Student Highlights & Successes

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Behavioral Science Department - Student Highlights and Successes

Hello UVU!

Well, I have officially finished my first year down in the PhD program in clinical psychology here at Nova Southeastern University ( http://cps.nova.edu ).

The majority of the students in the PhD program down here came straight out of undergrad, but I can honestly say that the Behavioral Science program at UVSC UVU prepared me very well for this program. A special thanks to all of you for that!

I will begin my first clinical practicum in August at Healthy Lifestyles/Guided Self-Change ( www.nova.edu/gsc ) working with Drs. Mark and Linda Sobell. The clinic is located on campus (definitely a plus) and focuses primarily on alcohol abuse and smoking cessation. It is a pretty intense practicum site, but is a feeder site for the trauma clinic I want to work in next year.

I am the secretary/marketing chair for the Center for Psychological Studies Gay Straight Student Association (GSSA) and the IT chair for the Ethnic Minority Association of Graduate Students (EMAGS) for the 2009-2010 school year. That should be a lot of fun. I know that when I joined GSSA last fall some of the people were a little wary of the Mormon guy, but it's been a great experience for all of us in the club.

My wife and I hosted an interviewee from Las Vegas during interview week... If, in the future, there are any students from UVU that are interested in coming to an open house at Nova ( http://cps.nova.edu/openhouse/ ), or who are coming for an interview, let us know and we can either host them for a night or help them find a place to stay.

Thanks again for all the help and preparation for grad school!

-Rob (Class of 2008)
Robert P. Allred, B.S.
Psychology Trainee
Center for Psychological Studies
Nova Southeastern University

Kris Coles

I was born in SLC, Utah and grew up in Sandy Utah. I Graduated from Hillcrest High School in 2002. I Started school at UVU in January 2005. I have been very active in student leadership, first serving as Vice President and then President of the Latter Day Saint Student Association (LDSSA), in April of 2006 I ran as Executive Vice President for student government, our team won and I served in that position until the following April when I ran as Student Body President and won that election as well and then served from April 2007 - 2008. I have been working as an Intern for the Center for Engaged Learning since July of 2008 until current. I am interested in working in higher education for my career and hope to be a school administrator some day. The Masters program I was accepted to is at the University of Utah in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy. The program is a Masters of Education with an emphasis in Student Affairs. It is a two year program and I chose to go the part time route in order to work full time. I start on May 18 and will go summer, fall and spring, repeating that twice. My approximate completion date is May 2011. I’m excited to continue my education and look forward to working in Higher Education.

Matthew Nelson
A passion for American Indian health care spurred Matthew Nelson ’07 to research the issue in depth with the help of two UVU professors. Nelson's expertise in the field allowed him to present his findings regarding Navajo health and wellness at numerous professional and academic conferences last year, including the Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research and the National Conference on Undergraduate Research. Now, finishing up his first year in the master’s program at the University of New Mexico in anthropology, he continues to present his research and ideas at national and global conferences on health care delivery. Nelson, originally from Connecticut, moved to Utah to earn his GED before attending college. After a year at Weber State University, he served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the Navajo reservation. Nelson said he came home with a new determination to succeed and a new interest in the complexity of many issues surrounding the Navajo nation. That determination brought Nelson to UVU after his mission, into the care of David Wilson, Ph.D., and David Knowlton, Ph.D., in the anthropology program. "David Wilson’s classes on American Indian history really inspired me to delve deeper into the Indian Health Service," said Nelson. "I had built relationships with many people on my mission that had constant contact with the Indian Health Service, so I knew some of the problems that already existed." During his Navajo health studies at UVU, Nelson said he learned a great deal about health policy, much more than he learned on his two-year mission among the Navajos. Nelson credits his continued interest in the Navajo people and learning to his education at UVU, but said the most important thing he learned at UVU was to build relationships with professors. "UVSC is unique in that classes are fairly small, which affords you an amazing opportunity to really get to know professionals in your field," said Nelson. "The opportunity to participate in research is readily available and helpful in both admissions to graduate school and the success found therein." Nelson plans to pursue a combined medical anthropology/medical degree at Case Western Reserve University after completing his MA from the University of New Mexico. Ideally, he would like to practice medicine back on the Navajo reservation while continuing to conduct research on Navajo health perceptions and health care delivery.

Behavioral Science Department : | 801.863.8083 or 801.863.6211 | Room LA-012

Last Updated 9/14/09


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