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James J. Hart Memorial Award for Outstanding Junior

This award is named after faculty member James J. Hart, and honors outstanding performance among junior students.

2009 Award Recipients

  • Heather Davis
    Heather Davis - Heather has been involved in four semesters of research for independent study credit under Dr. Evans at the Alvin V. Baird Attention and Learning Disabilities Center (ALDC). Her work with the center was featured in a spring issue of Madison Scholar Magazine, and presented in two poster sessions. She completed a publication on women and science for an honors Women’s Studies course that was published in the Undergraduate Research Journal for the Human Sciences. She is currently working on her senior honors thesis studying the overall rate of academic success of high school students with ADHD, as measured by grade point average (GPA). Heather completed community service through Dr. Reis-Bergan's Psychology of Personality class service learning project. She has also been involved in many service activities though Peer Advising. Heather has also served as a Camp Counselor/Art Teacher for Camp New Meadow in Greenville Virginia, and she was a leader and mentor for girls at an overnight horseback riding camp.  Additionally, she worked as a Therapy Recreation Aide for Hanover County Department of Parks and Recreation, assisting a child with autism, developmental delay, and ADHD helping him make the most of the camp experience. She is a Gold member of Psi Chi, and she is a recipient of the Edythe Rowley Scholarship, the Parents Day Scholarship, and the JMU Legacy Scholarship. Heather plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology with a focus on Child Psychology.  She would like to be a professor and researcher at a university working to develop empirically based treatments for children with disabilities and/or at risk youth.
  • Maggie Hawkins - Maggie is currently completing her fourth semester as a research assistant at the Alvin V. Baird Attention and Learning Disabilities Center (ALDC), supervised by Dr. Evans.  As a result of her research experience at the ALDC, she has presented two posters and worked as an at-home tutor for an adolescent with ADHD.  Maggie is a member of Psi Chi.  She has been a member of the JMU Honors Program since she started JMU.  She was also in the Psychology Learning Community during her freshman year.Maggie plans on becoming a school psychologist and work to help students attain the education which they deserve. She would also like to implement a dance program into the school/schools she will work in, adding  to the enrichment of student’s education.
  • Grace Jiminez
    Grace Jimenez - Grace is doing research with Dr. Reis-Bergan on deterring student tanning behavior and raising awareness on skin damage. Grace has worked with Celeste Thomas in the Counseling Center and developed workshops on eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and substance abuse.  Grace is a peer adviser and head of their promotions committee.  Through Peer Advising, Grace participated in the Special Olympics “Day with the Dukes.” She has tutored an elementary student as part of the migrant education program. Grace was inducted into the National Society of Collegiate Scholars at the end of her freshman year.  Grace plans on pursuing graduate work in either clinical or counseling psychology.
  • Brad Joachim - Brad is a member of the behavior analysis concentration. As such, he has worked in Dr. Serdikoff’s lab for several semesters and contributed to both human and animal protocols. Brad is conducting an honors thesis under the supervision of Dr. Irons. His thesis will examine the validity of a choice task used to empirically assess the value of abstinence among smokers using a contingency management protocol. He has served as a teaching assistant for Dr. Irons’ research methods course for two semesters and will likely continue to serve in this capacity until he graduates. Brad was among the top of his classes for both research methods and statistics. Brad plans to attend graduate school to become an experimental psychologist.
  • Donna Melchione
    Donna Melchione - Donna Melchione was involved in assisting with an honors thesis, focused on how to best define and measure life satisfaction in college students. She has been a teaching assistant for Dr. Zinn, helping supervise labs, facilitating group meetings, and holding office hours. She has become involved in service activities through volunteering with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization. Donna is a member of Psi Chi and is part of the Honors Program at JMU. She was honored for Outstanding Achievement in Statistics and Research Methods in 2008. She plans a career in research and will seek to obtain a Ph.D. in Quantitative Psychology.

 

Past Award Recipients

2008

  • Christopher Gesualdi
    Christopher Gesualdi – Chris is a Behavior Analysis Concentration student who has worked on research teams with a variety of faculty including Drs. Kenn Barron, Steve Evans, Tracy Zinn and Bryan Saville. He has co-authored an invited book chapter with Dr. Kenn Barron and been co-author on eleven conference presentations. He is a member of Psi Chi, student representative for Association of Psychological Science, and a student member of 4 other professional organizations and over the last few years he has attended eight professional conferences. Additionally, Chris has served as a Behavioral Counselor for the Challenging Horizons Program, as a teaching assistant for Psychology of learning, was a member of the Psychology Learning Community, and he was the recipient of our department’s Outstanding Achievement in Statistics and Research Methods Award in 2007. Chris intends to pursue doctoral training in behavior analysis although he has not decided whether he’d like to concentrate in clinical behavior analysis or the experimental analysis of behavior. He is especially interested in using behavior analytic principles in the realm of sport psychology.
  • Kimberly Rodgers
    Kimberly Rodgers - Kimberly has extensive achievements in research, in service learning, and in academic performance. She has been a part of Dr. Arnie Kahn’s research team examining the effect of gender of assailant and victim on victim blaming. She is currently starting an honor’s thesis on sexual refusal efficacy under his direction. During the spring semester of her sophomore year, she assisted a senior who was completing an honors thesis, helping her manage a database and helping train the students who were gathering data on the Alzheimer’s patients. Even earlier in her career, Kimberly worked with Dr. Aashir Nasim, assisting with several research projects as well as developing one of her own. Also, in fall semester of her sophomore year, Kimberly assisted the Batterer’s Treatment Program organize data they had collected on clients. In her freshman year, Kimberly continued a high school project, working with Dr. Olbrisch of the Medical College of Virginia with research on transplants. Service projects include being a committee head for Take Back the Night and volunteer work at the Women’s Resource Center. Kimberly is a trained member of CARE, the student-run sexual assault hotline, and is their Presentations Coordinator for Spring, 2008. Kimberly is a member of Psi Chi and of the National Society for Collegiate Scholars. She has done presentations for practical nurses.
  • Mathew Slater
    Matthew Slater - Matt has been conducting research with Dr. Tracy Zinn for two years, assisting with several projects. Last year, he primarily assisted on collecting and analyzing data on the shifting evaluation of faculty members, which culminated in a poster at Eastern Psychological Association last spring. This year, with several other students, Matt has worked extensively on designing, implementing, and analyzing data for a project on organizational citizenship behaviors of professors. This was a student project in all phases. Along with his co-authors, Matt will be presenting his data at Eastern Psychological Association in Boston this spring.  In addition, Matt has assisted with data collection and design for many other projects in Dr. Zinn’s research lab. Furthermore, he will also be starting his honors thesis with Dr. Zinn this spring.  Matt continues to tutor a high school student under the supervision of Dr. Joann Grayson.  He was a member of the Psychology Learning Community, the National Society for Collegiate Scholars, Psi Chi, and Psychology Club, and received an award for Outstanding Achievement in Statistics and Research Methods last spring.
  • Stephanie Tigue
    Stephanie Tigue - Stephanie has an extensive list of involvement with the Psychology Department and with the wider JMU community. She was a member of the Psychology Learning Community and continued involvement by developing mentoring activities and experiences for the incoming group, under the direction of Dr. Kenn Barron. Stephanie has engaged in research for two semesters for the Virginia Child Protection Newsletter. The issue she worked on, Children of Incarcerated Parents, is currently at the printers. She has worked with Dr. Craig Abrahamson, assisting with a study on biofeedback and heart rate variability as they relate to anxiety. Service activities include a Program Assistant position with the Counseling and Student and Development Center. She created twelve workshops on various topics such as interpersonal skills and understanding destructive relationships. Stephanie is a Peer Advisor and is currently serving in a leadership position as the Training Liaison for the junior class members. She has also participated in Alternative Spring Break. In summer, 2007, she served as a First Year Orientation Guide. Stephanie is the recipient of the Myra Doherty Memorial Scholarship for two years in a row. She is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, a silver member of Psi Chi, and is a member of Association for Psychological Science.

2007

  • Alex Zincola
    Alex Zinicola is a Criminal Justice minor, and is a member of Psi Chi, the Psychology Club, and Psychology Peer Advising. He has recently been selected to serve as the overall Coordinator for the organization. Alex has completed a research project on play therapy with Dr. Bill Evans, and is currently working on an additional research experience with Dr. Serdikoff researching animal models of psychopathology. He has volunteered at Mercy House, and with School Age Child Care, and through Peer Advising has helped to create a new career development course for the Psychology major. He has also been active raising money to combat hunger and to fund cancer research with the Food Fight against Hunger and Relay for Life. Alex is considering graduate training in behavioral neuroscience after completing his undergraduate degree at JMU.
  • Carolyn Bradshaw is a Family Studies minor and is working on an honors thesis with Dr. Arnie Kahn. She has previously completed a independent study project with Dr. Aashir Nasim and presented a poster at the departmental symposium. She has volunteered with the Boys and Girls Club and worked with the Baby Think It Over Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program.Over the summer, she will be a residential aide at the Devereux Glenholme School for children with behavior problems and learning disabilities.  She is a member of Psi Chi, an Honors Scholar, manager at the student call center Madison Connection, and a member of the National Society for Collegiate Scholars. . Carolyn is considering graduate school in clinical psychology after completing her undergraduate degree at JMU

  • Max Crowley is currently working on an honors thesis with Dr. Kenn Baron. He has completed an independent study project at the Alvin V. Baird Center for Learning Disabilities and in industrial/organizational psychology with Dr. Tracy Zinn, the latter experience led to a poster presented at the Annual meetings of the Association for Psychological Science. He traveled to the town of Paix-Bouche, Dominica as part of a cultural preservation project with the ASB program.  He currently is the campus representative for the Association of Psychological Sciences Student Caucus.  He has also served on the Student Grants and Advisory Committee as Vice President of Psi Chi, and he is a member National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Golden Key Honors Society, APS, EPA, APA, and the Psychology Club. Recently, he was accepted to present a poster at EPA’s annual conference, entitled “The effecto of child age and gender on agreement among parent-teacher ratings of ADHD."

 

2006

  • John Magnotti – is completing majors in both Psychology and Computer Science along with a minor in statistics. He has worked with Tracy Zinn on researching Students as Customers and in the area of Critical Thinking and will be presenting this work at the Eastern Psychological Association Conference in Baltimore next month. In addition to his own research John has helped numerous faculty and students develop computer programs for their own research (sharing his expertise form his second major). John has worked as a teaching assistant for Natalie Kerr (GPSYC 101) and developed The Pedagogy Post website, focusing on teaching psychology. He is a member of the JMU Debate Team who has represented JMU at Regional and National Debates and is President of Public Debate, a group that helps plan and participates in debates on campus and in the Harrisonburg area. John as been a CISAT Scholar (through Computer Science) and a Madison Scholar (through the Honors Program). In graduate school he plans to study Behavioral Teaching Methods and Artificial Intelligence.
  • Kara Makara – is a junior Psyc major with a minor in SPED. She has participated in 402 projects with Drs. Stoloff and Barron, the latter of which will be presented at the national AERA conference this April, and plans to begin work on her honors thesis with Kenn Barron this semester. In addition to her research activities, Kara serves as a Peer Advisor, volunteers with Big Brother/Big Sister of Harrisonburg, has worked one-on-one with 6 autistic children in classroom settings, and has volunteered at the Critical Care Unit at Rockingham Memorial Hospital . She is an honors Program Scholar, has been inducted into National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and is and active member of Psi Chi.
  • Amber Mendres - completed an independent research with Psyc 402 Dr. Bill Ernst on: The Impact of Assimilation to the American Culture on the Nonverbal Cognitive Test Performance of Mexican-American Children that have Recently Immigrated to the U.S. She also presented an ABPsi poster conference presentation in this area. She has been a First Year Orientation Guide (Fall 2004) Helped coordinate AIDS Awareness Week activities (Fall 2004) Alternative Spring Break (March 2004): went to St. Louis, Missouri to work with children pre-natally exposed to drugs or HIV Alternative Spring Break (March 2005): went to York, South Carolina to work with children that had emotional disturbance Served as Risk Manager for Alpha Sigma Tau sorority (Spring 2004 and Fall 2004): planned educational programs for the chapter that focused on health and safety issues. She also organized a sober driver program. Volunteered at Spotswood Elementary in Head-Start Program (Spring 2005) for course in Special Education Serving as Chapter Resource Counselor for Alpha Sigma Tau (this Spring 2006 and Fall 2006): trained to direct chapter members to appropriate resources when in need of assistance with family problems, depression, eating disorders, etc. Treasurer of JMU Equestrian Club (Fall 2005 and this Spring 2006) Volunteer at Harrisonburg Children's museum and Mercy House multiple times.

2005

  • Kathryn Aufderhaar – Katie completed a directed study project with Dr. Sherry Serdikoff and two semesters of independent study with Dr. Bill Evans, helping to develop the new minor in leadership and assisting with a leadership book Dr. Evans is currently working on with Dr. Warner. Currently she is completing an independent study project with Dr. Monica Reis-Bergan. Katie is a Peer Advisor, as well as a member of the Madison Pre-law Society. She has earned a place on the Dean’s List since 2002, serves as the Vice-President of the JMU Chapter of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and is a member of Psi Chi. Katie has served as a volunteer at the Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents and the Sunnyside Retirement Home Alzheimer’s Unit. She was the committee head for the National Society of Collegiate Scholars Up ‘Til Dawn fundraising event for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital , and has participated in the Relay for Life (2004) and Books for Africa (2004) activities.
  • Emily Burgdorf – Emily is a Peer Advisor, and has taken on the leadership role of coordinating all New Major Orientations. She has worked with Dr. Steve Evans in the Challenging Horizons Program. She volunteers with Big Brothers/ Big Sisters and the Campus Assault Response (CARE). She has conducted research with Dr. Arnie Kahn and won the Experimental Methods Award last year. She is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.
  • Samantha Mack - Samantha is an administrator, and research assistant with JMU’s Challenging Horizons Program under the direction of Dr. Steve Evans. She has also been an undergraduate teaching assistant for our research methods and abnormal psychology courses. Outside of the major, she has volunteered to work with children and adolescents with behavioral problems, and with residents of a local retirement community. She has been on the Dean’s and President’s list for multiple semesters.
  • Jessica Major – Jessica is a peer adviser and member of Psi Chi. She has tutored at-risk children for two semesters, and worked with Dr. Steve Evans on attention and learning disabilities. She has taken part in the Madison Challenge, served as student ambassador for Relay for Life, was a team captain for Operation Santa Claus, and helped organize the First-Year Orientation Guide. She has been a volunteer for senior week, Furious Flower, Homecoming week, and at the Harrisonburg Children's Museum, Sunnyside Retirement Community, and coordinated the AIDS awareness week concert.
  • Jane Slomski – Jane has worked with Kara Karr at the Counseling Center presenting workshops, and did a project with the Virginia Child Protection Newsletter. She has been a Women's Resource Center volunteer, presented a Brown Bag Lunch presentation on child maltreatment and domestic violence, and participated in the Psychology Symposium. Jane has been a volunteer at BARN, a shelter for victims of domestic violence in Manassas .

Past Award Recipients

2004

  • Katherine Baird
  • Jennifer Burnett
  • Nicole Cardarelli
  • Brittany Cohen-Iveson
  • Rebekah Jones
  • Ashley Moore
  • Christine Yip

2003

  • Lindsay Barnett
  • Mary Huntsberry
  • Jamie Mickelson
  • Erin Pitts
  • Melissa Shulleeta
  • Elizabeth Williams
  • Shannon Willison

2002

  • Allan Hoffman
  • Hilary Kissel

Contribute to the James J. Hart Memorial Scholarship

When making a donation, use the “Gift Designation: Other” field to specify James J. Hart Memorial Scholarship (Account: 25473/65473). Your contribution can be accepted online. See http://psyc.jmu.edu/ug/visitors/needs.html for more information.