Pictured from left: Ilona Yim, professor of psychological science; Michael Busse; Georgia Lundon; Kennedy M. Blevins; and Eberhard Busse.
Pair of Ph.D. students honored
Psychological science doctoral students Kennedy M. Blevins and Georgia Lundon are the inaugural recipients of the David Busse and Hyeja Busse Memorial Fellowship.
The fellowship honors the memory of the late alumnus David Busse (Ph.D. in psychology and social behavior, 2017) and his mother Hyeja Busse. Eberhard Busse, David’s father and Hyeja’s husband, established a $50,000 endowment to honor his son and his wife and award $1,000 scholarships to psychological science graduate students.
Blevins and Lundon were selected for their impressive research studies.
Blevins, who expects to graduate this year, is studying how cultural factors relate to well-being and positive psychological traits and cardiovascular health. The title of her dissertation: “Exploring Potential Benefits and Ramifications of the Superwoman Schema on Cardiovascular Health.”
She recalls doing research with David Busse when he was a student on campus.
“I had the pleasure of working on a project David started during his time at UCI,” Blevins says. “It was focused on exploring the concept of discrimination reactivity, or how individuals respond to discrimination-based stress, and the development of a questionnaire to measure this construct. I learned so much about scale development and factor analysis from working on that project!”
Lundon, who plans to graduate in 2026, did not know Busse.
“However, in reading my way through his 10 authored publications, it is clear that David made impressive contributions to the literature on stress and disease,” she says. “An endowment scholarship is a beautiful way to honor someone, and receiving one feels incredibly special. I am heartened to know that David and Hyeja will continue to be remembered and spoken about in perpetuity because of their family's generous gift.”
Lundon’s research interests concern the credibility of child witnesses in maltreatment cases.
“This work includes how to generate truthful and productive narratives about abuse and violence, as well as understanding and improving how laypersons perceive child witnesses in sexual abuse cases,” she explains. “I am keenly interested in translational research and hope to do my bit to bridge the gap between evidence-based recommendations and child interviewing at large. I was drawn to my research area by being impressed by the resilience and capability of children, and I have been able to pursue my studies because of the warmth, support, and opportunities I have received from more senior researchers in the field.”
— Mimi Ko Cruz