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Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC), Loidaly González-Rosario (she/her/ella) received her PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in August, 2021.

Headshot of Counselor Education Alum, Loidaly González-Rosario

Dr. González-Rosario recently graduated from the CACREP-accredited Counselor Education PhD program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and is now serving as an Assistant Professor at Western Carolina University in North Carolina. She also holds a Graduate Certificate in Grief, Loss & Trauma and a second Graduate Certificate in International Children, Youth and Families from the University of Tennessee.

She received her MS in Counselor Education from Florida International University in 2016, and her BS in Elementary Education, with ESOL Endorsement, from Florida International University in 2013.

Loidaly is from Miami, Florida, and is fluent in Spanish and English.

Her passion is for “social justice advocacy, community action, and supporting culturally and linguistically diverse students in the public school system.”

“I use the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies to ground my work. I strive to uplift the voices of youth and families in research and advocate for families across systems.”

Loidaly was an active volunteer at the CentroHispano de East Tennessee during her studies in Knoxville, for which she led the development of a youth mentorship program, and created a bilingual mental health resource guide of language-accessible services in East TN.

She was the recipient of the National Board of Certified Counselor’s Minority Fellowship in 2019, which is awarded to a doctoral student to “increase the impact of service to marginalized populations. Loidaly has also been the recipient of the SACES Emerging Leaders award in 2020-2022, as well as other distinguished awards and fellowships.

Loidaly enjoys gardening, reading, crafting, and hanging out with her “fur-babies” in her spare time. Looking for great food when studying in Knoxville? Loidaly recommends Sticky Rice Cafe and La Herradura.

The Educational Psychology & Counseling Department at the University of Tennessee is extremely proud to be apart of the scholarly journeys of its students, like Loidaly, and will continue to follow Dr. González-Rosario’s endeavors with enthusiasm.


Full Interview:

Degree/Program/Concentration

PhD Counselor Education, 2021              

Hometown

Miami, FL

Awards, Accomplishments, Publications, etc. you would like to share

Most Notable are the National Board of Certified Counselors Minority Fellowship Program and the Counselor Education & Supervision Fellow

Current Occupation or Career Goals

Currently an Assistant Professor at Western Carolina University in Asheville, NC

Would you like to share your hobbies and personal interests with us?

Gardening, Reading, and Crafting are some of my joys in life. Also, snuggles with my fur babies!

Tell us about your research interests

My work centers around social justice advocacy, community action, and supporting culturally and linguistically diverse students in the public school system. I use the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies to ground my work. I strive to uplift the voices of youth and families in research and advocate for families across systems.

What is something you love/loved doing in the Knoxville area, or a restaurant you would recommend?

Knoxville is such a unique place to live! Some of my favorite things to do was connection with small non-profits like Centro Hispano de East TN and volunteering my time for the benefit of the entire community! Also, some great restaurants to try out are Sticky Rice and La Herradura! They were monthly, and sometimes weekly staples to my survival in grad school.


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2021 Educational Psychology & Research graduate, Dr. John Walker, took time to tell us about his research and experience in the Evaluation, Statistics, and Methodology PhD program, and shared some advice for incoming graduate students.

Profile Photo of John Walker, ESM graduate

John graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Psychology and Research in the fall of 2021. He studied under the Evaluation, Statistics, and Methodology concentration, with his dissertation research being the first of its kind to focus on differential item functioning (DIF) under a multidimensional graded response model framework. “DIF,” says John, “is important to detect in instruments like surveys because it could tell us if an item is bias toward one or more groups, which in turn tells us about the validity of the instrument, a backbone of instrument development.”

By studying three different approaches to psychometric analysis of DIF — classical test theory, item response theory, and factor analysis — Dr. Walker’s study “showed that under different circumstances (e.g., how many participants completed the instrument), one method may be preferred over another…Depending on what’s most essential for an instrumental developer or psychometrician, they’ll now know which approach is best to use to determine if their multidimensional graded repose model instrument contains biased items.”

John also holds a Master of Policy Studies from the University of Sydney, and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Grand Valley State University.

Currently, John is working in the roles of Psychometrician for Illuminate Education, and part-time Lecturer for the University of Tennessee.

Dr. Walker is continually contributing to the pool of research in the rapidly growing field of Evaluation, Statistics and Methodology, and has also been the distinguished recipient of several awards, including the EPC Graduate Student Research Excellence Award (2021) and the Sydney Achievers International Scholarship (2014).

To incoming graduate students, John’s advice is that students should always build periodic rest and relaxation into their schedules, to prevent burnout: “Make sure you take care of yourself, spend some time on your (non-academic) interests, and most importantly don’t neglect your family. A graduate program takes a long time to complete, so it’s important to get away from your work; otherwise, you’ll burn out.”

Of the many places in Knoxville where students can enjoy some well-earned downtime, John would particularly recommend Orange Hat Brewing Company in Hardin Valley area, or anywhere in Market Square.

The EPC department congratulates John, and the rest of the EPC class of fall 2021 once again for their hard work, achievements, and contributions to the fields of Educational Psychology & Counseling.


Full Interview:

Tell me about your journey as a graduate student, the ups and downs, struggles and triumphs.

One of my biggest struggles throughout my time as a graduate student was juggling full-time work and school. I often would take three to four courses at a time during the fall, spring, and summer. I had to manage my time well, find time to do my schoolwork, and take can of my mental and physical health, simultaneously. Although I was left with little time to socialize, I found ways to make this work and complete my degree in less time than if I were to take the more conventional approach of taking one or two courses per semester while working full-time.              

What advice do you have for students just starting this program?

Find time for yourself and your family. You don’t have to be doing your research or schoolwork 100% of the time. Make sure you take care of yourself, spend some time on your (non-academic) interests, and most importantly don’t neglect your family. A graduate program takes a long time to complete, so it’s important to get away from your work; otherwise, you’ll burn out.

Tell me about your research interests.

As of late, my research has focused on the experimentation of new methods to address non-convergence issues in computer adaptive tests, the examination of student growth patterns for curriculum-based measures in early math and reading, and the use of computer adaptive tests for survey data fitted to bifactor graded response models.

Would you like to share your hobbies and personal interests with us?

Outside of work, I enjoy playing my guitar, home brewing, and going on long walks with my wife and dog.

What is something you love/loved doing in the Knoxville area, or a restaurant you would recommend?

There are a lot of great places to visit in the Knoxville area. If you have a dog, Plum Creek Dog Park is a great place to let your dog expel some energy. For beer drinkers, I’m partial to Orangehat Brewing in Hardin Valley. You’ll also find a lot of great restaurants and nightlife in and around Market square.


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Chad Luke, associate professor, won the Tennessee Technological University (TTU) Outstanding Faculty Award in Teaching and the College of Education Research and Creative Endeavors Award. Luke is an alumnus of the Counselor Education program and has been at TTU, in the Department of Counseling and Psychology, for six years.

Chad Luke

“I’m grateful to receive these awards in the same semester (while also being awarded tenure!), as I think it could highlight the complimentary nature of teaching and scholarship.”

 

The TTU Outstanding Faculty Award in Teaching requires both faculty and student nominations. Luke was a finalist out of 800 nominations, and a committee selected him based on his portfolio submission. Their award announcement cited his humanistic approach to challenging students.

He said, “This particular award was a career goal of mine that I had kept to myself. To be recognized for my teaching at a place that is recognized historically as a teaching institution is quite sobering.”

Chad Luke at the College of Education Awards Ceremony

The College of Education Research and Creative Endeavors Award requires a demonstrated active research agenda in publishing, producing, and performing. When asked what made his nomination for this award stand out, Luke explained that he teaches 11 courses a year, on average, so to also have about 20 publications, including refereed journals, book chapters, and a book, seemed to exceed expectations.

He said, “I am proud to receive this kind of recognition in a college that has so many faculty working so hard and achieving so much!”


The Upsilon Theta Chapter of Chi Sigma Iota (CSI), is the 2017 recipient of the CSI Outstanding Individual Program Award for its engagement with the Odd Fellows Cemetery Project. This award honors a chapter program that provides outstanding community service or professional development. The criteria include planning, committee involvement, length of time, recruitment strategies, advertising, media, and attendance at program. Two people were integral to this award – current service chair Justin Hawkersmith, and past service chair Kevin Webster.

Justin is a master’s student in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program and co-chaired the position with Kevin last fall. Kevin (’16) is an alumni of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program and became the service chair in 2015. With the guidance and support of current and past faculty advisors (Casey Barrio Minton and Shawn Spurgeon, respectively), they helped create and grow relationships Upsilon Theta built with the Knoxville Reanimation Coalition and Katherine Ambroziak (associate professor from the College of Architecture and Design), who heads the project at the Odd Fellows Cemetery.

Kevin said, “I was sincerely elated and surprised, not because I didn’t think our project was worthy of recognition, but because I had not done anything like this before. Although recognition is not necessary, it can help keep momentum going for an organization. It can stimulate even bigger and better ideas and growth. I hope the award motivates others who join CSI to think about not only what they can do but also what is possible. I am also excited for what this means for the Knoxville Reanimation Coalition, the group whose mission it is to maintain, revitalize, and enhance the East Knoxville community. I think they are doing some of the most important work in Knoxville. They don’t do it for recognition; they engage in hard work to improve the neighborhood that is home to them.”

Justin expressed, “I am truly honored to be receiving this award and to see how Kevin and Katherine Ambroziak’s hard work has paid off. If there is anything I would like to add to this piece, it would be how important service and advocacy (the driving force of service) are to the counseling profession. If we truly want to serve our clients whether we are in schools or in mental health settings, we need to be active and intentional members of our community, and I think service events through Chi Sigma Iota are excellent way to begin that meaningful process of engagement.”

Kevin explained the application process:

Every fall, CSI opens applications for chapter awards and student nominations for national positions. Casey Barrio Minton (associate professor), our current chapter advisor and long-time member of CSI, encouraged us to apply for the chapter award. I agreed with her that I thought it was a good idea, and I was happy to help. I honestly did not think we would have a chance because I thought the relationship was too new. However, since CSI-UT’s participation in the the Odd Fellows Cemetery project, our student engagement in service activities improved tremendously – in part because of the uniqueness of the project itself, in part from some new enthusiasm coming from the student board, and in part because I think there are some emerging ideas coming from the counseling community regarding social justice and community-level work that individual “therapy” simply does not address. Service and building community relationships are critical aspects of my life that I love and want to share with others, and I tried to provide that opportunity for anyone who was interested while I was service chair. So, naturally, I think others picked up on that.

Justin Hawkersmith and myself worked on the application proposal with Casey Barrio Minton and Katherine Ambroziak to submit letters of recommendation for the project. We spoke on not only what it meant to engage CSI counseling members in a project that was off campus and in a predominantly black community but also on the importance and meaning of the project itself. The cemetery represents an important part of black history and black heritage in Knoxville, and its current dilapidated state is worth the reflection and attention of the greater Knoxville community. Counselors, who more often than not are white and middle class, will go on to work with individuals from a variety of communities different than their own, but may not have an in-depth understanding of those communities and the issues within them. Given the current climate of our society, it is integral more than ever that organizations and university groups build and foster relationships and work on real problems.

Barrio Minton really helped make the process easy. Writing the application was the easy part, because the project meant a lot to me and Justin and I hoped to really see it continue even after I graduated from the program. Barrio Minton really helped pull it together, helped us stay organized, and made sure we had what we needed to submit a quality proposal.

Upsilon Theta was recognized and awarded during a ceremony held at the ACA Annual Conference and Expo in San Francisco, CA from March 16-19, 2017.

For more information about this project, check out the following Counselor Education blog stories:
CSI-UT Sponsors Service Event at Odd Fellows Cemetery
CSI-UT Returns to Odd Fellows Cemetery to Continue Service
CSI-UT Sponsors Service Event at Odd Fellows Cemetery