Current Post-Baccalaureate Students

Jocelyn graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a B.A. in Psychology in March 2024. During her time as an undergrad, she worked as a Human Resource Coordinator for SI-Bone, a medical company in Santa Clara, California, and she worked as a Behavioral Technician (BT) during her senior year. It was during her time as a BT that she longed for more research opportunities after providing therapy to children with autism, which pushed her to apply to the UCI Psychological Science post-bacc program. Due to Jocelyn's upbringing in a Mexican household with little to no regard for the severity and importance of mental health issues and resources, she has decided to work in labs that represent her passion for her community. Jocelyn has been working in Dr. Schueller's Supporting Peer Interactions to Expand Access (SUPERA) Lab and in Dr. Borelli's Health, Relationships, and Interventions (THRIVE) Lab, resulting in poster presentations at the 2025 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine and the 2025 Western Psychological Association conference in Las Vegas, and she has been taking courses such as the Science & Practice of Compassion, Advanced Research Methods, and Abnormal Psychology. In addition, she served as a peer tutor for Dr. Zinger's Social Relationships course and Psychology Fundamentals course, for which she earned the 2025 Outstanding Contribution to the School of Social Ecology award. Moving forward, Jocelyn hopes to obtain a Ph.D. or Psy.D. in clinical psychology and eventually open her private practice. 

Anna completed her B.A. in Fine Arts with an emphasis on Photography and minors in Art History and Sociology from Hofstra University in Long Island, NY.  While attending university, she worked as a Resident Assistant, where she learned to identify and provide support and resources for students in distress. There, she was trained in counseling, conflict mediation, crisis response, and suicide prevention and intervention. Her experiences as a Resident Assistant cultivated a passion for mental health. After graduation, Anna explored careers in fine arts, fashion, photography, and marketing before ultimately pursuing her dream of clinical psychology. Before enrolling in the post-baccalaureate program at UCI, she completed coursework in Introduction to Psychology, Human Development, Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, Research Methods in Psychology, Introduction to Physiological Psychology, and Abnormal Psychology. As a post-baccalaureate student, she is working with Dr. Michelle Fortier at the UCI Center on Stress & Health, which is dedicated to understanding and improving the patient experience in healthcare. At the UCI Center on Stress & Health, she will be devoting her time to Dr. Fortier's "Transition of Care" project. Her research interests center on the effects of chronic illness and chronic pain in young adulthood, which she aims to pursue while earning a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.  

Michelle graduated with honors from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2023 with a B.A. in Linguistics and Psychology. During her undergraduate studies, she served as a research assistant in Dr. Knowlton's Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, where she worked on projects examining the effects of early life stress on habitual behavior. Her research interest lies in the correlation between cognitive flexibility and bilingualism. During her time in the post-bacc program, Michelle has been working as a research assistant in Dr. Kroll's Bilingualism, Mind, and Brain Lab (in the School of Education) and in Dr. Chen's Cross-Cultural Psychology Lab (in the Dept. of Psychological Science), while also taking courses such as Advanced Research Methods and Applied Statistics. In addition, she attended the 2024 California Meeting on Psycholinguistics in San Diego, and she presented a poster at the 2025 Association for Psychological Science (APS) conference in Washington DC (for which she received a student travel award from APS). In June 2025, Michelle received a $700 scholarship from the UCI Division of Continuing Education and the 2025 Exceptional Achievement in Undergraduate Research Award from the UCI School of Social Ecology. Michelle hopes to pursue a PhD in cognitive psychology or psycholinguistics after completing the post-bacc program.

Sarah graduated with honors from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) in 2022 with a B.A. in Psychological Science and in Art. During her time at UCI, she held research assistantships in Dr. Jessie Borelli’s Health, Relationships, & Interventions (THRIVE) Lab and Dr. Zoe Klemfuss’ Child Narratives Lab. In her final year, she completed an internship with the Child Abuse Services Team (CAST). After graduating, she worked as a Youth Mental Health Specialist at Waymakers, solidifying her career path in adolescent clinical psychology. Her research interests include adolescence, childhood adverse experiences, internalizing disorders, trauma, and psychosis. During her time in the post-bacc program, Sarah has been working in Dr. Uma Rao’s Biobehavioral Research on Adolescent Development (BRoAD) Lab and in Dr. Schiffman’s Psychosis Risk Evaluation, Early Intervention, and Treatment (PREVENT) Lab, resulting in a poster presentation at the 2025 Association for Psychological Science conference in Washington DC. In addition, she has been completing courses such as Advanced Research Methods, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Psychosis, and Personality Disorders. Outside of UCI, she also serves as a Museum Educator at the Orange County Museum of Art. In June 2025, Sarah received the 2025 Exceptional Achievement in Undergraduate Research Award from the UCI School of Social Ecology.

John earned his B.A. in economics and B.S. in psychology from Loyola University Chicago. After Loyola, John moved to the University of South Carolina, where he received his M.Ed. in higher education and student affairs. After completing his master’s degree at the University of South Carolina, John moved back to Chicago, where he worked as an academic advisor (and later, as an enrollment manager) while completing his M.S. in statistics at Loyola University Chicago. After earning his master’s degree from Loyola, John moved back to the west coast, working as a data scientist in academia. He is currently working in Dr. Jaeggi’s Working Memory and Plasticity Lab, and his research interests include learning, knowledge transfer, and technology’s impact on brain chemistry (especially as it relates to depression and anxiety).

Dana graduated with a BA in Psychology & Social Behavior from the University of California, Irvine in 2017. Throughout her time there, she completed a field study internship at Women Helping Women and conducted a qualitative research study regarding racial profiling in retail settings. She then received her MSc in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology at the University of East London (England) while working in Human Resources for Louis Vuitton, where she implemented a successful positive psychology wellness program for staff. Dana conducted a mixed methods research study regarding the effects of gratitude meditation during the Covid-19 pandemic for her master's thesis. During her first year in the post-bacc program, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Tabibnia Rauch's TAB lab, resulting in a poster presentation (about video clips that elicit awe) at the 2025 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine, and she has been completing courses such as Advanced Research Methods, Biological Psychology, Statistical Analysis in Social Ecology, and Stress Management. In addition, she served as a peer tutor for Dr. Zinger's Fall 2024 Human Sexuality course (for which she received the 2025 Outstanding Contribution to the School of Social Ecology Award), and she was awarded an $800 scholarship from the UCI Division of Continuing Education. Outside of UCI, Dana has been teaching Introduction to Psychology courses at Irvine Valley College. After completing our program, Dana plans to apply to PhD programs in positive psychology. 

Audrey earned her B.S. in Psychological and Brain Sciences with minors in Applied Psychology and Asian American Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara. During her undergraduate studies, she served as an Executive Research Assistant in the Vision and Image Understanding Lab with Dr. Miguel Eckstein, where she trained fellow research assistants, coded data results, and conducting prescreening for projects. She also contributed to the Cultural Psychology Lab with Dr. Heejung Kim; she completed her senior thesis in this lab, which earned her distinction in the major. Audrey’s thesis involved a cross-cultural study exploring height and weight preferences in the U.S. and China. In addition to her research, she worked as a peer mentor, guiding first- and second-year students in their transition to university life and supporting their career aspirations in psychology. Outside of her academics, she volunteered in the Psychology Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Undergraduate Committee at UC Santa Barbara to foster a climate that promotes DEI among the psychology department, attract a diverse and representative undergraduate student body to pre-majors, and provide a channel of information and communication for DEI issues.  Alongside her academic pursuits, Audrey gained professional experience as a part-time administrative assistant at a home healthcare company in the San Bernardino area. As a post-bacc student, Audrey is working in Dr. Sng’s Evolution, Culture, and Stereotyping Lab and in Dr. Zinger’s Anxiety & Word Use Meta-Analysis Lab. Her research interests focus on moral judgments, the cultural mechanisms perpetuating racial and economic inequality, and how environmental factors shape perceptions of ethnicity, education, values, social class, and attitudes. She aspires to pursue a Ph.D. in Social Psychology, with the long-term goal of promoting diversity within the field.

Alyssa graduated from UC Irvine in 2023 with a B.A. in Psychological Science, having transferred from Long Beach City College. During her time at Long Beach, she volunteered with at-promise youth through Long Beach BLAST, participated in the psychology club, and worked with children in the foster care system as part of a summer camp program. At UC Irvine, Alyssa took part in the field study program, gaining hands-on experience in an ABA therapy office. Her field study research culminated in a literature review that explored ways to improve interactions between law enforcement and individuals with autism. Currently, as a post-bacc student, she is gaining valuable research experience in Dr. Cauffman’s Development, Disorder, and Delinquency (3D) Lab. Her ultimate goal is to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and conduct research within the forensic population.

Narumi completed a three-year Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology at the University of Melbourne in 2010 in Australia. Upon her entrance, she received the University of Melbourne New Generation Undergraduate Award/Scholarship, awarded based on high school academic excellence. Then, she completed a fourth-year undergraduate Psychology Honours program at the Australian National University in 2012 with First Class Honours. Her Honours research with Associate Professor Boris Bizumic investigated the connections between national identities and inter-intragroup behaviors, and her thesis was later published in Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology. After graduation, she returned to and worked in Japan for a decade as a business consultant and manager for a company that is one of the world's leading providers of audit, consulting, and risk services. During this time, she specialized in supporting companies to thrive in a crisis, until a life event re-ignited her passion for psychological research. She has also been a volunteer, mentoring adolescents facing challenges. In the post-bacc program, she is involved in Dr. Oliver Sng’s Evolution, Culture, and Stereotyping (EVOCS) lab, investigating how various ecological circumstances shape people’s psychology; her work in this lab has resulted in poster presentations at the 2025 Society for Personality & Social Psychology conference in Denver. In addition, she has been completing courses such as Clinical Psychology and Personality Disorders, and she was awarded an $800 scholarship from the UCI Division of Continuing Education. After completing our program, she aspires to pursue her research career through psychology Ph.D. programs.

Tamara graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana in May 2024, earning a Bachelor of Science in Psychological Sciences with a minor in Business Administration. During her academic journey, she conducted an independent study investigating the relationship between physical discipline and anxiety symptoms in adulthood. Additionally, she interned with Dr. Marcelo Wood at the University of California, Irvine, where she researched long-term memory and drug-seeking behaviors in mice.  In her senior year, Tamara served as a research assistant in the J.U.S.T. Lab at Xavier, focusing on suspension rates in hyper-segregated schools and working to mitigate the effects of systemic oppression in Louisiana through evidence-based intervention strategies. She also volunteered at St. Michael’s, a grade school for special needs children, through a program called Pair Care. Her commitment to the field of psychology was further enhanced by her research experience and her role as a preschool teacher.  As a post-bacc student, Tamara joined The Schuck Child Development Lab and The Craig School, where she is continuing her exploration of family dynamics, interventions, and neurodevelopmental disorders in children. In addition, she has been taking courses such as Cultural Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Applied Statistics, and she was awarded a $700 scholarship from the UCI Division of Continuing Education. Outside of UCI, Tamara is working part-time as a Behavioral Technician at Coyne and Associates.  Following the completion of the post-bacc program, she aspires to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.

Elise graduated from Boston College with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Medical Humanities. As an undergraduate, she was involved in various research labs, including the Treatment and Etiology of Depression in Youth Lab and the Institute for the Study of Resilience in Youth at McLean Hospital, as well as the Mind Perception Lab at Boston College. As she developed her research interests, she developed a passion for legal and forensic psychology.  While studying abroad in Stockholm, Sweden, she designed and ran a between-subjects study on mock juror perceptions of victims of intimate partner violence. For her senior honors thesis, she conducted a study on social desirability and establishing moral credentialing with mock jurors about Black defendants; she hopes to present the results of this study (as a poster presentation) at a professional conference in the near future. At UCI, Elise has joined Dr. Elizabeth Cauffman's Development, Disorder, and Delinquency (3D) Lab, where she is assisting with the lab's research on adolescent development and juvenile justice. Elise intends to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical psychology following the post-bacc program.

Sophie graduated from Boston University (BU) in 2024 with a B.A. in Neuroscience and minors in Physics and Deaf Studies. During her summers, she worked in Dr. Zeineh’s lab at Stanford, focusing on hippocampal segmentation in ex-vivo Alzheimer’s brain samples. At BU, Sophie was a research assistant in Dr. Denison’s lab, where she designed and conducted experiments on temporal visual attention. Her research interests include child development, education, and language acquisition. During her time in the post-bacc program, Sophie has been working in Dr. Reich’s lab in the School of Education (studying child development in academic settings), which resulted in a poster presentation at the 2025 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference. In addition, she has been taking courses such as Child Development, Cultural Psychology, Research Design, Abnormal Psychology, and Positive Psychology in Education. Outside of UCI, Sophie serves as a behavioral interventionist at an applied behavioral analysis company, working with children and young adults with autism, and in June 2025, Sophie received the Exceptional Achievement in Undergraduate Research Award from the UCI School of Social Ecology.

Gahl graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Secondary English Education and Creative Writing and Literature. As an undergraduate, Gahl was interested in psychology and creative writing, working part-time as both a research assistant at the Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute and as a literary arts program coordinator for the Neutral Zone (Ann Arbor’s Teen Center). After graduating, he merged these interests, entering into Concordia University’s master’s-level teaching fellowship in Spoken Word Education, which utilized spoken word poetry and socio-emotional learning in school-wide intervention programs to connect at-risk youth with counseling and social services. After the program’s conclusion, Gahl continued to be involved in mental health research and care, first as a volunteer with Dr. Russell Kabir’s Self-Efficacy and Learning Behavior Laboratory and as a crisis lifeline volunteer with the Tokyo English Lifeline, and later with Dr. Jim Abelson in his research on stress biomarkers and the HPA axis. As a post-bacc student, he has joined Dr. Zalta’s Trauma and Resilience Lab. His research interests include mental health risk and resilience, adverse life experiences, narrative construction and editing, and mixed methods research. After completing the program, Gahl plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.

Ursula graduated cum laude from Harvard University with a B.A. in English & American Literature in May 2000. While there, she volunteered as a counselor and co-director for Room 13 (Harvard’s on-campus peer counseling group), co-led the Four Directions Summer Research Program at the Harvard Medical School for a summer, and facilitated a cervical cancer prevention program for native women in the local community. Ursula was also very involved with the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP), where she served as head dancer and volunteer coordinator for the Annual Harvard Powwow. After she graduated, she worked in non-profit fundraising and development for nearly a decade before transitioning into digital marketing, which enabled her to have the flexibility she wanted to start building a family. Today, Ursula and her husband, David, are proud parents to 10, 12, and 14-year-old children. As her children age, she is eager to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. She is interested in researching the impact of intergenerational historical trauma and adverse life experiences on mental health among American Indians, cultural resilience, and the application of Indigenized therapeutic interventions. While in the post-baccalaureate program, she will be working as a research assistant in Dr. Jessica Borelli’s Health, Relationships, and Interventions (THRIVE) Lab while taking courses in research design, social psychology, clinical psychology, abnormal psychology, statistical analysis in social ecology, and applied statistics.

Rae graduated with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Counseling from California State University Sacramento in May 2023. During her undergraduate studies, she interned as a Peer Counselor at Sac State's Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS). For this role, she trained in basic counseling and crisis intervention skills to support peers in virtual sessions. After completing the internship, she was hired as a Lead Peer Counselor, focusing on marketing, producing wellness content, and recruiting. While working for SHCS, she was accepted into the Student Affairs Leaders of Tomorrow program to learn wellness program development and assessment, bridging her interests in mental well-being and policy. As a post-bacc student, Rae has been working in Dr. Pressman's Stress, Emotion, and Physical Health (STEP) Lab, resulting in poster presentations at the 2025 Association for Psychological Science conference in Washington DC and the 2025 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine. In addition, she has been completing courses such as Advanced Research Methods, Positive Psychology, and Clinical Psychology, and in June 2025, she received the Outstanding Contribution to the Community Award from the UCI School of Social Ecology. She hopes to gain insight from the post-bacc program on choosing and preparing for graduate programs in Clinical Psychology.

Veronica graduated magna cum laude and earned her B.A. degree in Psychology from Cal Poly Pomona in May 2024. During her undergraduate studies, she was widely involved in many activities both on and off campus. Veronica worked as a research assistant for the Psychology of Connection Lab (PSoCOLab) her junior year, in which she focused on researching the impact that ADHD and trauma history had on Latinx and African American college students’ attachment styles and academics. She then became a research consultant for the PSoCOLab her senior year, in which she provided research consultation to newly onboarded lab students. During this time, she joined the McNair Scholars Program, in which she conducted her own research project that focused on how people’s family of origin effects their views of mental health stigmas and help-seeking behaviors in Latinx college students. This resulted in her presenting her research at a variety of conferences, such as the Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research, the National Conference for Undergraduate Research, and the Western Psychological Association (WPA) Conference, to name a few. Veronica was also a part of different organizations and clubs, such as being both a chapter and international member for Psi Chi, being a WPA student member, and being an American Psychological Association student member. During her senior year, she spent her time volunteering for Psyches of Color (POC), a non-profit organization that focuses on providing mental health support to Black and Latinx adolescents in order to reduce stigma surrounding mental health and to advocate for overall healing. At POC, she was both a mental health facilitator and the youth lead chair for the Mentoring POC Program. During her time in the post-bacc program, Veronica spent one quarter working in Dr. Molina's Health Inequality lab, and she currently works in Dr. Borelli's Health, Relationships, and Interventions (THRIVE) lab (first as a research assistant and now as a study coordinator). She has been taking courses such as Advanced Research Methods, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Applied Statistics, and Attachment Relationships, and she attended the 2025 Western Psychological Association conference in Las Vegas. In addition, Veronica was awarded the 2025 UCI Division of Continuing Education Scholarship. Veronica aspires to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and hopes to work with those from underrepresented and marginalized communities. She hopes to provide mental health awareness to the BIPOC community and help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health in the community.

Ashley graduated cum laude from the University of California, Irvine in June of 2024 with a B.A. in Psychological Science. In her final year of undergrad, she took Dr. Borelli’s Attachment Relationships course and was so interested in Dr. Borelli’s research and clinical work that she decided to apply for her Health, Relationships, and Intervention (THRIVE) Lab. Becoming a research assistant for one of the studies in the THRIVE lab made Ashley realize that research was the right path for her, and she applied for the post-bacc program at UCI in order to take more robust coursework and obtain mentorship in preparing her graduate school applications. As a post-bacc student, Ashley is continuing her work as a volunteer for two different studies within the THRIVE lab (one as a research assistant and one as a study coordinator) and working on an independent project in Dr. Lukowski’s Infants, Children, and Families (INCHES) Lab, while also completing courses such as Human Sexuality, Advanced Research Methods, Applied Statistics, Neurobiology of Cognition, and Motivation. In addition, she presented posters at the 2025 Western Psychological Association conference in Las Vegas, the 2025 Association for Psychological Science conference in Washington DC, and the 2025 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine, and in June 2025, she received the Exceptional Achievement in Undergraduate Research Award from the UCI School of Social Ecology.

Jasmine graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 2022 with a B.A. in Psychological Science and. in Criminology, Law, and Society. During her undergraduate studies, Jasmine joined the Latinx Student Psychological Association, immersing herself in the Latinx experience of higher education and mental health. She was also part of the Peer Educator Program at the Counseling Center, where she not only expanded her knowledge on student mental health topics but also had the opportunity to educate her peers by curating and presenting psychoeducational workshops. After graduation, Jasmine worked as a Research Assistant and then Research Coordinator at Health & Inclusivity, a company dedicated to helping organizations analyze and implement DEI initiatives. Additionally, she was a Scheduling Assistant at Camden Center, a mental health and addiction treatment center that offers patients personalized care through interdisciplinary treatment. Through these roles, Jasmine learned about the importance of mental health and has developed a strong commitment to fostering inclusive environments that prioritize well-being and equitable access to care. During her time in the post-bacc program, Jasmine has been working in Professor Schiffman’s Psychosis Risk, Evaluation, Early Intervention, and Treatment (PREVENT) Lab, resulting in a poster presentation at the 2025 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine. In addition, she has been taking courses such as Clinical Psychology and Psychosis, and she received $700 scholarship from the UCI Division of Continuing Education.

As a writer, Autumn was engaged in the world of psychology years before pursuing the path academically. Her bachelor’s degree in journalism and minor in women’s studies from the University of Oregon led her to develop a body of work focusing on women’s relationships with appearance. Her book, Face Value: The Hidden Ways Beauty Shapes Women’s Lives (Simon & Schuster, 2016), has a strong psychological bent, as evidenced by Psychology Today’s invitation to become a featured blogger. She hopes that her time in the post-bacc program will help her expand her lens to include stress, trauma and intergenerational trauma, attachment, and other areas that will support her understanding as she (most likely) follows a clinical path. She is working in Dr. Silver’s Stress and Coping Lab.