We’re once again Psyching the Vote for APAGS Chair-Elect! During the month of April, APAGS members can submit an elections ballot for elections for APAGS Chair-Elect and four members at large (link contains position descriptions and official bios). Members will get an email with voting instructions tomorrow, April 1. This post is the final in our series in which candidates voluntarily answer our questions in 200 words or less, to give voters some insight into what they will bring to their prospective positions. We’ve heard already from Blaire and Justin last week when they spoke about the relevance of leadership and advocacy competencies.

Here we go with our final question for APAGS Chair-Elect: 

What is it about psychology or about fellow graduate students that will keep you shuffling back and forth to DC dozens of times during your 3+ years in office for APAGS? What is it about YOU that makes you believe you can sustain your energy and focus for that long?

Justin Karr responds: 

I was initially attracted to the discipline of psychology due to its focus on improving people’s lives through both translatable research and direct clinical work. In this same light, I came to APAGS with the interest of serving students. My advocacy to date has focused on providing a voice to students, and reducing the burdens that we face during our training and early careers. I personally know the disappointment of not matching to an internship, and I have felt the burden of debt and the constant stress of financial insecurity. These issues are not individual to me, and they require passionate advocacy. My own experiences, and the stories of my peers, motivate me to advocate to the highest powers for improved educational standards, greater training opportunities, and increased graduate funding. These goals do not only serve to help students, but they also serve to help the public. The world needs well-trained psychologists, free of undue burdens that interfere with their training and meaningful work. I will work every day of my tenure as the APAGS Chair-elect to reduce barriers, support educational quality, and ensure that every psychology student has access to the highest quality of graduate education.

Blaire Schembari responds:

At my first APAGS leadership meeting, I felt a rush of excitement. Over three days of back-to-back meetings, I participated in discussions, brainstorming sessions, and working groups focused on addressing critical graduate student issues. After the final meeting, I expected to be worn out; however, I was inspired and ready to lead. My energy was maintained because I deeply connect with the leadership and advocacy I am a part of with APAGS.

Advocating for my fellow psychology graduate students’ interests and making a difference in their lives and future careers will motivate me to travel during my time in office.

Additionally, I will sustain my energy and focus during my travel, as I have already had practice. My now partner and I were in a long-distance relationship for my first three years of graduate school. I traveled from D.C. to California every month, maintaining my graduate studies and other responsibilities. At times, traveling was difficult; however, I had something, in this case someone, I was passionate about, which fueled my motivation. Giving a voice to my peers is what I am passionate about. I am confident my fervor for leadership and advocacy will keep me energized and focused to travel.

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That’s a wrap! Tomorrow, you as an APAGS member will receive your ballot! Check the inbox and spam folder of the email account you have on file with APA. If you don’t receive a ballot, try entering your last name and membership number here or request a new ballot from Garnett Coad in our Elections Office. — APAGS Staff.

We’re Psyching the Vote for APAGS Member-at-Large, Diversity Focus! During the month of April, APAGS members can submit an elections ballot for elections for APAGS chair-elect and four members at large (link contains position descriptions and official bios). Members will get an email with voting instructions on April 1. This post is the fifth in a series of six ending tomorrow in which candidates voluntarily answer our questions in 200 words or less, to give voters some insight into what they will bring to their prospective positions.

Our question for APAGS Member-at-Large, Diversity Focus: 

Creating a graduate school experience where students of historically marginalized backgrounds can feel safe is very important for multiple stakeholders — and is receiving a lot of national attention. What do you think is APAGS’s specific role in promoting safety, and what should be our top priorities in the next few years?

Mona Elgohail responds: 

A quick Google search of my name will show one of several instances throughout my life when I was discriminated against by those who were supposedly there to help me excel academically. I know first-hand that discrimination against students of historically marginalized backgrounds is still grossly pervasive and tolerated within some university settings. I believe that APAGS is uniquely positioned to address these injustices top-down through policy, and bottom-up by providing minority students with resources to advocate for themselves and create change in their departments.

I aspire to establish policies that encourage graduate programs to more explicitly commit to inclusiveness and diversity. These efforts would involve surveying students to determine how new policies can best reflect the needs of marginalized students nationwide and create meaningful change in their graduate programs.

Solutions can take a number of forms, including periodic trainings on diversity issues; innovative approaches to recruitment of minority students and faculty; the formation of advisory committees within departments that focus on diversity and inclusion; and courses that provide effective understandings of privilege, policy, and social justice. Ultimately, creating a culture where marginalized students feel safe should be a priority for graduate programs and aligns perfectly with APAGS’s mission.

Jamal Hailey responds:

APAGS is uniquely positioned to play a pivotal role in addressing issues concerning safety on a national level through student engagement activities. Over the next few years, APAGS’s top priority should be developing and implementing a strategic plan, which includes having conversations with students across the county, to address issues related to gender based violence and sexual assaults; transphobia, structural level oppression, and the safety of Black students as anti-Black propaganda continues to increase across the country. Elevating the voices of students across campuses provides them with an opportunity to voice their concerns and recommendation regarding safety at their respective campuses. While students at colleges may not have the same experiences, providing an opportunity for students to engage in a national dialogue could yield important information, which APAGS could use to develop a national strategy to address and promote safety for students, particularly those from marginalized and/or underrepresented groups.

Fanny Ng responds:

Graduate students from historically marginalized backgrounds should not just feel safe in their programs but feel valued and respected as developing professionals who bring unique experiences and perspectives to understandings and applications of psychology in research, practice and teaching to diverse peoples. We should aim not only to establish safety for minority students but welcome diversity across all dimensions at every program as diverse viewpoints enrich teaching and learning for all students and faculty. Diverse viewpoints produce more cognizant and culturally competent psychologists from all backgrounds to effectively address the needs of changing communities currently and in the future.

Therefore, I believe APAGS’s top priorities for the coming years should be to establish practical guidelines for graduate programs on the 1) regular assessment of program diversity climate and 2) strategies for developing effective action plans to cultivate greater safety and inclusion for all students, especially those from marginalized backgrounds. I have seen the ways that student feedback can drive lasting change in graduate program policies and structures. I believe that APAGS can and should lead graduate programs to provide safe, non-evaluative avenues for student feedback that redouble the effort to create more welcoming student environments for psychology’s diverse future leaders.

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Be on the lookout tomorrow for our final post in this series and be sure to vote when you receive your APAGS electronic ballot on Friday! — APAGS Staff.