Oklahoma State School Psychology Diversity Committee

Happy School Psychology Week from all of the future school psychologists at OSU!!!

Happy !!

On , we are proud to celebrate and honor the culture, heritages and contributions of tribal nations and Native communities, and honor their place as the first stewards of this land.

is honored to serve as the most successful land-grant university in the nation for Native American students.

Resources for Native American students: okla.st/3mMEQGd

Happy Monday, everyone!

We have another Diversity Committee Member highlight today!

Everyone, please meet Kristen!

Kristen was born and raised in Lawton, OK, and received her Bachelors of Arts in psychology from the University of Oklahoma in December of 2019. Kristen now attends OSU and is working on her doctoral degree in School Psychology.

Kristen, why did you choose school psychology?
“I chose SPSY because I felt like it was the right field for me. I love children and I’m very passionate about providing the support and resources they need to thrive in their environment.”

Why is diversity important in our field?
“Diversity is critical in our field. Having a more diverse population of school psychologists could help build trust with more at-risk communities. It would also inspire more children of varied backgrounds to pursue a degree in the field.”

Thanks for being awesome, Kristen!!

Good morning

We have another School Psychology Diversity Committee member highlight today!

Everyone... Meet Trey!

Trey is a first year Ed.S. student from Nebraska. Trey completed his undergrad at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. While there, he majored in psychology and minored in Spanish.

Trey, why did you choose school psychology?
“I chose school psychology because I really enjoy helping kids and trying to give them the best chance to have a good school experience. During undergrad, I had some great opportunities to work in education settings with kids and wanted to find a way to continue this work.”

“Why is diversity important in our field?”
I think diversity is important in our field because the populations that we work with as school psychologists are so diverse. Having a diverse field can really help us to better serve and understand the needs of the kids we want to help. Like any field, diversity can help bring different perspectives and ideas together to better the profession.

Thanks for being awesome, Trey!

Today we have another School Psychology Diversity Committee member highlight! Everyone— this is Stephanie!

Stephanie was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma and received her Bachelors of Science in Psychology from Northeastern State University with a minor in Biology. She is now here at Oklahoma State studying for her PhD in School Psychology.

Why did you choose school psychology?
“I chose School Psychology because I want to help students who have learning, emotional, or behavioral difficulties and make positive changes in their lives.”

Why do you believe diversity in the field is important?
“Diversity is important because the number of diverse students in schools is increasing and to effectively make positive changes in a students life, the services provided must reliably generalize to all diverse groups of learners. It is also important because more school psychology is in need of diverse school psychologists that could represent the growing number of diverse learners.”

Thank you, Stephanie!

Happy Monday everyone!

We have another School Psychology Diversity Committee member highlight today!

Everyone— this is Amy!
Amy earned her B.S. in Psychology at Arkansas State University and is now working on her Ph.D. in School Psychology here at Oklahoma State.

Why did you choose school psychology?
“I chose school psychology because of my desire to work with vulnerable populations. During undergrad I worked on a rehabilitation unit and really enjoyed the advocacy and patient care opportunities I experienced. The idea of working in prevention, advocacy, and intervention for children became a passion of mine. The field of school psychology offers this opportunity along with the chance to learn many other important skills.”

Why do you believe diversity in our field is important?
“The students we work with come from a variety of different backgrounds. It is very important to have culturally competent school psychologists working closely with these children to ensure the best possible outcomes. It is also important to have diversity in the field of school psychology to have a representative population for our students to feel surrounded by comfort, encouragement, and familiarity.”

Thanks for being awesome, Amy!

Hello, everyone!

Each week we are going to be doing a member highlight. This week is Kylie Leeper!

Kylie is from Dallas, TX but has lived all around. Kylie spent her undergrad at Auburn and TCU, then went to University of Tennessee for her Masters and now has made it here to Stillwater to work on her PhD in School Psychology. Kylie has her MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and is a Nationally Certified Counselor.

Why Kylie chose school psychology...

"I chose school psychology largely based on my internship experience while in Tennessee, working as a school-based therapist for a community health center. I saw the difficulties with referring to services, obtaining services, and the overall functioning between many schools and their community services. I also wanted to continue on and add more skills to my repertoire such as intellectual testing and more research."

Why do you believe diversity is important in our field?

"I believe that all children should feel as if they have a safe place and safe person in all of their environments including schools. While we will never be able to fully know and understand the experiences of everyone around us, we should work to have empathy towards them and create safe places for children to be who they are and ask for help when necessary."