparing for my internship. This award has alleviated some of this stress so I can better focus on this important, upcoming transition and learn all I can! Above all, I am grateful that opportunities like this exist in our department, and I feel very lucky and valued to have received this support.”
Yan Li, Human Development PhD student, received a 2024 Thora Wick Homme Memorial Scholarship from the School of Education. Yan writes,
“’The Homme Memorial Scholarship was established in 1997 by a bequest from the estate of Ruby S. Siegal.’ When I read this commonly seen description of the Homme Memorial Scholarship again after I won this scholarship, I felt appreciated greatly, not only from Mr. Siegal for his brilliant contribution to education, but as well as for all the help and support from my friends within EdPsych, esp. my academic advisor, Dr. Robert Enright. Without all of you, I could not achieve continued success in the Human Development Area and the Department of Educational Psychology confronted with all kinds of tough difficulties.
With the help of this scholarship, I would like to examine the effects of forgiveness education on a growing national and international problem—school bullying on individual and social levels. School bullying once perplexed me during my adolescent years; thus, I would like to delve into this problem as a fighter instead of just bearing it to hurt me like a cowardice. Parallel with this theoretical meaning, winning this scholarship will also practically assist me in my dissertation accomplishment and achieving my PhD degree as a natural result. Fingers crossed with sincere gratitude!”
Caleb Flack, School Psychology PhD student, received the 2024 Kratochwill Disseration Award to Advance Prevention and Intervention Science. Caleb writes,
“I am honored to receive the Kratochwill Dissertation Award to Advance Prevention and Intervention Science. My dissertation, “Mechanisms of Motivational Interviewing in the Family Check-Up,” examined outcomes of the Family Check-Up (FCU), an evidence-based parenting skills intervention. Specifically, I investigated the extent to which FCU therapists’ proficiency in motivational interviewing, a therapeutic approach, related to improvement in parenting practices and child mental health. A primary aim of this study was to inform prevention and intervention science. Based on study findings, I offer specific recommendations for FCU training and implementation to advance early intervention for child mental health concerns. In this way, my dissertation closely aligns with the Kratochwill Award’s emphasis on evidence-based prevention and intervention. I am grateful to receive this award, and I am excited to continue promoting research on evidence-based practice for children and families.”