Two types of APF grants enable students to present at APA's convention
The foundation offers two types of scholarships that helped to pay for students to travel to last month's APA Annual Convention in Washington, D.C.
Thanks to the APF Ungerleider/Zimbardo Travel Scholarships, eight psychology graduate students traveled to D.C. They are:
- Adriene M. Beltz of the Pennsylvania State University, who presented her research on prenatal androgen influences on children's same-sex play.
- Natania A. Crane of the University of Illinois at Chicago, who presented findings that sex differences may alter neuropsychological functioning in cannabis users.
- Ewa K. Czyz of the University of Michigan, who presented her prospective examination of a theoretical model of suicidal behavior among adolescents in a psychiatric unit.
- Dylan G. Gee of the University of California, Los Angeles, who discussed her research on amygdala-prefrontal interactions in the development of psychopathology.
- Ben D. Sawyer of the University of Central Florida, who presented his findings that over time, people who monitor government and military networks for signs of cyber intrusion become less vigilant in their work.
- Katherine Stavropoulos of the University of California, San Diego, who presented her research on reward anticipation of social versus nonsocial stimuli in children with autism spectrum disorders.
- Christa L. Taylor of the University at Albany, State University of New York, who presented a poster of the first stages of development of the Creative Trait Motivation scale, which assesses individual differences in motivation to engage in creative behavior in three domains (artistic, scientific and everyday).
- Darya L. Zabelina of Northwestern University, who organized an APA symposium on the neuroscience of creativity.
In addition, two students received grants from the Paul E. Henkin Travel Grant Program, which provides funding to student members of APA Div. 16 (School) to help offset registration, lodging and transportation costs of attending APA's convention. The program aims to enrich the field of school psychology by supporting its promising younger members, as well as facilitating the growth of aspiring school psychology professionals through the opportunities at APA's convention.
This year's recipients, who each received $1,000, are:
- Kerri Nowell, a fourth-year school psychology doctoral student at the University of Houston. Her research and clinical interests focus broadly on individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). She is particularly passionate about improving collaboration across professions to help ensure people with IDD and their families get effective interventions. She is also interested in how cultural factors influence understanding and treatment of those with autism spectrum disorders.
- Stephanie Brunner, a second-year doctoral student in the school psychology program at the University of Minnesota. Brunner is interested in studying school readiness, particularly social-emotional development, among children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. For her thesis, which she presented at APA's convention, Brunner examined how early learning experiences mediate the sociodemographic risk factors for poor social-emotional outcomes at school entry.
Serving others with a gift to APF
As valedictorian of her high school class, Annette Urso Rickel, PhD, focused her graduation speech on promoting a life of service — a desire that first led her to psychology. After earning her PhD from the University of Michigan and completing her postdoc at Columbia University, Rickel became a university professor, researching and conducting preventive clinical interventions with high-risk populations.
Her career then expanded into the realm of public policy. She served as a senior congressional fellow and member of the public policy staff of U.S. Sen. Donald W. Riegle Jr. (D-Michigan), was appointed to President Clinton's Task Force for National Health Care Reform, and worked as education programs officer for the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Through all her endeavors, Rickel has valued engagement in charitable work. She established her own foundation to award scholarships to students majoring in math and science, and contributes to numerous organizations, including APF.
Her latest gift of $10,000 to APF's Campaign to Transform the Future renews her 2008 commitment to the foundation, which established the Annette U. Rickel Dissertation Award for Public Policy. The award supports dissertation research on public policy, which has the potential to improve services for children and families facing psychosocial issues.
"Helping young people realize their potential is something all psychologists should strive for," Rickel says. "Not only is it rewarding to give, it is rewarding to see what these young psychologists can go on to achieve."
APF thanks members who support the foundation on their dues statements
Thanks to the hundreds of APA members who support APF through their dues statement check-off each year. By contributing to APF in this way, you are investing in the next generation of our field and increasing psychology's ability to improve our world.
Donors like you enabled APF to give away more than $800,000 in grants and scholarships in 2014. These gifts support early career psychologists like Rezarta Bilali, PhD, whose research aims to help groups with a history of violence, human rights violations or other injustices to accept responsibility for these acts and to learn how to prevent such situations from recurring. She is but one example of the transformative work made possible by APA member donations.
Still, many worthy proposals go unfunded. Last year, APF had to turn away 90 percent of the proposals we received from the many graduate students and early career psychologists who applied.
One of the simplest ways you can help us to ensure the best and brightest receive the support they need is by continuing to give through your APA dues statement. For those who have not given to APF before, consider including a gift to the foundation through your dues statement this year.
With the check of a box, you can increase the body of knowledge, build psychology's future and launch careers in our field.
For more information about APF and how your gift will make an impact, visit APFopens in new window, or contact us at (202) 336-5843.
