Yuanyuan (Sunny) Zhang is an HDFS PhD candidate on track to complete her degree in August 2026. She began her academic journey studying applied psychology at both the Bachelor’s and Master’s levels in China. During her last year of college, while navigating academic stress, she first encountered mindfulness — and the experience left a lasting impression of relaxation, joy, and self-care. During her Master’s program, she went on to lead mindfulness groups for participants of all ages, from elementary school children to older adults. Over time, she came to a simple realization: mindfulness and research didn’t just create change for others — they gave her own life a sense of meaning and purpose. That conviction carried her into doctoral study.

At UConn, Yuanyuan works under the guidance of Dr. Beth Russell. Currently for her dissertation she is collaborating with Dr. Russell and Sihui Lyu on a culturally tailored mindfulness and yoga intervention designed specifically for Chinese international students. The study is a four-week, two-arm randomized controlled trial aiming to reduce acculturative stress and improve mental health, emotional well-being, and executive functioning. The team has already enrolled over 40 participants, with recruitment still underway. Alongside her intervention work, Yuanyuan has a strong interest in evidence synthesis. Her first dissertation paper is a systematic review and meta-analysis on mindfulness-based interventions and executive functioning among emerging adults aged 18–25. She found a significant moderate overall effect of mindfulness on executive functioning, with particularly promising results for inhibition and updating. Beyond research, Yuanyuan is passionate about teaching. She has been the instructor for Adulthood & Aging (HDFS 2200) for the past two semesters — an experience shaped by the thoughtful mentorship of Dr. Candi Nwakasi, whose guidance on teaching style and classroom management has meant a great deal to her.

Looking ahead, Yuanyuan plans to keep building on her work in mindfulness intervention and meta-analysis. She hopes to develop programs that support college students navigating the school-to-work transition, with a focus on work-life balance, and to conduct larger-scale meta-analyses of mindfulness RCTs. She is currently exploring postdoctoral opportunities and looking forward to what comes next.

Outside of her academic life, Yuanyuan enjoys meditation, baking, painting, and making handmade crafts.

Madeline Jones Hebert received a research grant from the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Graduate Certificate program to support her work and professional development at the SRCD SOGIE Caucus Global Forum in August. Congratulations Madeline!

Tochukwu (TC) is a first year Ph.D. student in Human Development and Family Sciences, specializing in Adulthood, Aging, and Gerontology. His academic advisor is Dr. Candi Nwakasi. TC earned his Master’s degree in gerontology from Miami University in Ohio and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in social work from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. TC’s academic journey reflects a commitment to aging, and family caregiving, particularly in underserved communities such as in rural places where resources for aging adults are limited.

Primarily, TC’s interest in gerontology stems from his relationship with his grandma. As a young child who spent most of his summer holidays with his maternal grandma in the village, he became fascinated by his grandma’s resilience even though she was/and is still living with a chronic disease. With time, TC became concerned about his grandma’s wellbeing given the lack of formal infrastructure to support her aging experience, and he quickly realized that his grandma was not alone. In fact, her experience was common among older adults in Nigeria, especially in rural settings. Therefore, TC became invested in understanding aging issues in Nigeria and beyond. Secondarily, TC owes his commitment to gerontology as an academic field to his professors from his undergraduate education, and mentors who have contributed to his career growth in the field of gerontology.

TC loves to be actively involved in community service whenever he can. He served as Community Integration Officer (CIO) for the Nigerian Students’ Association at Miami University. He is also a member of Dibịa Akwụkwọ: Social Solutions Research Group (SSRG), a group of young emerging scholars who engage in supervised research. TC loves football (soccer) and is an ardent “Red Devil” (Manchester United fan).

Isabelle Aragon-Menzel is a first-year PhD student specializing in Health, Wellbeing, and Prevention. Prior to coming to UConn, she earned her Master of Public Health (MPH) at the Colorado School of Public Health on the CU Anshutz Medical Campus, specializing in Population Mental Health and Wellbeing; and earned her BA at Colorado College, majoring in Sociology and double minoring in Education and English. During her MPH experience, Isabelle worked with her advisor on a mixed-methods needs-assessment on early adolescent mental health status in Darjeeling, India. The findings from the project were used to inform a community-based prevention program centering around community gardens. Additionally, Isabelle facilitated a pilot program for STEM-based learning with community partners in Denver through her work at the Hub for Justice-Centered Youth Engagement. Through this work, Isabelle has developed a passion for research surrounding adolescents’ mental health, community-based participatory research, and qualitative methodology.

At UConn, Isabelle is working with Dr. Beth Russell and the Center for Applied Research in Human Development (CARHD). As a doctoral student, she hopes to expand her research on adolescent mental health and applied research, focusing on specific adolescent mental health outcomes such as suicidality, substance use, non-suicidal self-injury, stress, and coping. She is currently a research assistant for two projects in Dr. Russell’s lab: the Connecticut School-Based Diversion Initiative and 21^st Century. Over the course of her doctoral experience, she hopes to learn with and from her peers, gain experience in classroom-teaching, and develop her identity as a scholar, researcher, and lifelong learner. Her long-term goals are to conduct meaningful research and earn the opportunity to be a professor one day. Anchoring these goals are her core values of love, humanity, and equity for all.

Isabelle is a proud Minnesotan (brr!) but has called Colorado a second home for the past several years. In her free time, you can always find her working on a puzzle and watching a comfort TV show (for cold weather) or enjoying a run/walk/hike in the sun while listening to some good music (for warm weather). For all weather, spending time with loved ones – old and new – remains her favorite pastime!

Zakiya Johnson is a first-year PhD student specializing in Diversity and Culture and Child and Adolescent Development. Prior to coming to UConn, she graduated magna cum laude with her Bachelors of Science in Psychology and a minor in sociology from Iowa State University. While at Iowa State, Zakiya participated in multiple research labs and projects, studying a range of topics from children’s and adolescents’ identity development to long-term romantic relationships in older adulthood. As an undergraduate student, Zakiya presented her research on Black girls’ and adolescents’ ethnic-identity development and its association with mental health and self-esteem at the 2023 Society for Research on Child Development. After graduating from Iowa State, Zakiya spent time in Minneapolis, working in clinical research, where she studied risk factors for dementia in aging Black Americans and biotechnology for atrial fibrillation patients. She has also served as a volleyball coach, study abroad mentor, and spent three years working in childcare and as a nanny. She credits these experiences for shaping her interest in youth development, education, and programming.

At UConn, Zakiya works under the mentorship of Dr. Marketa Burnett as part of The Dream Collab. Their work uses qualitative methods to center the voices of Black girls and parents to envision various ways to best support Black girls’ thriving. Long term, Zakiya plans to use research as a tool to create programming and influence policy that creates a more equitable society for all children, with a special interest in Black girls and adolescents. She aspires to produce research that amplifies the voices of marginalized youth, creating accessible, representative research that reflects and supports the experiences of under-researched populations.

Outside of academia, Zakiya enjoys playing volleyball, traveling, reading, knitting, and spending time with her friends and family. She is passionate about community building and engagement and enjoys volunteering, mentoring, and hosting events whenever her time allows.

Críscila Ramos is a first-year PhD student in the Diversity and Culture specialization. Before joining UConn, she worked as an attorney in Brazil, earned her bachelor’s degree in Law from Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora in Brazil in 2021, including a period of study at the Università Degli Studi di Camerino in Italy. She also completed her interdisciplinary master’s degree from Universidade Federal Fluminense in Brazil in Legal and Social Sciences in 2023. During this time, Críscila set out to analyze the international migration and work experiences of Brazilian women who emigrated to the United States, mainly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout her participation at the Human Rights Reference Center of the Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (Governador Valadares campus) and her professional career, she also contributed to outreach and research activities through educational initiatives and legal counseling for vulnerable communities in Brazil.

At UConn, Críscila explores the intersection of migration, human development, and social justice, examining how public policies shape the quality of life, health, and overall well-being of immigrant populations. She is advised by Dr. Kevin Ferreira van Leer and currently works on the Elevating Equity project, investigating how structural factors, such as variation in social policy exclusions for Immigrants, and the strengths and resources of Immigrant communities, such as community characteristics, are associated with the well-being of Immigrant families in the United States. Críscila believes in the benefits of a community engagement research approach and intends to continue using this methodology in her research to better understand the challenges these families face, with the goal of proposing more effective interventions that promote their health and well-being.

Críscila was born in the city of Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and enjoys spending her free time with family and friends, visiting new places, and learning new languages. She is passionate about research and intends to apply her interdisciplinary experience to promote the well-being of marginalized communities.

Congratulations to Angel Reed for publishing an article in the journal Personality and Individual Differences! More information available here:

Hall, B. T., Rebaldo, T., Geist, A., *Reed, A., & George, D. (2026). Flirting for me or flirting for we? The Dark and Light Triads as predictors of flirting motive. Personality and Individual Differences, 251, 113565. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2025.113565

Gloria Oladeji’s nonprofit organization, The GLEA Network, was selected for the UConn MLK Legacy Award in the category of Team/Organization. Gloria is the founder of this youth-led nonprofit that advances girls’ education, health, and empowerment in underserved communities. Congratulations Gloria! Learn more here: https://diversity.uconn.edu/mlk2026/