Congratulations to Samantha Lawrence, recipient of the 2020 University Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award from the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. This is a university-wide award as well and recognizes Sam’s amazing contributions in the HDFS classroom.

Doctoral student Yuan Zhang is the 2020 recipient of the President’s Commitment to Community Initiative award, in the amount of $1000, for her Research Proposal “The Relation Between Acculturation and Mental Health of International Students.”

During the Fall 2019 semester, Dr. Laura Donorfio’s undergraduate Adulthood & Aging students have been interviewing OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) members about the meaning of lifelong learning as part of the “An OLLI Minute” podcast project.  Click here to listen!

Julie Brisson (junior HDFS honors student) was selected as a 2020 University Scholar.  Professor Preston Britner serves on her faculty advisory committee.

Graduate student Ellen Pudney was recently featured on the Full Bloom Project podcast about her study on the connections between weight stigma and parental weight talk. The Full Bloom Project was founded by two psychotherapists who work with adolescents with eating disorders to provide research-informed resources for parents who want to promote self-esteem and positive body image in their children at all ages.  You can listen to the podcast through the Full Bloom Project website, or on iTunes.

Sarah McKee, HDFS doctoral student, received the Outstanding Student Abstract Award for her abstract, “Pilot Testing the Wellness School Assessment Tool for the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model” at the American Public Health Association.  This project was in collaboration with Professor Marlene Schwartz.

Seliana Seradieu (an HDFS senior) and her sister, Smana, started a non-profit agency. Change for Haitian Youth is a New York based 501(c)(3) operating in Haiti, whose mission is to improve the lives of Haitian students with a main focus on education. Seliana and Smana were both born and raised in Haiti and wanted to find a way to combine their love for their country and their dedication to the advancement of education, and this organization was their way of doing so! They hope that by providing students with resources such as English and computer courses, they can provide them with the confidence to pursue opportunities that will impact their lives.

HDFS doctoral student Sumbleen Ali was selected from a pool of 97 applicants, to serve on the President’s Council on Race and Diversity.