Lenka is a first-year in-flight doctoral student in the Human Development and Family Science program. Lenka is originally from Beijing, China. She graduated from Ohio State University with her Bachelors of Arts in Psychology and a Minor in Education. She has two-years of experience working in child developmental labs and has held an internship in a primary school. Lenka also had two-months of experience as an intern in a youth psychiatric hospital. These undergraduate experiences helped her to focus her research interests in parenting and parent-child relationships. She wants to understand how parents’ behaviors and relationships influence their child’s development and how these factors contribute to a better family environment for child growth.

Lenka enjoys reading suspense/detective novels and love stories. In her spare times, she like spending time with family and friends, playing online games or watching movies together. Her favorite way to spend holidays and vacations is traveling around world to actually “experience” every miracle that historical stories left.

Alexis is an in-flight doctoral student in the Human Development and Family Sciences program. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Florida State University in Family and Child Sciences and Psychology. Her research interests include the development of psychopathology, with a particular interest in the development of eating disorders, victimization experienced in childhood, and anxious solitude. Through her research, she hopes to gain a better understanding of factors that influence the development of psychopathology.

In her spare time, Alexis enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and her dog, Teddy. She loves to read, especially thriller and mystery novels, but she also loves a good romance novel. Additionally, she loves to crochet and watch sports, especially the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Karina is currently a first-year doctoral student in the Human Development and Child Sciences program. She was born in Toluca, Mexico but considers Fort Worth, Texas to be her home since she moved there after her first birthday.

She graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.S in Psychology and a minor in Neuroscience.

Karina is interested in studying the outcomes of maternal stress, trauma, and depression on pre and postnatal development and why some children exposed to these early childhood stressors develop resilience while others do not. She is also interested in examining cross-cultural differences in children exposed to trauma, specifically within Latinx populations.

Karina plans on staying in academia so that she can pursue her passion for research and teaching.

In her spare time, she enjoys listening to an unhealthy amount of true-crime podcasts, her favorite being Morbid A True Crime Podcast and Crime Junkie. She also enjoys taking photos of her beloved beagle-mix, Dopamine (A.K.A Dopey), for his own Instagram page. She enjoys all things outdoors and hopes to one day see an alligator in its natural habitat.

I am currently a first-year doctoral student in the Human Development and Family Sciences program. I was born in Lakeland, Florida and have always wanted to attend Florida State University to earn my degrees. I graduated from FSU with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Child Development. My research interests surround child well-being, parenting, and parent-child relationships; I am also specifically interested in how environmental factors can impact a child’ s development and growth.

In my spare time, I enjoy reading all kinds of novels, catching up on my favorite shows (huge Grey’s Anatomy fan), spending time with my friends, being outside, and traveling. I love vacationing and seeing new places; I hope to visit most places around the world in my lifetime. My most prized possession is my baby, a black lab named Bry (or Bubba) and we love to spend time together, go on walks, and have mommy-son days outside.

Chorong is a doctoral student in the Marriage and Family Therapy program. She received her master’s degree in school counseling at Purdue University and worked as a lecturer and researcher before coming to Florida State University. Her research interests include parent child relationships, mother’s mental health and children’s emotional development, cultural differences in parenting, and evidence based practices for family and child therapy.

Chorong loves spending time with children, reading, cooking and climbing.

Dylann is in the Marriage and Family Therapy Doctoral Program. Prior to joining the program, she received her B.S. in Human Development and Family Science and B.S. in Business Administration from Oklahoma State University. Following her undergraduate studies, she pursued a master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy at Auburn University. Dylann has served in a wide variety of clinical settings including working with underserved populations of the Tuskegee/Auburn/Opelika cities. Her clinical focus is providing trauma-informed care for families with children ages 4 -12. Upon graduation from Florida State University, Dylann wants to continue research to influence trauma intervention within families.

Dylann is originally from Woodward, Oklahoma but has loved getting to live in different states and traveling. During her time at Auburn, she adopted a dog and named him Derby-Jett and has loved having an adventure buddy. In her spare time, Dylann loves trying new foods and exploring Tallahassee. Additionally, she loves sports including watching the Oklahoma State Cowboys football team and the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team.

Crystal is a first-year doctoral student in the Marriage and Family Therapy program. She received a B.A. in Psychology & Spanish from Texas Tech University where she then completed a master’s degree in Couple, Marriage, and Family Therapy. She has experience working with a variety of populations in different settings including the juvenile justice system. Crystal’s research interests include Feminist Family Therapy, social justice, self of the therapist, and working to improve therapy retention rates within Hispanic communities. After graduation, she hopes to work in an academic setting while also continuing her clinical work.

Crystal is originally from Puerto Rico but primarily grew up in central Texas. She enjoys traveling and going on road trips with friends. One of her biggest bucket list goals is to visit every U.S. national park. In her free time she enjoys reading, watching movies, rollerblading, crocheting, and spending time with her dog Baker.

Chioma is a doctoral student in the Human Development and Family Science program. She obtained her bachelor’s degree (B.Sc. Ed.) and master’s (M.Ed.) in Home Economics from the University of Nigeria Nsukka. While studying Home Economics, Chioma understood the nature of humans as it relates to their physical, biological, social, intellectual, emotional, mental, and psychological development and well-being. She was exposed to different areas of knowledge that helped proffer solutions to problems in the family and society. Chioma is passionate about understanding and improving the health and well-being of individuals and families. Through her research interests, she intends to enhance relationships among family members, establish healthy lifestyles, and promote the general well-being and health of the individuals in the family. She would achieve this by researching mindfulness and well-being in individuals, families, and the community at large, thus, helping them to become aware of their feelings and pay attention to their thoughts so that, instead of being overwhelmed by them, they are better able to manage them.

Chioma loves to involve herself with positive thoughts and engage in things that make her feel happy and loved. Specifically, she loves entertainment, cooking, listening to songs, singing, dancing, and watching games. She also loves to spend time with children and assist individuals and families who are in need.

Carson is a doctoral student in Marriage and Family Therapy. She received both her B.S. in Psychology and her Master of Marriage and Family Therapy from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Her primary research interests include risk, resilience, and intersectionality. Carson is passionate about creating research that centers around marginalized families and hopes to use her research to advocate for systemic change. In the future, she aims to work as a professor at the master’s level where she can help train the next generation of Marriage and Family Therapists.

In her free time, Carson enjoys spending time with her friends and family. She loves binging the newest tv shows, playing tennis, and listening to music.

Kayla is a doctoral student in the Human Development and Family Science program. Her advisor is Dr. Ming Cui. She graduated with her B.A. in Psychology at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina. Kayla has worked in a variety of different clinical settings with children, which led to her passion of researching youth populations. Her current research focuses on how negative mothering attitudes influence childhood anxiety symptoms. Kayla plans on going into academia after graduation, with goals to be a research mentor and professor.

Kayla most importantly loves spending time with her friends, family, and partner, Patrick. She enjoys spending time outside in nature, especially while walking her dogs.

Nick is a doctoral student in Marriage and Family Therapy. He earned his B.A. in Psychology from Indiana University Southeast and later, his M.S. in Couple & Family Therapy from Purdue University Northwest. Nick is passionate about understanding the role of therapy – and therapists – in helping foster effective and just systemic change in relational systems; both inside and outside of the therapy room. His research interests primarily focus on the use of relational ethics in clinical and professional decision-making, as well the use of an intersectional perspective in guiding effective mentorship and training of emerging therapists. Additionally, he also has specific scholarly interests in issues facing aging clinical populations, and how therapists systemically conceptualize death and the dying process in therapeutic settings. Nick aims to one day serve as an instructor and supervisor for Master’s-level MFT trainees, where he will be able to directly witness and contribute to the development of the next generation of systemic therapists and scholar-clinicians.

Whether it’s going camping, hiking, or just taking an easy drive around the scenic back roads of his hometown in Southern Indiana, Nick is at his happiest in nature. He is also a fan of table-top role-playing games, and gets together regularly with friends and colleagues from across the country to catch-up, tell stories, and roll a few dice!