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Korn Learning Assessment and Social Skills Center


Four School Psychology PhD Candidates – Elizabeth Hays, Megan Schall, Ellie Trant, and Tiffany Watson – were matched with APA-accredited internships.

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To become a licensed psychologist, all school psychology doctoral students must have completed an internship. Internships accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) are highly sought out, yet a large number of applicants go unmatched. In 2015, more than fifteen hundred applicants were not matched with an APA-accredited internship.

McCurdy,Merilee_081214_S.Clark_32_1“It is always a program goal for our students to receive APA-accredited internship positions. However, not all internship applicants receive an internship, particularly an APA-accredited one. The program faculty are very excited for these students!”- School Psychology Program Coordinator, Merilee McCurdy

The application process was described as long, complex, and intimidating. To address this, the program offers an internship course to make things more manageable and help students through the process.

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Elizabeth Hays will be going to the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District in Texas.

Hays explained how she was thrilled to be matched to an APA-accredited internship because she believes it will give her more flexibility with future career options. Her internship is in a school district, where she will work with students in general and special education. Her primary roles will be behavioral consultation, assessments, and pre-referral intervention for behavioral, social, and academic concerns. However, she will also be providing individual and group counseling to students and have opportunities to practice evidence-based interventions in the Family Counseling Clinic.

SchoolPsychInterns_042415_SClark_080“I am very excited to try something new and learn as much as I can while I am at Cy-Fair ISD. I will have access to a diverse range of training experiences and supervisors through this internship, and I think this diversity in training will be invaluable.”

Megan Schall, Ellie Trant, and Tiffany Watson will be at the Tennessee Internship Consortium (TIC).  TIC is an overarching entity linking interns to many different agencies, such as school systems, assessment centers, and health systems.

Schall will be at Lenoir City Schools four days a week, and receiving supervision and training one day a week. She explained how she would be conducting the same types of work activities school psychologists in school systems typically do.

SchoolPsychInterns_042415_SClark_053“I’m thrilled to be matched with an APA-accredited internship! It was a great relief to get the match email and see the results. And, even though it would be fun to live in a new city, I am also very excited to be staying in Tennessee. After four years living in Knoxville, it feels like home so I am glad to get to stay for another year.”

Trant will be working at Sweetwater City Schools, mainly doing assessments and consultation.

She explained how happy she was to be staying in Tennessee because she fell in love with this part of the country after moving here from Louisiana.  Also, the internship location allows her and her fiancé to live together once they get married in July.

SchoolPsychInterns_042415_SClark_069“I have learned so much about school psychology during my time at UT, and I am looking forward to putting those skills into practice. I am also excited to learn more about the field of school psychology and expand my abilities. UT has given me a great foundation, which I know will be significantly enhanced during my internship year.”

Watson has a split internship. Part of the time she will be working with the Korn Learning, Assessment, and Social Skills (KLASS) Center on campus. There, she will see clients for interventions and evaluations for ADHD and learning disabilities. The other part of her internship will be with Cherokee Health Systems in a school system.

SchoolPsychInterns_042415_SClark_051“I am so blessed and thankful to be matched to an APA site. It opens up more opportunities down the road for licensure. I grew up in East Tennessee and I’m so excited to stay and work in the area. I’m also excited to finally start applying things I’ve been learning for the past four years!”