A letter from your outgoing and incoming student representatives
Meet your new student representative.
By Jennifer Lee, MS, and Jackie Lennon
Jennifer Lee, Student Representative 2013-2014
It has been my pleasure to serve SPP as student representative. I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve and feel lucky to have been able to represent your interests for the past two years.
During my time as student representative, I have had the opportunity to work with some wonderful professionals that I know have big futures in pediatric psychology. The following are past or outgoing members of the student advisory board (SAB) that I have had the pleasure of working with during my term whose involvement made accomplishing all of the goals of the SAB seem easy. Specifically, I would like to thank Cathy Odar, Rachelle Ramsey and Kimberly Canter for their hard work in growing the mentor lunch to be the much-anticipated event for students at SPPAC, as well as the other student-oriented programming at APA. I would also like to thank Liz Molson, Margo Szabo, Jason Van Allen and Nicole Wightman for their commitment to increasing SPP student/trainee membership and involvement over the past two years. Katharine Donlon, Shana Schuman and Brigitte Beale have also shown strong dedication to highlighting student work and providing resources to students.
I am excited about the future of SPP. The board continues to be strongly committed to fostering the growth and development of students. I hope that students continue to reap the benefits of their investment in our future and further the field. I know I am leaving the responsibility of representing your interests in the intelligent and capable hands of Jackie Lennon. She is enthusiastic about SPP and has big ideas that I know will make next year as a student member of SPP even better than the last.
Jackie Lennon, Student Representative 2015-2016
I am truly honored to have been selected as the SPP student representative for 2015-2016. Currently, I am a third-year graduate student in the clinical psychology PhD program at Loyola University Chicago, working under the mentorship of Grayson N. Holmbeck, PhD. Thus far, my research has focused on psychosocial functioning in youth with spina bifida, and related family, neuropsychological, cultural and resilience factors.
I am thrilled to begin serving in the student representative position. I have been a student member of SPP since 2012, and over the past two years I have become increasingly impressed with the hard work and dedication of the board of directors, the SAB and the general SPP membership. This hard work and dedication is evident in the productiveness and passion that so clearly characterizes SPP, and I am proud to be in a leadership position of such an organization. In addition, I continue to be impressed with SPP’s commitment to student/trainee development. I am confident that this commitment will ensure that SPP remains at the forefront of pediatric psychology.
I am grateful to Jennifer Lee and the current SAB for their leadership and accomplishments over the past two years. Together with the SAB, my goal is to continue to promote student interests and involvement in division programming, structure and training. To accomplish this, I will strive to encourage student involvement within special interest groups (SIGs) and student attendance at both SPPAC and APA. Both conferences offer excellent opportunities for students to develop their professional identity as pediatric psychologists. There are numerous ways through which you can benefit from attending these meetings —presenting research; attending presentations and workshops on advancements in the field; attending SIG meetings to collaborate and learn more about areas of interest; developing relationships with mentors and fellow students (your future collaborators); learning about training and career opportunities, and more.
I look forward to channeling my passion and dedication to the field of pediatric psychology into serving SPP students and trainees. I encourage you to contact me anytime with questions, comments or ideas. I hope to see many of you in San Diego.