I grew up in Eastern North Carolina and am the first person in my family to attend college. As I navigated through Duke, I discovered an interest in mental health research and education. I have always imagined myself in the healthcare space, and I admire how individualized psychology is and allows people to open up about their experiences. I have worked as a research assistant on various projects, including studying patient-physician communication, mental health and intimate partner violence, improving adolescent sleep regularity, and suicidal ideation among veterans. I am also a Costanzo Teaching Fellow for the 2023-24 academic year, where I get to be a teaching assistant for the Intro Psychology 101 course. Outside of the classroom, I am a DukeLIFE peer mentor for first-year students to guide them through the unique college experiences of being first-generation, low-income, or both. I am also involved in Kesem, a national organization that supports children through and beyond a caregiver's cancer, the Duke tour guides program, peer mental health coaching, and launching a new affinity group for students of mixed-race and multicultural backgrounds. In my co- and extracurriculars, working alongside others and being a part of genuine and vulnerable work has been the highlight. I worked with the Baker Center for Children and Families as a counselor at Camp Baker, their Summer Treatment Program for kids with ADHD and other related disorders. The tiring but rewarding experience affirmed my desire to work with young children and adolescents in a clinical psychology setting.
“As a Cardea Fellow, I feel like I have a group of helpful and nonjudgmental peers I can go to for advice about anything like classes or gap years, vent to, or have fun with.”
