USM School Psychology

Mia is joining us from Alexandria, VA, and is interested in research focused on disruptive behaviors, emotion regulation, and parent-focused interventions. We’re excited to have her as part of our team and look forward to all she will accomplish! 💛

Erin Simon is an incoming 1st year doctoral student! She is from Madison, MS and is an alumni of Southern Miss with a Bachelor’s in Psychology!
Erin’s research interests include academic and behavioral intervention, math anxiety, and understanding how students’ academic and emotional experiences influence one another. Her main goal is supporting students’ academic success and overall well-being.

Erin is looking forward to gaining hands-on experience within the field of school psychology. She is excited to learn from and build relationships with faculty and other students within the program!

Fun fact! Erin is the proud owner of a 9-year old Morkie named Olive .

Welcome Erin!

Everyone meet Jason Izadi, one of our new first-year students from Vancouver, Canada!

Fun fact: In his downtime, Jason is a K-drama enthusiast.
We're so excited to have Jason join the USM School Psychology PhD 2026-2027 cohort.

Welcome to the program!

Everyone meet Ayanna Rawls, one of our new first-year students from Gulfport, Mississippi!

Fun fact: Ayanna loves to travel, game, and play sand volleyball. We're so excited to have Ayanna join the USM School Psychology PhD 2026-2027 cohort.

Welcome to the program!

With the start of a new school year comes a fresh, new cohort!

Over the next several weeks, we will be highlighting each of our first-year students in posts that showcase both their academic interests and personal fun facts.

Our first spotlight is Noah Roberts! Help us welcome Noah to our program!

✨ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT✨

We're highlighting the accomplishments of Dr. Jamie Pasqua.
Dr. Pasqua graduated from our program in May 2019. During her time at USM, she completed 3 years of externship at a local Head Start as the PBIS consultant, followed by one year as the Mental Health Specialist, where she supported teachers and families in a variety of capacities to promote positive child outcomes within the community. Dr. Pasqua was also heavily involved in research during her time at USM, publishing 2 first-author articles and credited with 7 additional peer-reviewed articles, 2 book chapters, and one encyclopedia entry. Dr. Pasqua later completed her internship at Munroe Meyer’s behavioral pediatric psychology predoctoral internship at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, NE. Today, you can find Dr. Pasqua practicing as a licensed psychologist in a private practice setting, providing psychological services such as therapy, psychological evaluations, and consultation to children, adolescents, teens, young adults, and families. In addition, she dedicates part of her time to conducting initial diagnostic interviews for children and families who are seeking initial ABA therapy and providing clinical supervision to BCBAs.

When asked about what she enjoys most about her role, Dr. Pasqua states "the unique balance of autonomy and rich professional collaboration. On one hand, the independent nature of practice gives me the flexibility to carefully curate my caseload and structure my schedule in a way that prevents burnout and keeps my clinical work sharp. That autonomy allows me to show up as my best self for my clients. At the same time, working in a private setting doesn't mean working in isolation. One of the most rewarding aspects is the close, interdisciplinary collaboration I share with medication providers and other healthcare professionals."

Dr. Pasqua's proudest achievement since graduating from USM is passing the EPPP (if you know, you know!), and the growth she has made and continues to make as a clinician. In the future, Dr. Pasqua hopes to become a small business owner and will soon begin supervising a postdoctoral Psy.D fellow to help them earn the hours necessary to become a licensed psychologist. If she could have coffee with any person, past or present, Dr. Pasqua would have coffee with her late grandmother and grandfather, as they were two of her biggest role-models who were also highly supportive and encouraging of her to reach her goals.

Dr. Pasqua's commitment to ensuring that her practice is a safe, welcoming, and culturally responsive space where people know they will be truly heard and supported exemplifies the spirit of what it means to be a Golden Eagle, and reflects the values fostered through USM's School Psychology program.

We are so proud of Dr. Pasqua and all that she has accomplished and wish her all of the best in her future endeavors!

Highlighting another amazing achievement from our student, Kaylee!

Kaylee has successfully completed and passed the School Psychologist Praxis exam! This outstanding accomplishment brings her one step closer to earning her licensure as a School Psychologist and becoming a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP).

Congratulations, Kaylee! We are incredibly proud of your hard work and dedication. Wishing you continued success as you move forward in your professional journey!

Well done, Kaylee! 👏🎉

We'd like to shout out our third year graduate student, Trenity Spratley, on her completion of ADOS-2 training!
With this certification, Trenity is qualified to administer and interpret the results of ADOS-2 assessments. This assessment tool aids clinicians during Autism evaluations, and Trenity's dedication to expanding her skill set to better serve our community highlights her passion for the work school psychologists do.

Congratulations, Trenity!

Last week, Dr. Powell, along with graduate student Taylor Hebert, presented to a group of Family Resource Specialists and program managers from the Louisiana Families Helping Families organizations, as well as the Louisiana Department of Health.

The presentation focused on the symptoms of pediatric feeding disorders and Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), the impacts they have on families and children, and resources that can connect families with the team of professionals that diagnose and treat feeding disorders.

We are so grateful for the opportunity to share our work with other professionals and organizations in our local communities!

Last week from July 15-July 17, The University of Southern Mississippi's School Psychology and Clinical Psychology students provided developmental screeners to hundreds of children in the Hattiesburg/Petal area through W.H. Jones Headstart Screening Day! Our students have been participating in this event for multiple years and hope to continue providing this service to our families in the community. Through this process, we assist multiple families with helping their children receive various services and accommodations! We would like to recognize the following students for helping with this event: Lourdes Rodriguez, Amarah Sweaks, Clinton Rolle, Keara Hill, Trenity Spratley, , Hillary Romoser, Taylor Hebert, Jessica McKay, Bre Hamlin, Fiso Ncube, Anna Romero, Cameron Pothoven, Karoline Calongne, Arianna Delgadillo.

Pictured in our last slide is Lourdes's step comparison during head start screener days vs the rest of her week, showcasing her dedication to get things done! She will definitely be missed!