May 7, 2019
Students honored by psychological sciences department
The psychological sciences department announces this year's departmental award winners. These undergraduate and graduate students were honored at an event on April 27.
Chi-Leigh Warren, senior, Shawnee; and Shaylene Rees, senior, Topeka, received the John C. Peterson Undergraduate Scholarship Prize for outstanding graduating senior. Warren is a member of the K-State Psi Chi Honor Society, was the external vice president of the Entrepreneurship Club, and conducted research in Chris Lake's lab. After graduation she will be a doctoral student in our own department specializing in industrial/organizational psychology. Rees was the president of the Psi Chi Honorary Society this year, conducted research on persuasion in Laura Brannon's lab, served as a College of Arts and Sciences ambassador, and stayed active leading her sorority.
Jaylee York, senior, Scott City, is this year's recipient of the E. Jerry Phares Undergraduate Research Award. Her research with Don Saucier examined the relationship between white feminism and racial prejudice. York received a Shanteau Undergraduate Research Award last year, and was an Arts and Sciences Ambassador and Psi Chi officer. Following graduation, she plans to attend a clinical doctoral program with an emphasis in public and community mental health.
Christopher Vitols, junior, Bradenton, Florida, is the winner of the Curtis Lee and JB Gee Psychological Sciences Scholarship. This award is based on a combination of academic achievement and financial need. Vitols is the president of the K-State Student Veterans Association and a cadet in the U.S. Army.
Carrie Aponte, junior, Garden City; Jameson Brehm, junior, Perry; and Emilia Meza, junior, Prairie Village, are this year's recipients of the Doreen Shanteau Undergraduate Research Awards. The award provides funds to enable these students to conduct research with their faculty mentors during the following academic year. Aponte will work with Saucier to investigate the influence of masculine honor beliefs, gender, and publicity on perceptions of aggression. Brehm will analyze the effects of PTSD on event segmentation and attention to detail; he will be working with Heather Bailey and Barbara Pitts. Meza will investigate perceptions of the usage of Native American mascots and whether the usage is socially acceptable. She will be working with Saucier.
Frances Guffy, junior, Dalhart, Texas, received the Leon Rappoport Psychology Undergraduate Scholarship. This scholarship honors the memory of a faculty member in the psychological sciences department and is targeted at a nontraditional, high-achieving student. Guffy is a first-generation college student, mother of five, and is in the process of joining the Army National Guard.
The Sewell Undergraduate Research Scholarship was awarded to Sydni Huxman, senior, South Hutchinson. This is a new scholarship established to recognize undergraduates conducting research psychology with a preference for supporting first-generation and transfer students. Huxman conducted research in Gary Brase's lab on the evolutionary development and modern use of extradyadic relationships (backup mates and infidelity). She served as president of the Arts and Sciences Ambassadors, KAWSE ambassador and the CSI Student Advisory Council. Huxman received an honorable mention for the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and received a number of K-State awards.
The Dunlap Fellowship in Industrial Psychology was awarded to Cassandra Chlevin-Thiele, Downers Grove, Illinois. The fellowship is awarded to second-year students in K-State's industrial/organizational doctoral program who are doing well in assistantships, demonstrating productive research activity, and are making strong progress toward their degree.
The Outstanding Graduate Instructor Award was presented to Catherine Steele, Katy, Texas; Conor O'Dea, Manhattan; and Tucker Jones, Alamosa, Colorado. Steele taught General Psychology, Health Psychology and the Experimental Methods Lab. O'Dea taught General Psychology, Lifespan Personality Development, Social Psychology and Experimental Methods Lab. Jones taught General Psychology, Psychology of Childhood and Adolescence, Lifespan Personality Development and Experimental Methods Lab. They all received a monetary award thanks to the Nobuko S. Nicholson Opportunity Fund for Psychological Sciences.
The Outstanding Graduate Research Award/Harry Helson Memorial Scholarship had two recipients this year, Amanda Martens, Shelby, Iowa, and Evelyn Stratmoen, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Both have published multiple research papers in leading social psychology journals with the same advisor, Saucier.
Finally, the department gave the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award to Kimberly Newberry, Hazlet, New Jersey. She was nominated for her work with the Psychology of Aging class taught by Heather Bailey, but Newberry has a long history of strong performance in her teaching assistantships. Newberry's award was funded by the department's Graduate Teaching Assistant Support Fund that has been generously supported by a number of our alumni.
The faculty in the psychological sciences are proud of the many achievements of our outstanding students.