2003 SPSP Diversity Fund Award Recipients

A total of 95 graduate students applied for a Diversity Fund Travel Award to attend the 2003 SPSP conference. Of these applicants, 10 received an award of up to $1,000 for conference-related expenses, and 9 received Honorable Mention (which includes a $90 stipend to cover the cost of conference registration). This page contains a biographical profile of each award winner and a roster of students receiving Honorable Mention.

2003 Award Recipients

Clara Michelle Cheng was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to Canada in 1990. She received her bachelor's degree in psychology at the University of Toronto and is currently in her third year of Ph.D. training at the Ohio State University social psychology program. Clara's research focuses on nonconscious processes. In collaboration with her advisor, Tanya Chartrand, Clara has examined the role of self-monitoring in nonconscious mimicry, the automatic evaluation of physical attractiveness, the consequences of succeeding and failing at nonconscious goal pursuit for self-enhancement, and the role of the self in the experience of moods of an unknown origin. Eventually, Clara hopes that her research will contribute to the understanding of nonconscious influences on our daily lives, and to identify ways to make use of these nonconscious processes to our advantage. After completing graduate training, Clara hopes to pursue a career in the academic field.

Christine Aramburu Alegria Drury is a first-generation American. Her family emigrated from the Basque region of northern Spain in 1953. She is an Advanced Practice Nurse and a second-year student in the Social Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her research interests include transgenderism and the impact of stigma upon health and health care behavior, with a focus on obese and mentally ill individuals. After graduate school, Christine hopes to combine her love of nursing and psychology through interdisciplinary work, including teaching and research, in the U.S. and in Spain.

Jennifer Emilia Eells is a 27-year-old Venezuelan-American, born and raised in a bicultural home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Currently, she is a second-year social psychology student working towards her Ph.D. at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Together with her advisor, Dr. Laura A. King, Jennifer is studying the implications of writing about various topics on health, well-being, goals, and most recently, relationships. After graduate school, Jennifer aims to secure a position at a Research Level 1 university where she can continue conducting her research, as well as teach and train future scientists.

Janelle Jones was born in Montreal, Quebec. She is currently in the first year of her Ph.D. work in the social-personality programme at York University, where she also completed her M.A., under the supervision of Michaela Hynie. Janelle's general interest lies in the relationship between identity and the self. Her current research focuses on the generation and negotiation of identity conflicts for individuals in interethnic and interracial dating relationships. After graduate school, Janelle plans to take an academic position at a large urban research university.

Although born in Seoul, South Korea, Sun No was raised in Southern California from age 6 onward. She received her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. An NSF Graduate Fellowship Research Award recipient, she is currently in her second year in the social-personality division at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Together with her advisor, Ying-yi Hong, she is studying the dynamic activation processes of cultural frame switching in biculturals, how individuals come to internalize two or more distinct cultures, the outcomes associated with second culture acquisition at different ages, and blended versus alternating bicultural identity. Upon completion of graduate studies, Sun plans to continue her research and teach cultural psychology at a research university.

Chandra Osborn is of both Samoan and European ancestral background. She is a second-year gradate student in the social psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Connecticut. Chandra's research interests include: testing the efficacy of the IMB-model to promote positive health behavior change among persons with HIV/AIDS or diabetes, examining terror management theory in conjunction with September 11th events, and exploring whether social comparison with others motivates people with HIV/AIDS to adhere to their medication regimen. After graduate school, Chandra hopes to teach and conduct research at a university.

Lora Park was born in Taegu, South Korea, and moved to the U.S. in 1981. She received her B.S. degree in Psychology, with honors, at the University of Washington in 2000, where she worked with Anthony Greenwald on implicit gender stereotypes and women's persistence in math, science, and engineering. Lora is now a third-year graduate student in the social psychology program at the University of Michigan with interests in the self, self-esteem, and interpersonal relationships and processes. Together with her advisor, Jennifer Crocker, Lora is examining how threats to domains of contingent self-worth incur costs to the self and to others. In addition, Lora works with Monique Fleming on research related to social identity and implicit stereotyping. Upon completion of her Ph.D. in 2005, Lora intends to pursue a career in academia and to continue conducting research on the self, self-esteem, close relationships, and implicit social cognition.

Arelys Feliciano Sánchez was born in Puerto Rico but grew up in the Bronx in New York. She is the first in her family to graduate from college and is currently a second-year student in the Social and Developmental Psychology Ph.D. Program at Brandeis University, supported by the National Institute on Aging Training Grant on Cognitive Aging in a Social Context. Under the guidance of Margie E. Lachman, Arelys is exploring the lifespan development of ethnic populations with regard to beliefs about control and their implications for behavior as well as physical and psychological well-being. After graduate school, Arelys intends to teach psychology and continue her research with ethnic populations.

Michelle See was born in Singapore and came to the United States in 1998 to pursue her undergraduate education at the University of Arizona. She is currently a second-year student in the social psychology Ph.D. program at the Ohio State University, where she is working with her advisor, Dr. Richard E. Petty. Our research involves looking at how different motivational and ability variables influence information processing and consequently, attitude change. After graduate school, Michelle hopes to remain in the United States to continue doing research at a major research university.

Simine Vazire was born in France to a French mother and an Iranian father. She grew up in France and California, and went on to Minnesota to get her B.A. in psychology from Carleton College. She is currently a second-year Ph.D. student in personality and social psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, working with her advisor, Sam Gosling, as well as Jamie Pennebaker and Bill Swann. Her research interests are in documenting and explaining the relationships between personality and everyday life, and in examining various issues in personality assessment and personality judgment. After graduate school, Simine will pursue a professorship in personality and social psychology at a major research university.

Honorable Mention

Ahrona Chand, New School University
June Chu, University of California--Davis
Catalina Kopetz, University of Maryland
Victor Luevano, Brandeis University
John Petrocelli, Indiana University
Nilam Ram, University of Virginia
Janelle Rosip, North Eastern University
Tania Tam, Oxford University
Eddie Tong, University of Michigan