Five Sul Ross State University psychology students, accompanied by Associate Professor Alicia Trotman, Ph.D., attended the American Psychological Association (APA) convention held August 6-8 in Seattle. The students, who completed their research projects during their capstone research course, presented their proposals, which were accepted by various divisions within the APA.
Yolanda Rey Carlos, a Psi Chi Honors student and McNair Scholar, was accepted into Division 10: Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts, where she presented her ongoing research titled “Using Photovoice to Investigate Sources of Failure Among High-Achieving Mexican-American Female Undergraduate Students.”
Gabriel Cervantes shared his research, “The Lone Wolf Mentality? Examining the Effects Between Loneliness, Social Connectedness, and Cognitive Reappraisal Among College Students,” in Division 51: Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinities.
Brianna Berry, a research associate in Dr. Trotman’s PRISM lab and Psi Chi Honors student, presented “Evaluating the Depth and Relevance of Student-Led Podcasts at a Hispanic-Serving Institution” in Division 1: Society for General Psychology and Interdisciplinary Inquiry.
Daniel Flores, the honorary recipient of the Psychology Student of 2024 award, presented his research on “Investigating the Correlation Between Playing Action-adventure/Fantasy Video Games and Advanced Vocabulary Acquisition” during a poster session hosted by Division 46: Society for Media Psychology and Technology.
In addition to presenting their work, the students received invitations to apply for graduate programs and collaborate on research opportunities. They also had the honor of meeting APA President Cynthia de las Fuentes, the second Latina and a Texas native to hold the position.
“The students witnessed the incredible significance of mentorship,” said Trotman. “They repeatedly overheard students and faculty at the convention recalling their experiences of achieving their most lofty goals with the support of their mentors. Their mentors provided them with the linguistic cues, cultural mores of academia, emotional support, and professional validation that they needed entering as first-generation students.”
The students’ trip to Seattle was made possible through fundraising and financial support from the Student Government Association and the McNair Scholars Program.
The Sul Ross-provided photo accompanying this article features Daniel Flores, Candes Ramon, Brianna Berry, APA President Cynthia de las Fuentes, Dr. Alicia Trotman, Gabriel Cervantes, and Yolanda Rey Carlos.
Kudos to these Sul Ross students! It’s quite a milestone in the burgeoning careers of students and will help open doors to further their educations. Its a truism about education: work as hard & as smartly as you can so you find opportunities to do what most interests and motivates for the rest of your life! I hope we get updates on your successes because your successes prove what’s possible.
PS i’m sure there have been other wonderful success stories about students in our area but I just discovered this publication. I would love hearing more stories like this. Thsnks.