Article archive / September 2017
Originally published: . Volume 8, No. 9. Source pages: 11.
ULM Grad Student Seth Tackett Earns APA Travel Award
ULM News Report
Seth Tackett, a first-year graduate student in psychology at the University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM), traveled to Washington, D.C., Aug. 3-6, to present his research at the 125th Annual American Psychological Association Convention, according to ULM news.
Tackett, is from Oak Grove, Louisiana, and earned his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from ULM in 2016.
This is the first time a ULM psychology student has received the APA Student Travel Award, which according to Bill McCown, Ph.D., Associate Dean and Professor of Psychology, is quite an honor, said the report.
Tackett was among more than 250 students to apply and only a few were selected. McCown said the award is rarely given to master’s degree students, and that it usually goes to doctoral candidates at Tier 1 schools who are completing dissertation research.
“Selections were based on the merit of the students’ research,” McCown told ULM News, “with some ‘really big players’ competing.”
In his research, Tackett examined minority students’ graduation rates, fears of failure, gender-role conflicts and choices of college majors.
Mr. Tackett believes that if minority students and their advisors become aware of psychological factors that shape students’ expectations and performances, it will lead to optimal career planning and better goal setting, noted the article.
“I am from a small Louisiana town, but at ULM I have been exposed to people and ideas from all over the world,” Tackett said to ULM News. “My research mentors, Dr. Janelle McDaniel and Dr. Jack Palmer, are as inspirational and as dedicated as anyone could find anywhere.”
Tackett plans to follow in the footsteps of his mentors after he earns his Master of Science in General Psychology.
“After I graduate I plan to pursue my Ph.D. in psychology and achieve my dream of becoming a professor,” he said to ULM News.
“I can’t imagine any other university preparing me better for the next phase of my life. The skills I learned here will be with me forever.”
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