Letter from the Editors
Staff Articles
- The “Tiger Mom”: Stereotypes of Chinese Parenting in the United States
- The Volunteer Experience: Understanding and Fostering Global Citizenship
- Identity, Therapy, and Womanhood: Humanity in the Mafia
- “The Walking Wounded”: Here-and-now Coping Strategies to Ease the Reintegration of American Military Veterans
- Muslim-American Women in the United States: What is Considered Muslim Enough?
- Social Development in Democratic Elementary-School Classrooms
- The Impact of Parental Divorce on Emerging Adults’ Self-Esteem
- Discussing Sexuality with Children
- Acculturative Stress, Gender, and Mental Health Symptoms in Immigrant Adolescents
- Gendered Toy Preferences and Preschoolers’ Play Behaviors
- Lenses of Justice: Demographic, Cultural, Ideological, Socioemotional Factors & Distributive Justice
- The Role of Stereotype Vulnerability on Black Students’ Relational Engagement
- Multicultural Competence among Mental Health Professionals
- Teasing within English-Speaking Latino Families
- The Immigrant Paradox: Discrimination Stress and Academic Disengagement
- Trauma, Meaning-Making, and Identity in Young Women of Color
Grace Anzalone
gea230@nyu.edu
Grace Anzalone is a junior majoring in Applied Psychology. Her research interests include personality theories and factors that protect at risk youth from anti-social outcomes. Grace is involved in applied research at the University at Buffalo, and also volunteers at the ASPCA. After graduation, she hopes to pursue a career in clinical psychology.
Kelsey Block
klb488@nyu.edu
Kelsey Block is a junior studying Applied Psychology at New York University. She spends her free time working with adolescents at The Door, and teaching health classes for Peer Health Exchange. She is currently a member of Dr. Elise Cappella’s research team working on a project studying the academic and social emotional development of students when transitioning to secondary school, and which aspects of school and community help adolescents during this transition. She wouldn’t be where she is today without the unconditional support from her parents, and her biggest inspiration, her brother.
Christine Campo
cmc674@nyu.edu
Christine Campo is a graduating Honors student in NYU’s Applied Psychology Department with a minor in Creative Writing and a concentration in Spanish Language. She will begin a Masters program in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness at NYU this fall. Her interests in psychology include psychosexual development and parent-child socialization. For the past two years, she has conducted an independent research study with Dr. Ronald Moglia which focuses on Parental Attitudes toward Childhood Sexual Behaviors and how these attitudes translate into parenting practices.The findings of this study have been presented at both the NYU Applied Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference and at the Stanford Undergraduate Psychology Conference. Christine has worked on several research teams in addition to collecting her own data under the direction of Dr. Moglia. These teams include: Dr. Mattis’ Project PEARLS, Dr. McClowery’s Project INSIGHTS and, currently, Dr. Juni’s Spanish Language Propaganda Team. In addition to extensive research experience, she has served as an assistant supervisor at a summer camp for over five years and has tutored middle school students at the University Settlement/YMCA in Chinatown for three years. She also was a member several clubs at NYU including Psi Chi Psychology Honor Society and Inside Scoop, a club in which upper-classmen mentor freshman and transfer students in the Applied Psychology Program.
Sarah Collins
scc386@nyu.edu
Sarah Collins is a junior in the Applied Psychology program, with a minor in American Sign Language. She currently holds internships at the Employment Program for Recovering Addicts, gaining clinical experience in the substance abuse and vocational field, and at the Sloan Kettering Pediatric Inpatients unit, helping children with cancer enjoy themselves through various activities in the hospital. She is a member of NYU’s Psi Chi chapter, the International Honor Society for Psychology. She intends to attend graduate school to obtain a PsyD degree, with the goal of becoming a psychologist specializing in adolescent addiction and mental health.
Emily Gallagher
ekg239@nyu.edu
Emily Gallagher is a Junior in Applied Psychology. She is a member of Dr. Elise Capella’s research team and has worked on both the INSIGHTS study and Project Friend. Emily is also co-president of the APUG Club. Her research interests include school interventions, teacher-student relationships and Autism.
Andrew Green
acg433@nyu.edu
Andrew Greene is a senior in the Applied Psychology department at New York University and a consultant for the Public Science project at CUNY Graduate Center. Andrew has a passion for education reform and student empowerment which he pursues through his qualitative research on urban education, student experience and piloting intervention models. In his free time he runs an inner city mentorship program for young men called H.O.L.L.A! (How Our Lives Link Altogether) and is a resident assistant. His inspiration stems from his son Cory, his wife Teresa, his passion for societal equality, and his breadth of life experience.
Alesha Gooden
arg393@nyu.edu
Alesha is a senior majoring in Applied Psychology with minors in Sociology and Gender & Sexuality Studies. She has previously worked with the Center for Health, Identity, Behavior, and Prevention Studies (CHIBPS) and has served as a peer mentor for Inside Scoop! and as the Secretary of Psi Chi: The International Honor Society in Psychology at NYU. Alesha currently works with Dr. Gigliana Melzi’s Latino Family Involvement Project and Dr. Arnold Grossman’s SOGI-Q Project. Her personal research interests include the psychosocial development of gender identity across the lifespan and gender-variance in urban settings. This past year, Alesha designed her own study and collected data for her honors thesis under the mentorship of Dr. Gigliana Melzi, exploring children’s gendered toy preferences and play behaviors and their relation to caregivers’ gender-typed beliefs. Upon the completion of this academic year, Alesha will gain work experience before pursuing a graduate degree in a psychology-related field.
Vera Stiefler Johnson
vsj208@nyu.edu
Vera Stiefler Johnson is a junior who, as an ex-CAS student, is excited to begin her Applied Psychology coursework in autumn. Having grown up in diverse countries such as Vietnam, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Denmark, and China, she has developed a strong interest in the issues facing women across cultures. She hopes to use an applied psychology foundation to work against gender discrimination and human trafficking, particularly with regard to refugees, recent immigrants, and victims
Seren Karasu
sk3614@nyu.edu
Seren Karasu is a graduating senior in the Applied Psychology program at New York University. She is currently on Dr. Elise Cappella’s research team exploring peer social networks of early adolescents. Her own research interests include K-12 education, social relationships, race and ethnicity, and social justice. Seren has a growing interest in social policy and law, which she plans to explore upon graduation.
Savanna Keator
sfk253@nyu.edu
Savanna Keator is a graduating senior in the Applied Psychology program. She is a member of Dr. Selcuk Sirin’s lab, working on his NYCASES and MAP projects. Her research interests include therapist multicultural competence, the efficacy of therapy across different cultures, and bereavement therapy as it pertains to different types of losses. Following graduation, Savanna is returning to NYU Steinhardt’s Applied Psychology department to attend the Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness Master’s program this fall. Her career aspiration is to become a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in New York State.
Aakriti Malhotra
am3734@nyu.edu
Aakriti Malhotra is a senior in the Applied Psychology program, with a minor in Anthropology. Her research interests are focused on children and minority populations. Aakriti currently works on Dr. Melzi’s LFIP Research Team, which does research on lower income Latino families. Upon completion of her bachelor’s degree, Aakriti has plans to work, travel, and perhaps attend graduate school. She is interested in working in social justice and non-profit programs. While she has not found her passion yet, Aakriti is looking forward to an exciting future.Savanna Keator is a graduating senior in the Applied Psychology program. She is a member of Dr. Selcuk Sirin’s lab, working on his NYCASES and MAP projects. Her research interests include therapist multicultural competence, the efficacy of therapy across different cultures, and bereavement therapy as it pertains to different types of losses. Following graduation, Savanna is returning to NYU Steinhardt’s Applied Psychology department to attend the Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness Master’s program this fall. Her career aspiration is to become a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in New York State.
Mercedes J. Okosi
mjo296@nyu.edu
Mercedes J. Okosi is a graduating senior in the Applied Psychology program with a minor in Spanish. She is a Case Manager at the AIDS Service Center, a nonprofit organization that provides comprehensive services for individuals affected by or at risk of HIV infection. She previously worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator in training at Fieve Clinical Research Inc. assisting with clinical drug trials for anxiety and depression. She also worked as an Intake Counselor at The Door, a community organization that helps disconnected youth achieve their greatest potential. At The Door, she carried out a small, independent, qualitative study examining traumatic experiences, meaning-making, and identity formation of young women of color. Mercedes’ research interests revolve around mental illness, stigma, and identity development of adolescents of marginalized populations including young women, people of color, and the LGBTQ community. Upon graduation, Mercedes will continue her work at AIDS Service Center until the start of her graduate studies at Rutgers University’s Clinical Psychology Psy.D program.
Sophie Spiegel
sms892@nyu.edu
Sophie Spiegel is a senior in the Applied Psychology program at NYU. For the past two semesters she worked at NYU Metro Center Upward Bound/1199 Workforce 2000 Program working high school students who either have a learning or physical disability who are potential first-generation college students. Although Sophie has been working with high school students, her interests lie in working with children with behavioral disorders, ranging from Autism to ADHD and counseling. This summer, she will be working at The Summer Program for Kids, which is a rigorous day camp treatment for children with ADHD. Sophie’s interests come from her sister Miranda and personal life experiences. She hopes to pursue a career with a focus in behavioral disorders in children or counseling.
Lauren Tkach
ltkach@nyu.edu
Lauren Tkach is a graduating senior in the Applied Psychology program with a concentration in media and communications. Lauren is interested in understanding how our social contexts guide our perceptions of branding, and how that in turn affects our consumer behavior. She is also interested in education policy and the formation of Latin American identity among American-born Latino millennials. After graduation, she will be working in the field of advertising and strategic marketing. In her free time, she loves planning events, drawing, and learning new digital tools such as Adobe Creative Suite and various coding languages.
Yimkwan Tsang
yimkwan.tsang@nyu.edu
Yimkwan Tsang is a junior in the Applied Psychology program with a minor in Web Programming and Applications. She is currently a member of Dr. Selcuk Sirin’s research team working on a qualitative analysis of interview data from immigrant-origin adolescents. Her general research interests include the role of social support across cultures and indigenous psychology in Chinese cultures. Upon completing her bachelor’s degree, she plans to pursue a degree in Clinical Psychology in either the U.S. or Hong Kong.