APAGS chair-elect Christine Jehu recalls her shock when she discovered in the third year of her PhD program how much work — and money — she'd need to devote to applying for internship. Her grad school peers often echo her bewilderment. "At this point, students are so far in debt from classes and living expenses that having to travel and have a professional wardrobe and have cash for that process is unfathomable," she says.
As chair in 2015, Jehu is continuing APAGS's push to ease the internship crunch for students. She's particularly concerned about the social justice aspect of the internship crisis — the prohibitive cost of traveling to multiple sites that forces less affluent students to restrict their sites and therefore lessen their match chances. "There needs to be much more education up front so students are aware of what they are getting into," she says.
Jehu is just as committed to bolstering support for science students who face a tough job market in today's era of decreased research funding. "We need to support them with as much vigor as we are supporting counseling students and clinical and school," she says.
Jehu's fellow incoming officers share her passion to make a difference during their two-year terms, which started last month at APA's Annual Convention in Washington, D.C. (Jehu serves as chair-elect until August 2015). Among their goals: Formalize training on working with diverse clients and simplify the application process for grants and awards.
Here's a glimpse at the priorities and interests of the newly elected and appointed APAGS leaders:
Christine Jehu, chair-elect
Background: A fifth-year student in the counseling doctoral program at the University of Memphis, Jehu is exploring the effectiveness of a video designed to reduce homophobia among heterosexual NCAA athletes. She's beginning her internship this month in her hometown of Richmond, Virginia, at the Virginia Commonwealth University Counseling Services.
Goals: In addition to supporting clinical and science students, Jehu wants to make all APAGS members feel welcome and engaged. "APAGS is working on being more and more transparent so we really know as students what they are doing for us and I would love to keep that up," she says.
In her free time: Jehu plays in an adult soccer league and teaches spinning classes at her campus recreation center as a certified cycling instructor. She loves karaoke and volunteers for the Memphis Empty Bowls project, which raises awareness about food insecurity.
Ten years from now: Jehu plans to get certified as a personal trainer once she graduates so she can open a gym that offers therapy services. "Best case scenario, we add a nutritionist — the whole nine yards," she says. "It's a one-stop shop."
Justin Karr, member-at-large, membership recruitment and retention
Background: A Portland, Oregon, native, Karr is in his second year of a clinical neuropsychology program at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. He is a Vanier Graduate Scholarship recipient — a national Canadian award similar to the prestigious Rhodes Scholarships. As part of his research on concussions, he is now running a meta-analysis on blast-related traumatic brain injury.
Goals: Karr believes student grants and awards are one of the most important membership benefits, but too few students take advantage of them because the process is unclear and time-consuming. "Applications are like gambling in a way because time is money and you are putting that down payment on the chance that you are going to get an award when you take the time to apply," he says. That's why he encourages APAGS and other funders to provide more information about how many people apply for each grant and award, what students' odds are and when they will be notified. He'd also like to find new ways to connect students who are looking for others with expertise in a specific research methodology or data-analysis technique.
In his free time: Karr is a golfer and a long-distance runner who finished this year's Vancouver marathon. Occasionally he tosses those healthy habits out the window to devour his favorite Canadian cuisine — poutine, a platter of fries topped with gravy and cheese curds. "It is artery-clogging, to say the least," Karr says.
Ten years from now: Karr would like to work in academe or for the military and continue his involvement in APA governance.
Leighna Harrison, member-at-large, diversity
Background: Harrison is a fifth-year student in the practitioner scientist program at Palo Alto University in California with an emphasis on diversity in community mental health. Last November, she was the only graduate student member to travel with APA's delegation to Cuba, where she met with Cuban psychologists to learn about the country's mental health care system and research. Now, she's delivering services entirely in Spanish as an intern at the VA Caribbean Healthcare System in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Read more about her experience in Cuba.
Goals: Harrison wants to help APAGS promote more opportunities for study and work abroad. Such trips provide invaluable diversity training but are often tough to find: To boost her Spanish skills, Harrison worked with her university's provost, who had collaborated with a private psychotherapy institution in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to create a nine-month practicum there, where she was the only native English speaker. She observed therapy through a one-way mirror until her Spanish improved enough to participate in co-therapy. "With our growing immigrant population, I think such experiences can only serve to enhance our ability to serve diverse populations," she says.
She also wants to reach out to new grad students by developing Web products to better explain what APAGS does for new students and how they can get involved even in small ways. "That would help reach and engage students of all backgrounds," she says.
In her free time: Harrison loves to immerse herself in historical and science fiction, but her stress-releaser of choice is salsa dancing. "And I am looking forward to dancing in San Juan," she says.
Ten years from now: Harrison plans to do public policy work aimed at reducing health disparities and promoting the value of psychology to other fields. "I want to have a balance between frontline clinical care and issues on the systems level," she says.
Casey Dean Calhoun, member-at-large, practice
Background: A sixth-year graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Calhoun is past chair of APA's Science Student Council and student representative for the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology. He is applying for an internship this fall and is coding observational data for his dissertation, which is focused on understanding the ways that adolescents' interactions with close friends can influence acute biological stress regulation and consequently increase or decrease risk of depression.
Goals: Calhoun wants to help graduate training programs prepare students to work with diverse clients by creating diversity training activities that promote skill development as well as knowledge and sensitivity. One activity he uses at Chapel Hill, for example, is called "cultural plunge," which immerses second-year students in local cultural activities where they are in the minority. Fourth- and fifth-year students help the second-year students identify places to go that will help them grow, such as by attending services at a religious institution different from their own. "It pushes students to challenge themselves and identify areas where they want to grow as clinicians," Calhoun says.
In his free time: He loves to travel, cook, play golf and go to the movies.
Ten years from now: Calhoun would love to be a professor, but given the funding climate, he's also considering other potential career options. "I want to learn more about how to incorporate private practice into an academic career and also more about nonacademic research opportunities."
Natalie Troxel, member-at-large, research and academic focus
Background: A developmental psychology student at the University of California, Davis, Troxel conducts research on young children's psychosocial adjustment. She's served as a member of the APAGS science subcommittee and has been sharing the ups and downs of her dissertation experience as one of gradPSYCH's "Dissertation Diarists" (April gradPSYCH).
Goals: Troxel is advocating for basic research funding and teaching students how to publicize and discuss their research with policymakers, funders and the public to maximize their funding chances.
"A lot of scientists aren't really trained in doing that while they are in graduate school, and then kind of flail about at that as they enter postdocs and the rest of their research careers," she says. She'd like to invite science journalists and policymakers to share their advice on how to communicate their research and develop webinars and convention sessions on the topic. Troxel will blog about her committee work, where she encourages students to share concerns and ideas.
In her free time: Troxel is training her new rescue dog Owen using learning behaviors and operant conditioning. "About three-quarters of the time I can get him to sit, so I consider that a small victory," she says. Troxel also spends "an alarming amount of time" knitting.
Ten years from now: "I'd like to teach at a small liberal arts college and work closely mentoring undergraduate students," she says.
James Garcia, chair, Committee for the Advancement of Racial and Ethnic Diversity
Background: Garcia is a fourth-year student in clinical health psychology at the University of North Texas in Denton. The oldest of four siblings, he grew up in a rough part of Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley. After college, he worked as a case manager assisting the Los Angeles Department of Mental Health before deciding to pursue his doctorate. He researches cardiovascular disease as well as racial and ethnic disparities in hospital use.
Goals: Garcia is focused on supporting minority students who are interested in leadership and preparing multicultural students for roles in health care. He's already been working on that as a member of the student committee of Div. 45 (Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race), where he's assisted the mentorship program in identifying mentors for student members and has organized webinars and question-and-answer sessions for students on diversity issues.
In his free time: Garcia's guilty pleasure is driving an hour to Dallas to find dive restaurants with sensational food. "I love hole-in-the-wall places for Mexican, Colombian, Salvadoran and Indian," he says.
Ten years from now: "I would love to continue on to a tenure-track position, but I also see myself doing clinical work, probably going hospital to hospital" as a consultant, he says.
Julia Benjamin, chair, Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns
Background: A fourth-year counseling student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Benjamin is researching identity development among LGBTQA-identified youth who write and perform short narratives about their lives at a local theater. Before graduate school, Benjamin served two years in the Peace Corps in Romania, working as an environmental education volunteer and serving on the Peace Corps Romania Gender and Development Committee.
Goals: Benjamin would like to expand her committee's national mentorship program, collaborate with APA divisions that have similar interests, and conduct a national survey on how her committee can better serve students. She would also like to spark more dialogue on how APAGS can better represent the intersecting identities of its students.
In her free time: Benjamin likes to swing dance and volunteer with advocacy groups, such as the Human Rights Campaign. Before she moved to Madison, she earned her master's in developmental psychology at Columbia Teachers College in New York City, where she was active in the theater community and attended Broadway musicals as often as she could. She also helped recent immigrant students write and publish their life stories through an organization called Student Press Initiative. "It was incredible to watch students gain self-confidence through telling their stories and inspiring to bear witness to so many experiences of struggle, resilience and hope," she says.
Ten years from now: "My goal would be to continue doing youth work in the community and teaching in some capacity," she says. "Having a hybrid profession … that would be the dream."