It is always a pleasure to highlight an outstanding student for the distinguished Henry Barnard Award, and this year’s choice in Psychological Science is Ms. Helena Swanson. Helena is an honor’s student with a 3.87 GPA, who has not only excelled in her classwork, but who taken advantage of every opportunity during her time at Central Connecticut State University.
Academically, Helena has excelled taking challenging and demanding coursework, often scoring at the top of the class. Not only did she excel in coursework in Psychological Science, but also in her minor, Gerontology. She worked with several colleagues in the department on research and co-authored four accepted poster presentations to submit to the Eastern Psychological Association conference, the Southern Gerontological Society conference, and an upcoming American Psychological Association conference. She has co-authored grant applications to help cover the costs associated with travel to these conferences. She also is working on a manuscript with Dr. Joanne DiPlacido on perceived control and academic performance, examining the mediating effect of good nutritional habits. Helena is also working with Dr. Andrea June learning how to conduct a program evaluation at the Newington Senior Center, helping the center to assess whether they are meeting the educational, entertainment, and the physical needs of residents of the center. She has realized the importance of honing research skills and is taking full advantage of working with several faculty members in the department on different studies. She plans to go to graduate school to become a community or health psychologist and realizes that these experiences will make her a better candidate for a doctoral program in psychology. She has already been accepted to the Depaul University’s Ph.D. program in Community Psychology!
Helena not only has taken advantage of academic experiences, but several leadership roles within the Department. Working with Dr. Caleb Bragg, she enrolled as a peer tutor working in his Research Methods I and II classes. As a designated tutor, she would help students in the classroom as they tried to master statistical tests, helping them with the theory behind the tests, showing them how to perform the tests within SPSS (a statistical software package used in the Social Sciences), and finally, showing them how to report their results in APA style. She has also served as the Department’s peer tutor intern for the past 2 semesters, overseeing the scheduling and helping with the training of the other peer tutors under Dr. Bragg’s supervision.
In addition, Helena was very active in the international Honors Society, Psi Chi, assuming the role of President for this academic year. She has also served as the Vice-President of the chapter. Our Psi Chi chapter is very active, and Helena has spearheaded a number of initiatives, including the Help Helped Me initiative, providing information and resources to students about psychiatric disorders. Helena also has served as the Treasurer and Secretary/Public Relations for the Gerontology Club. Recognized for her outstanding academic excellence and Psi Chi involvement, Helena recently was awarded a Psi Chi undergraduate scholarship, one of eight nationally available scholarships for the international honor’s society. She has also been inducted into the National Gerontology Honor Society.
Helena has also been awarded a number of accolades within our department, including the Royster/Mariani Scholarship and the CCSU ITBD Golf Tournament Scholarship for academic excellence, the Shannette Washington Outstanding Service Award for her service to Psi Chi and the Department’s peer tutoring, and the Outstanding Research Award in Psychological Science for her work with Dr. Joanne DiPlacido.
Helena has also been devoted to service to her community. She has coordinated and run the Mood Matter’stable for CCSU’s Fresh Check Day, raised money for the Gerontology Club and participated in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s Disease, and helped with the construction of roads, a nursing home, hospital, and school during a mission trip to Haiti. She has also worked with adults with intellectual disabilities, helping them with basic skills, as well as participating in a soup kitchen to serve food to the community.
Helena Swanson has also realized the importance of being an active member of our professional organizations, broadening her knowledge of what it is to be a psychologist and enhancing her professional network through student memberships in the Society for Community Research and Action and the American Psychological Association. I believe that Helena embodies the achievements and characteristics of a student worthy of the Barnard Award. I believe that she will have a bright future as a psychologist!
Carolyn R. Fallahi, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Psychological Science
Central Connecticut State University