Laurie Bernadel
I’m currently working in the ophthalmology field as an ophthalmic assistant. Due to my interest in child & family development, I continue my exposure to this population by working for a pediatric ophthalmologist. I have been struggling to decide what specifically I am interested in because I have a wide net of interests in many fields. Therefore I have not applied to a graduate program yet, but as of late I am drawn towards occupational therapy for children as it relates to speech and motor skill development. Research wise, I remain interested in the poor and marginalized families of the USA and the world, the effects of the foster care system on children’s psyche, and the emotional & financial journeys of those who struggle with infertility.
Laura Deem
Laura earned her B.A. in psychology from UNC Chapel Hill in 2016 where she researched preschoolers’ executive functions, social interactions, and school readiness. She also investigated impacts of pregnant women’s drug use, and bed sharing on infant sleep and behavior. After graduating, she began volunteering in UNCC’s psychology department with Dr. Armstrong and Dr. Scott, working on their iCare project. She also worked on the Parent Emotion Regulation Ability (PERA) project researching factors that predict parents’ negative emotions after watching stress and health-related videos of kids facing weight related challenges. Currently, she works in UNCC’s elementary education department researching teachers’ skill in identifying effective teacher-child interactions, and coaches’ ability to provide consistent feedback to student teachers. In fall 2018 she will begin her first year as a clinical psychology Ph.D. student at the University at Albany SUNY. Laura is interested in how child-level influences (emotion regulation and executive functions) and environmental-level (peers, teachers, and parents) might impact children’s behavioral, social, and cognitive development.
Aminah Hardy
My research interests are in the areas of developmental psychopathology and development of parenting interventions during the early childhood years for families at risk. I have had the opportunity to explore the multidimensional construct of parenting with two different researchers, which has allowed me to consider the influences of parenting on child developmental outcomes from multiple perspectives. I am currently finishing up my MSc in developmental psychology at Trent University, and plan to attend the University of Toronto in the Fall of 2018 to complete a PhD in Developmental Psychology and Education studying youth mental health and the juvenile justice system.
Alexis Jackson
I am a McNair Scholar at Washington State University, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Comparative Ethnic Studies, where I conduct research on the erasure of black female sexual assault victims in the media and in literature. I am an undergraduate research assistant, interning through UNCC’s Summer Program to Increase Diversity in Undergraduate Research (SPIDUR), while working under the faculty mentorship of Dr. Laura Armstrong in her Child and Family Development Lab. I will be applying to twelve PhD programs this Fall 2018, as I work towards beginning graduate school in the Fall of 2019.
Samantha Klaver
After graduating from UNC Charlotte, I spent two years as a research assistant at Brown University, working on several large, federally-funded research projects relating to impoverished and at-risk families. Currently, I am pursuing my masters degree in clinical psychology at Western Carolina University, examining the association between non-offending maternal caregivers’ childhood maltreatment experiences and those of their children. My research interests broadly include child maltreatment, the intergenerational transference of trauma, and specific maternal factors (such as maternal psychopathology, maternal emotion regulation, and maternal attachment), which may present as pathways for trauma transference.
Summer McKinney
My research interests focuses on the role cultural beliefs/expectations, and family dynamics may play on the social-emotional development, identity, resilience and academic achievement of ethnic minority youth over a period of time. Recently I have found an interest in the role inclusive and non-inclusive environments (specifically academic and work) play on the social- emotional development and identity of those living with disabilities. I hope to be accepted into a M.S/Ph.D. program in developmental psychology in the near future.
Devin Whalen
I am currently going for my MS in Economics and Graduate Certificate in Applied Econometrics at UNC Charlotte. For my master’s thesis I am currently researching new statistical methods for predicting mortgage default. My other research interest involves recession forecasting.