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Counselor Education and Supervision PhD candidate, Haley Ault, presented her group’s research and received honors at the recent Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (AARC) Conference.

Photo of Haley Ault holding certificate for a grant awarded from AARC at the 2022 conference

EPC Counseling Education and Supervision doctoral candidate, Haley Ault, was awarded a grant at the recent AARC 2022 conference.

This year’s AARC Conference saw University of Tennessee doctoral candidate, Haley Ault, awarded with the Multicultural Assessment in Research and Counseling Grant, one of two grants that the organization provides. This annual grant is awarded to a student conducting research that has a multicultural or social justice focus, and will support Haley’s dissertation research on “how school counselors serve as systemic change agents within their schools.”

Haley also notably presented at the conference with EPC Professor and Department Head, Dr. Casey Barrio Minton, and others, “regarding her contributions as a co-author of the new Responsibilities of Users of Standardized Test (RUST) 4th edition (a national standards document).”

Haley, who expects to graduate in Summer 2023 with a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision, additionally presented to the conference her current findings from co-leading an interdisciplinary research team with EPC Professor and IP/PIPES Supervisor, Dr. Melinda Gibbons, that is studying “rural Appalachian school counselors’ experiences with career and college readiness programming.” Haley is working with three other doctoral candidates on this project: Mary Wynn, Kody Sexton, and Bobby Lange.

Ms. Ault continues to make contributions to the field, and recently had a publication she co-authored with Dr. Barrio Minton and student, Etta Gantt, accepted into the Teaching and Supervision in Counseling Journal entitled, Anti-racist considerations for teaching CACREP assessment and diagnosis courses.

EPC doctoral candidate, Haley Ault, standing alongside a poster from her recent presentation for AARC

Counseling Education and Supervision doctoral candidate, Haley Ault, presented her team’s research at the 2022 AARC Conference.

Haley is a proud “Vol for Life,” and also received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Master’s degree in School Counseling from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She spent six years as a middle school counselor before beginning her PhD.

In her spare time, she especially enjoys the Tennessee outdoors, as well as date nights with her partner, Thomas, and time spent with her goldendoodle, Beau.

For those looking for the perfect study spot, Haley highly recommends Knoxville’s Golden Roast Marble City coffee shop, and afterwards, grabbing a bite at Not Watson’s.

The Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling is thrilled by the opportunity to highlight its many distinguished students, like Haley, in its programs.

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Many students have asked for resources on crisis and trauma response. Two of our faculty, Casey Bario Minton and Melinda Gibbons in Counselor Education, created this list of counselor and mental health resources that provide information about mental health, crisis, and trauma for our counseling students. The sites provide a range of information on psychological first aid, daily coping, social distancing, and career search information, all related to our current crisis.


Everett Painter, PhD candidate in the Counselor Education program, was selected as the 2017-18 Counselor Education and Supervision (CE&S) Editorial Fellow.

Everett Painter“This role represents the next step (focus) in my development as an engaged counselor educator. I have an interest in scholarly publishing and this opportunity will provide insight into the process. By working with my mentor, I will learn a great deal more (in both breadth and depth) than I would have by simply undertaking this work on my own.”

Painter learned of the opportunity through the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES). CE&S is their official publication, and this is the inaugural year of the editorial fellowship program. The intent is to match doctoral students and early career assistant professors with peer review mentors from the editorial board of the journal, in order to learn more about reviewing and making decisions about submitted articles for publication.

He explained, “in collaboration with my mentor (Texas A&M assistant professor, Kevin Snow) I will review submitted journal articles, help develop notes that will be send back to the authors, and help make a decision about the disposition of the manuscripts in their current form. Fellows are also expected to present at either an ACES or regional ACES conference regarding issues pertaining to scholarly research and publication.”

Painter is already reviewing his second manuscript as an editorial fellow, and he said he deeply appreciates the continued support of UT’s Counselor Education faculty.


Applied Educational Psychology

Alyssa is currently seeking her MS in educational psychology with a concentration in the Applied Educational Psychology program. Originally from Knoxville, TN she received her BS in psychology from UT Knoxville and joined EPC in 2014. We asked her to reflect on some past and current experiences. Read her responses below.

Awards
  • Selected to join Gamma Beta Phi National Honor Society
Accomplishments

I am one class away from completing my Master’s course work in Educational Psychology and achieving my own personal goal of attaining straight A’s throughout the program.

Current Occupation

Accounting Specialist
Treasurer’s Department
University of Tennessee, Knoxville

I currently work as an Accounting Specialist working with biweekly payroll for the Treasurer’s department at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Personal Interests

I love spending time with my husband and our very large family. Reading is my favorite pastime. I love to travel and explore new places, and I hope to be able to do more traveling once I am done with school. After graduation, I plan on devoting my time learning Spanish, my husband’s native language and dabbling in creative writing.

Future/Vocational Goals

I would love to continue working for the university as an academic advisor, specifically working with first year freshmen. I am also passionate about working with low-income adolescents. I would love to be an advocate for kids who have never had anyone tell them that they can succeed in college. If I have learned anything from this program, it is that self-efficacy and motivation are two pivotal factors that drive success, and I want to help kids and young adults learn how to learn and achieve their goals.

What sold you on this program?

I was sold on this online master’s program the second I reached out to Cathy Hammon (program coordinator) and we had our first conversation about the specifics of the program. I did not think it was possible to develop such personal relationships with others in an online setting, but I have made so many friends and connections by becoming part of this learning community.

What would you tell an incoming student who joins the program?

I would tell any incoming student joining the program or department that EPC’s faculty and staff members genuinely want you to succeed and are always available to answer any questions or concerns. I would also tell incoming students to not be afraid to put yourself out there and get involved. Not everyone may have the opportunity to be local in an online program, but for those who are local, I have found that attending orientations, dissertation defenses, or other events hosted by the department are a great way to meet people.


University-Assisted Community Schools (UACS) won a three-year $100,000 grant (totaling $300,000) from the United Way of Greater Knoxville.

Bob Kronick“The grants were competitive and we got ours through hard work among the collaborative team.” – Bob Kronick, director of UACS

 

The grant was written by Bob Kronick, professor and director of UACS, Mark Benson, school coordinator of UACS, and Dareen Basma, Counselor Education PhD student. Through Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, United Way will award UACS a total of $300,000 over a three-year period.

UACS is an initiative to address unmet social, economic, and academic needs of Knoxville students and community members. They have two full-service community schools, one at Pond Gap Elementary School and a newer one at Inskip Elementary School. Funds from this grant will largely be used to hire staff to support the efforts at Inskip. The mission of UACS is to “create challenging learning opportunities for students to excel by providing a nurturing environment supported by the family, community, staff, and students.”