Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University

The psychology department is pleased to announce that Madison Smith has been selected as December’s Student of the Month. Madison is from Owasso, Oklahoma. Pursuing a BS degree in Psychology and Biology with a minor in Neuroscience.

Madison serves as a research assistant in Dr. Jennifer Byrd-Cravens Psychobiology lab. She is recipient of the Mary E. Jones Endowed Scholarship, OSU Regents Distinguished Transfer Scholarship, and Bailey Education Foundation Scholarship. She is a member of Psychology Club, Psi Chi The International Honor Society in Psychology, and the Barbell Club. She is currently employed at the Colvin Recreation Center as a personal trainer. Her exceptional academic performance has consistently earned her a position on the President's Honor List each semester.

When asked about her experience at OSU, she says “Having the privilege to study psychology at Oklahoma State University has allowed me to grow as a student, a researcher, and a member of my community. The Psychology Department continues to offer guidance and support to my dreams that I thought were once unobtainable.”

Psychology club's LAST meeting is December 3rd at 5pm and we will be providing hot chocolate and cookies to decorate!

Shout out to Psyc Club for their participation in this year’s Homecoming events. Go Pokes !

The Psychology Department congratulates Bella Panganiban as November’s Student of the Month. Bella is from Fort Worth, TX, pursuing a BS in Psychology with minors in Human Services and Accounting.

Bella’s academic accolades include being a research assistant for Dr. Ciciolla’s Child Adaptation and Maternal Psychopathology (CAMP). As a result, she is the first author of "Differences in Social Support Among Women with a History of Adverse Childhood Experiences," which she presented at the 2024 OPS Conference, and the second author of "Differences in Postpartum Depression Among Women with a History of Adverse Childhood Experiences," which was presented at the OSU undergraduate research symposium. Additionally, she is a research assistant to Dr. Yu’s Self-Regulation Development in Ecological Dynamic Systems (SeEDS) lab, a teacher assistant to Intro to Psychology, and an intern at OSU Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic. As an Honors Student, Bella is working on an honors thesis on the relationship between parental stress as a mediator between parental ACES and child emotion regulation outcomes.

Extracurricular activities include Panhellenic Vice President of Recruitment, Follies Steering Member twice, Judges and Awards Committee of Follies Steering, and currently serving on the Programs and Merchandising Committee of Follies Steering. As a Greek 100 Presenter, she provides educational sessions to different Greek chapters on Hazing prevention and sexual violence prevention. She is a member of Gamma Phi Beta Sorority, the OSU Psychology Club, and the American Association of University Women Club.

The psychology department is pleased to announce that Miranda Moore has been selected as October's Student of the Month. Miranda is from Broken Arrow, OK, and is pursuing a BS degree in Psychology with a minor in neuroscience.

Miranda has worked as a research assistant in several psychology labs, including the CALM Lab with Dr. Moore, EROS Lab with Dr. French, LEAP Lab with Dr. Grant, and Dr. Hayakawa’s cognitive-linguistics lab. In the Cognition, Attention, Law, and Memory (CALM) Lab, she was a research project team leader who helped collect data in Tulsa at the Discovery Lab, which involved working with children and using virtual reality. In the Evolution and Relationships at Oklahoma State (EROs) Lab, she was involved in several projects that took into account romantic relationships and evolutionary psychology theories. At the Laboratory of Emotion and Psychophysiology (LEAP), Miranda assisted with EEG and anxiety related clinical research. This semester, she is working with Dr. Hayakawa’s cognition lab and with Dr. Kennison under the Advancing Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (AURCA) Program. While her involvement in AURCA has just begun, Miranda plans to work under Dr. Kennison’s guidance until she graduates in Spring 2025.

When asked about her experiences at OSU, she says “The faculty, graduate students, and peers that I've had the privilege to meet and learn from have all been more than supportive in my pursuit of higher education in Psychology. Every opportunity and experience I've had with the Psychology Department has nourished my mind, and I've grown into a better student, researcher, and human being as a member of the Psychology Department. Thank you, everyone, for your support and generosity in helping to enrich my mind and soul. I am so grateful to have learned from you all.”

In the future, Miranda, wants to go to graduate school to pursue a PhD in research involving psychology, neuroscience, and cognitive science.

Psychology club's next meeting is October 15th at 5pm. We are painting our sign for the Homecoming sign contest!

Psychology club's second meeting is two weeks away, on October 1st at 5pm. They are having a fun trivia night with games, prizes, and snacks!

Our first general meeting for our Psychology Club was a success! Check out our officers and some of our members. Psych club plans to institute a "movie night" with psychological-themed movies, so watch for upcoming events and join the next meeting!

For Dr. Kathryn Weinland, a teaching associate professor in the Department of Psychology, the land-grant mission is central to the work she is doing in the community.

"The high school tutoring program at the Payne County Detention Center exemplifies Oklahoma State University's land-grant mission by extending the university's commitment to education and service to underserved communities and populations, particularly within the criminal justice system. This program also allows OSU to utilize resources that benefit and serve the broader public by empowering individuals with educational opportunities they might not otherwise have.

This program directly aligns with OSU’s land-grant mission by offering educational support to incarcerated individuals, a group often overlooked in society. Through tutoring and mentorship, OSU faculty and graduate students provide inmates with the academic skills and knowledge that can aid in their rehabilitation and eventual reintegration into society. This program not only benefits the inmates but also enriches our community and the educational experience of OSU faculty and graduate students, who gain practical, hands-on experience in applying their knowledge in impactful ways, fostering a deep sense of civic duty and social responsibility.

We are honored to lead OSU’s efforts in reaching out to our community members who are incarcerated and are deeply grateful for the support of the university, particularly through the College of Arts and Sciences Community Engagement Grant and the OSU Foundation."

Oklahoma State University Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University

The psychology department is pleased to announce that Claire Anderson has been selected as September's student of the Month. Claire is from New Braunfels, Texas, pursuing a BS degree in Psychology with a minor in Child Development.

Claire serves as a research assistant in both Dr. Ciciolla’s CAMP lab and Dr. Yu’s SeEDS Lab. In the CAMP lab, she is actively involved in The EMBRACE study, where she shadows graduate students during participant interviews and the collection of biological samples from mothers and their babies to measure cortisol levels. In the SeEDS Lab, she focuses on reviewing literature related to cultural socialization from early childhood through adolescence and contributes to screening potential participants for eligibility in the StILI-SiP study. Notably, Claire has presented a poster as a second author at the Oklahoma Psychological Society and as a first author at the OSU Undergraduate Research Symposium.

In addition to her work as a research assistant, Claire serves as a CAS Ambassador and office assistant at the University Counseling Services and is an active member of the Psyc Club and Psi Chi student organizations.

When asked about her experiences at OSU, she says “When I joined the psychology department in my sophomore year, I had no idea how great of an impact it would have on me. My academic advisor, professors, and graduate mentors have been extremely supportive and encouraging, consistently pushing me to reach my full potential. They have taught me that I am capable of achieving goals I once thought were out of reach. I feel so grateful to be part of this amazing community!”

In the future, Claire plans to attend graduate school to earn a PhD in Human Development and Family Sciences. Her ultimate goal is to become a professor and research socio-emotional development in early childhood and adolescence while striving to support future generations of psychology/HDFS students in achieving their own academic and professional goals.

Join us on Thursday, September 19th from 4-5:40 for Psi Chi's first event of the semester, Dogs, Desserts & Trivia! Join us for snacks and and evening with Petes Pet Posse. This event is open to all psychology students and staff.

Meet the '24-'25 Psi Chi Executive team!

Congratulations to Cassidy Armstrong! One of our 2024-2025 Remember the Ten Run Memorial Scholarship Recipients. Cass will be receiving a $1,000 scholarship this coming academic year.

Cassidy (Cass) Armstrong is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. They are originally from Waxahachie, Texas and they received a Bachelor of Science from Oklahoma State University in 2020. They are a fourth-year doctoral student at Oklahoma State University (OSU) in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program specializing in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) health psychology under the mentorship of Dr. Ashley B. Cole. They are interested in research investigating AI/AN health behaviors and health inequities, specifically examining variables such as trauma, substance use, and resilience factors. Their future ambitions are to conduct clinical work and research at an integrated healthcare facility to help individuals dealing with various types of trauma and related health concerns. Further, they aim to serve as a mentor to young researchers from marginalized groups to help promote future generations of clinical scientists from underrepresented backgrounds.

“It is with great humility and enthusiasm that I accept the Remember The Ten Run Scholarship. This is an incredibly prestigious honor that will support me in reaching my goals of earning a degree in higher education, which will allow me to establish a successful career as a clinical health psychologist. Further, this scholarship supports me to not only develop the necessary clinical skills to treat individuals that are dealing with trauma and various other health concerns, but also supports the research to examine the relationships among trauma and related mental and physical health outcomes. It is an honor and a privilege to receive a scholarship that honors the legacy and memory of ten members of our Oklahoma State family and promotes the urgent need for mental health services through support for the education of current graduate students pursuing careers in mental health.”

We are excited to announce that this is our 13th class of scholarship recipients! That means that next year, we will have awarded $130,000 to OSU Master’s and Doctoral students who are studying in areas related to grief counseling. We couldn’t do it without all the support from our participants, volunteers, donors and community! THANK YOU!

Congratulations to Gabriella Atencio! One of our 2024-2025 Remember the Ten Run Memorial Scholarship Recipients. Gabriella will be receiving a $1,000 scholarship this coming academic year.

Gabriella Atencio is a second-year clinical psychology PhD student, originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Although having lived most of her life in Albuquerque, Gabriella and her family are originally from Española, New Mexico. Gabriella received both her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Master of Business Administration degrees from the University of New Mexico.

"A little bit about the research that I do is that it’s focused around investigating how adversity dimensionally impacts an adolescent’s brain and mental health. The biomedical research that my lab (The Laboratory for the Adolescent Brain) conducts aim to assess how adversity impacts an adolescent’s brain development and parent-child relationships through the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging. Additionally, we are interested in identifying areas for resiliency for adolescents, and how the parent-child relationship can foster their ability for regulating their emotions.

My research background strongly influences my trauma informed clinical approach and provides me with an expansive perspective of how exposure to adversity can influence emotional and behavioral problems in youth. Receiving this scholarship will help me pay for traveling to these conferences where I can learn more from other adversity researchers and present my own research".

We are excited to announce that this is our 13th class of scholarship recipients! That means that next year, we will have awarded $130,000 to OSU Master’s and Doctoral students who are studying in areas related to grief counseling. We couldn’t do it without all the support from our participants, volunteers, donors and community! THANK YOU!

Congratulations to Olufunke Benson! One of our 2024-2025 Remember the Ten Run Memorial Scholarship Recipients. Funke will be receiving a $1,000 scholarship this coming academic year.

Olufunke Benson, or Funke (Foon-keh) for short, is a second-year graduate student in the clinical psychology doctoral program at Oklahoma State University. Her graduate mentor is Dr. LaRicka Wingate, working in the Black Equity and Mental Health Lab. Funke's research interests focus on exploring risk and protective factors for su***de in Black women, with the aim of mitigating mental health disorders in this population. Funke is Nigerian, and very proud of her culture and heritage. "Receiving this scholarship will aid in my journey to becoming an even better-rounded and connected clinical psychologist and researcher. As an international student with limited financial support, I face significant financial pressures, and this scholarship would help mitigate some of those challenges."

We are excited to announce that this is our 13th class of scholarship recipients! That means that next year, we will have awarded $130,000 to OSU Master’s and Doctoral students who are studying in areas related to grief counseling. We couldn’t do it without all the support from our participants, volunteers, donors and community! THANK YOU!

Congratulations to Alexandra Blair! One of our 2024-2025 Remember the Ten Run Memorial Scholarship Recipients. Alex will be receiving a $1,000 scholarship this coming academic year.

Alex is a proud member of the Cherokee Nation here in Oklahoma. She is currently enrolled as a fifth-year graduate student in the Clinical Psychology Doctoral program.

"I am honored to receive this scholarship. I have been part of the Oklahoma State University community for almost nine years now. I graduated with my undergraduate degree in 2019 and continued my graduate degree here from 2019 to now, and it has always felt like home. Throughout my academic journey here, I've witnessed and experienced Oklahoma State’s commitment to honoring and supporting their people, even in times of adversity and tragedy. As a student, this sense of unity holds significant meaning for me, and I take great pride in being associated with Oklahoma State University and will always be Loyal and True."

We are excited to announce that this is our 13th class of scholarship recipients! That means that next year, we will have awarded $130,000 to OSU Master’s and Doctoral students who are studying in areas related to grief counseling. We couldn’t do it without all the support from our participants, volunteers, donors and community! THANK YOU!