Post-Baccalaureate Program Alumni

Bryan earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music at UCLA in 2010, where he studied cello performance and music composition. During his time in the post-bacc program, he worked in Dr. Jacqueline Chen’s Social Cognition & Intergroup Perception Lab (and later in Dr. Paul Piff's Social Hierarchy, Inequality, and Emotion lab) as a research assistant, and he took courses in Introduction to Psychology, Statistics, Abnormal Psychology, Research Design, Social Psychology, and Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination, as well as auditing a graduate-level Prosocial Behavior course. He presented posters at the 2016 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference and the 2017 Society for Personality & Social Psychology (SPSP) conference in San Antonio, TX, and he attended the religion preconference at 2016 SPSP conference in San Diego.  Bryan was subsequently accepted to Social Psychology Ph.D. programs at the University of Minnesota (with a $20k guaranteed minimum stipend for 5 years, plus a full tuition waiver) and Cornell (with full funding), and he decided to attend Cornell (which he started in Fall 2017).  Most recently (in October 2020), Bryan earned a master's degree (en route to the Ph.D.) and successfully passed his comprehension/qualifying exams at Cornell; he has now officially advanced to Ph.D. Candidacy.

Belinda graduated from Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in Economics. During her time in the post-bacc program, she took courses in Abnormal Psychology, Cognitive Science, Adolescent Development, Clinical Neuroscience, and Addiction, and she presented a poster at the Anxiety and Depression Conference in San Francisco; outside of UCI, Belinda worked as a (paid) part-time research assistant in two labs in the Anxiety and Depression Research Center at UCLA. In March 2017, the Principal Investigator at this UCLA center offered Belinda a (paid) full-time RA position, so she decided to leave the post-bacc program to accept this exciting opportunity at UCLA.  After working in this position for over two years, Belinda applied to graduate school, and in Winter 2020, she was accepted to the Clinical Ph.D. programs at UCLA and the University of Kentucky.  She accepted the offer at UCLA, and she started this program in Fall 2020.  Most recently (in April 2022), Belinda was awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, a highly competitive and prestigious award (given to only 114 psychology students in the whole country) that provides three years of graduate funding.

Max graduated from Brown University in 2015 with a degree in Physics and English. He worked in the Department of Astronomy at University of California - Berkeley for two years before becoming a freelance journalist writing about culture, science, and the environment. During his time in the post-bacc program, he worked as a research assistant in Dr. Angela Lukowski's Memory & Development Lab, where he conducted research on sleep, memory, and development. He also completed courses in Lifespan Developmental Psychology, Health Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Adolescent Development, Advanced Research Methods, and Clinical Psychology, and he presented a poster at the Western Psychological Association conference in Pasadena, CA. In March 2019, Max was accepted to the University of Pennsylvania for their Clinical Ph.D. program, and he began this program in Fall 2019.

Diane graduated from the University of California, Davis with a B.A. in English literature and minor in Political Science, with an emphasis on political theory. During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked in Dr. Zinger and Dr. Ditto's research labs, and she took courses in Abnormal Psychology, Statistics, Applied Statistics, Research Design, Social Psychology, and Prejudice, Stereotyping, & Discrimination, as well as a graduate-level course in Interpersonal Processes & Health. She presented posters at the 2016 Association for Psychological Science conference in Chicago, the 2016 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine, and 2017 Society for Personality & Social Psychology (SPSP) conference in San Antonio, TX, and she attended the 2016 SPSP conference in San Diego.  After completing our program, Diane earned her master's degree in Developmental Psychology from UC Santa Barbara and then spent some time working as the Director of Education at the Turner Foundation.  In Winter 2020, she was accepted to the Education Ph.D. programs at USC, UC Davis, and UC San Diego, and she accepted the offer from USC.  She is on track to earn her Ph.D. from this program in Spring 2025.

Naomi graduated from the University of California - Irvine in Spring 2021 with a B.A. in Psychological Science and a B.A. in Criminology, Law, & Society. During her undergrad, she interned at a diversion program at the United States Pretrial Services - Southern District. This internship - along with some of the courses she took at UCI (including Attachment Relationships, Developmental Psychopathology, Psychology and the Law, and Advanced Research Methods) - helped further develop her research interests in the influence of familial and social relationships on adolescent delinquency. Additionally, as an undergraduate student, she worked as a research assistant for Dr. Reiter’s Prison Pandemic Lab (on The COVID-19 in California Prisons project) and in Dr. Borelli’s Health, Relationships, and Intervention Lab (on The Enjoying Memories study); she was also awarded a research grant from the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) and gave a poster presentation at the 2021 UROP conference.  During her time in our program, she was a lead research assistant for the Enjoying Memories study in Dr. Borelli's lab and she joined Dr. Cauffman’s Development, Disorder, and Delinquency Lab, resulting in poster presentations at the 2022 Western Psychological Association conference in Portland and the 2022 Association for Psychological Science conference in Chicago.  In addition, she completed courses in Deviance and Applied Statistics.  After completing our program, she worked for several months as a part-time, paid research assistant in Dr. Cauffman's lab and then as a volunteer study manager in Dr. Belinda Campos' Culture, Relationships, and Health Lab. Most recently (in March 2024), she was admitted to the Developmental Psychology Ph.D. program at UC Riverside, and she began this program in Fall 2024.

Danielle earned her B.A. in Theatre Arts from The University of San Diego (USD) in 2012. During her time in the program, she worked in Dr. Piff’s Morality, Emotion, and Social Hierarchy lab and she completed courses in Psychology of Inequality, Research Design, Applied Statistics, Advanced Research Methods, Political Psychology, and Global Poverty & Inequality.  Danielle presented at several different conferences during her time in the post-bacc program, including two poster presentations at the 2018 Society for Personality & Social Psychology conference in Atlanta, GA and oral presentations at the 2018 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine, CA and at the 2018 Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues conference in Pittsburgh, PA.  Upon completion of the post-bacc program, Danielle worked as a (paid) part-time research assistant in Dr. Piff's lab - and then in Winter 2019, she was accepted to the Personality and Social Contexts Ph.D. program at the University of Michigan and to the Social Psychology Ph.D. program at Tulane University.  She began the University of Michigan program in Fall 2019, and she was awarded the Jenessa Shapiro Graduate Research Award from the Society for Personality & Social Psychology in October 2020.

Amanda became gravitated toward the field of psychology through her time spent working and living in an orphanage in Mexico before starting her B.A. in psychology at UC Riverside. During her undergraduate studies, she worked with foster youth and interviewed their significant others in the Adaptation to Aging Out Lab; she also contributed to a Social and Cognitive Processes Lab to explore the accuracy of eyewitness testimonials after a traumatic event. During her time in the post-bacc program, Amanda worked with Dr. Quas and Dr. Cauffman, conducting field interviews with at-risk youth and their families, and she volunteered at the Omid Institute, where she helped to support the clinical team and worked with Dr. Sayyedi (the CEO of the institute) on some research studies regarding multiculturalism.  In addition, she completed courses in Developmental Psychopathology, Applied Statistics, and Advanced Research Methods, and she served as a Learning Assistant for Professor Dent's Statistical Analysis in Social Ecology course.  She also presented two posters at the 2018 Association for Psychological Science conference and presented a talk (as part of the Young Investigator Symposium) - and won an "Outstanding Research Presentation in Developmental Psychology" award for this presentation - at the 2018 American Psychological Association conference.  In January 2019, Amanda accepted a full-time (paid) Survey Researcher position in Dr. Jen Skeem's Risk-Resilience Lab at UC Berkeley (in the School of Social Welfare), where she conducted interviews with patients and staff and Napa State Hospital who were part of an intervention to reduce violence among hospital units.  Most recently, Amanda was accepted to the Ph.D. programs at UC Riverside (Developmental Psychology), UC Davis (Social-Developmental Psychology), FIU (Legal Psychology), and ASU (Psychology & the Law), and she began the program at UC Riverside in Fall 2021.

Jennifer holds a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics, with a minor in Philosophy, from the University of Washington, Seattle, and she is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries.  During her time in the post-bacc program, she completed courses in Clinical Neuroscience, Psychodynamic Studies, Human Memory, Applied Statistics, Brain Disorders, and Research Design, and she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Martin's Behaviors, Emotions, and Affective Neuroscience Lab.  In March 2017, she attended the Cognitive Neuroscience Conference in San Francisco, CA, and in May 2017, she gave an oral presentation at the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) conference in Irvine, CA.  In February 2018, Jennifer was accepted to UC Berkeley's Cognitive Neuroscience Ph.D. program (with full funding + a Berkeley Fellowship, which increased her funding above their standard stipend and reduced her teaching assistant requirement).  She began this program in Fall 2018 and completed it in Summer 2024.  Since earning her Ph.D., Jennifer has been working as a postdoctoral scholar at the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute (HWNI) at UC Berkeley.

Rebecca graduated in Spring of 2018 from the University of California, Irvine with a degree in Psychology & Social Behavior. In Summer 2018, Rebecca began working in Dr. Michael Yassa’s Translational Neurobiology Lab (in the UCI Department of Neurobiology and Behavior), where she worked on studies that examined the etiology and effects of mood disorders on memory and assisted with MRI scans for studies involving age, Alzheimer’s Disease, and grief.  She continued working in Dr. Yassa's lab during her time in the post-bacc program, while also completing courses in Biological Psychology, Safety & Ethics, Developmental Psychopathology, Matlab Programming, Advanced Research Methods, Applied Statistics, and Research Directions in Psychology & Social Behavior.  In January 2019, she accepted a paid, part-time Junior Research Specialist position in Professor Bornstein's Lab (in the Department of Cognitive Sciences), and in February 2019, she presented a poster at the Society for Personality & Social Psychology Conference in Portland, OR.  After completing the post-bacc program, Rebecca was admitted to the University of Arizona for their Cognition & Neurosystems Ph.D. program, Syracuse University for their Cognitive Psychology Ph.D. program, and the University of Texas at Austin for their Cognitive  Science Ph.D. program.  She accepted the offer from Syracuse University, and she began their program in Fall 2020.

Ramona received a BA in Political Science and a minor in Sociology from Loyola Marymount University and an MSc in Social and Cultural Psychology from the London School of Economics. During her time in the post-bacc program, Ramona worked as a research assistant in Dr. Charles’ Emotion Research Lab and in Dr. Zalta’s Trauma & Resilience Lab; she also collaborated with Dr. Lukowski to write a chapter about developmental psychology, and she was a Tobis Fellow at the UCI Ethics Center.  In addition, Ramona presented a poster at the 2019 Society for Personality and Social Psychology conference in Portland, OR, and she attended the 2019 Diversifying Psychology weekend at Miami University of Ohio.  After completing the post-bacc program, Ramona spent a year working as a full-time (paid) research assistant position in Dr. Zalta's lab, and she presented a poster at the 2019 Society for Research in Psychopathology in Buffalo, NY.  In Winter 2020, Ramona was accepted to five Social/Personality Ph.D. programs (all with full funding): University of North Carolina, Ohio State, University of Buffalo, University of California - Riverside, and Purdue University.  She began the Ph.D. program at UC Riverside in Fall 2020, and she earned her M.A. in psychology (en route to the Ph.D.) in Spring 2022.  As a graduate student, Ramoma was awarded the Jenessa Shapiro Graduate Research Award from the Society for Personality & Social Psychology (which provides assistance to graduate students from an underrepresented background with the cost of conducting research in personality and/or social psychology), and she received a grant from the Network for Emotional Well-being: Science, Practice, and Measurement (funded by the National Institutes of Health) to complete a research project entitled, "The Genomic and Well-Being Impacts of an Extraverted Behavior Intervention: Assessing the Moderating Roles of Dispositional Introversion and Shyness." Most recently (December 2024), Ramona accepted a tenure-track position as an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Cal State Long Beach, and she will begin this position in Fall 2025.

Jacob graduated from Portland State University in 2015 with his Bachelor of Science in Philosophy.  During his time in the post-bacc program, Jacob was a research assistant in Dr. Martin's Behaviors, Emotions, and Affective Neuroscience lab (in the Department of Psychological Science) and in Dr. Jaeggi's Working Memory & Plasticity lab (in the School of Education).  He completed undergraduate courses in Research Design, Basic and Applied Statistics, Clinical Neuroscience, and Advanced Research Methods, as well as a graduate course in Theories of Learning and Cognition.  In May 2019, he attended the Social & Affective Neuroscience Society conference in Miami, FL and he presented a poster at the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine, CA. After completing the post-bacc program, he spent some time working part-time as an accountant at Best Buy Auto Equipment (while also taking care of his wife and baby). In Winter 2020, he was accepted to UC Irvine's Cognitive Psychology Ph.D. program and to Indiana University's Complex Networks and Systems (CNS) National Research Traineeship (NRT) dual Ph.D. program (with Cognitive Science), and he accepted the offer from Indiana University. He started this program in Fall 2020.

Gillian earned her bachelor’s degree in English from UC Irvine in 2011. During her time in the post-bacc program, she was a research assistant in Dr. Goldberg's Family Lab, she took courses in Psychology Fundamentals, Research Design, Abnormal Psychology, Applied Statistics, and Developmental Psychology, and she completed a Field Study Internship at the Waymakers Youth Shelter in Laguna Beach.  In the first two years after completing our program, Gilly worked full-time as a Youth Specialist at her field study site and part-time as a research assistant in Dr. Goldberg's lab.  In February 2017, Gilly was admitted to the master's programs at Cal State San Marcos, San Francisco State, and Cal State Northridge, and she decided to accept the offer at Cal State San Marcos, where she worked directly with Professor Bufferd on an NIH-funded project that aimed to find predictors of depression in preschool-aged children.  Gilly earned her master's degree in Spring 2020, and she spent the next two years working paid positions as a Youth Specialist at the Waymakers Youth Shelter and as a study coordinator in Dr. Borelli's Health, Relationships, and Interventions Lab at UC Irvine.  In May 2022, she accepted a full-time, paid Lab Coordinator position at the University of Michigan for the Developmental Psychopathology and Neuroscience Labs with Drs. Luke Hyde and Christopher Monk, and most recently (in March 2024), she was accepted to the Developmental Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Denver.  She began that program in Fall 2024.

Nick received his B.A. in Psychology from California State University, Los Angeles. While at CSULA, he was involved in research focused on learning and cognition, as well as research on personality traits and anxiety - and prior to joining the post-bacc program, Nick spent a year volunteering as a Research Assistant at The Health and Human Performance Foundation, a non-profit that studies breath practices for physiological and psychological outcomes. Nick was also a music educator for 12 years for various performing arts groups in Northern and Southern California. During his time in the post-bacc program, Nick worked with Professor Dana Garfin and Dean Adey Nyamathi in the School of Nursing, and he completed courses in Human Stress, Clinical Sports Psychology, Applied Statistics, Social Epidemiology, and Advanced Research Methods. In addition, he co-authored a paper published in Qualitative Health Research (entitled, "Engaging the Community in Designing a Hepatitis C Treatment Program for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness"), he gave an oral presentation at the 2021 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference, and he gave a poster presentation at the 2021 Association for Psychological Science conference. After completing the post-bacc program, he spent a year working as a part-time (paid) research assistant in the School of Nursing, where he got three more co-authored publications (including one in Global Qualitative Nursing Research and two in Public Health Nursing), and in Winter 2023, he was admitted to the Preventive Medicine Ph.D. program at USC. He began the Ph.D. program at USC in August 2023.

Silas graduated from the University of Oregon in 2013 with a B.S. in Cultural Anthropology and a minor in Geography - and then decided to pursue a second bachelor’s degree (in psychology) at Washington State University (WSU), which he earned in July 2018. During his time in the post-bacc program, Silas worked as a Research Assistant in Dr. Karen S. Rook’s research lab on an investigation examining the correlates of patients' motivation to manage their chronic illness (specifically, type 2 diabetes), with the goal of understanding why some patients report low motivation. He also completed courses in Social Psychology, Applied Statistics, Human Stress, and Health Psychology.  Outside of UCI, Silas volunteered for the Immune Deficiency Foundation, where he often met people who manage the stress of chronic illness successfully, and he was moved by their capacity for resilience and their ability to make meaning from adversity.  In August 2019, Silas presented a poster at the American Psychological Association conference in Chicago, IL, and in September 2019, he accepted a full-time (paid) research assistant position working with Dr. Rook and her colleague in the School of Medicine, Dr. Sorkin.  Most recently, Silas was accepted to Penn State for their Social Psychology Ph.D. program and to the University of Utah for their Developmental Psychology (with a cross-area emphasis in Health Psychology) program; he began the Ph.D. program at the University of Utah in Fall 2020.

Colleen earned her bachelor’s degree in German Studies from California State University, Long Beach in 2014; following graduation, she completed an International Parliamentary Fellowship (IPS) at the German Bundestag in Berlin. During her time in the post-bacc program, Colleen worked in Dr. Cauffman’s Development, Delinquency, & Disorder Lab and completed courses in Abnormal Psychology, Statistical Analysis, Violence in Society, Applied Statistics, Advanced Forensic Psychology, Research Design, and Lifespan Developmental Psychology. She also worked part-time as a Human Resources Manager at Hudson Tool Steel and gave presentations at the 2018 Western Psychological Association conference in Portland, OR, the 2018 Association for Psychological Science conference in San Francisco, CA, and the 2018 UC Irvine Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine. After completing our program, Colleen got a first author publication in Psychology, Public Policy, and Law (with her mentors as co-authors), and she was accepted to the Ph.D. programs at UC Irvine (Developmental Psychology with a concentration in Psychology & Law), Arizona State University (Law & Psychology), and the University of Southern California (Developmental Psychology). She accepted the offer from UC Irvine, and she started our graduate program in Fall 2019. Most recently (in January 2023), Colleen was awarded a Research to Enhance the Impact and Diversification (REID) of Psychology & Law Research Grant from the American Psychology-Law Society (with her mentor, UCI Psych Science Professor Beth Cauffman), which she will use to help fund her dissertation research.

Ellen earned her B.A. in Sociology from UC Riverside in Summer 2016. During her time in the post-bacc program, Ellen worked in Dr. Cauffman’s Development, Disorder, and Delinquency Lab, and she completed courses in Personality, Abnormal Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Principles of Public Health; she also worked for a few months as a full-time, paid Mental Health Clinic Care Coordinator at Didi Hirsh Mental Health Services in Los Angeles.  In addition, she presented posters at the 2017 Western Psychological Association conference in Sacramento, CA and at the 2017 Association for Psychological Sciences conference in Boston, MA, and she gave an oral presentation at the 2017 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine, CA.  In Summer 2017, she left the post-bacc program to focus on other opportunities, including volunteering as a research assistant in Dr. Adam Leventhal's addiction lab at USC's Keck hospital, participating in the University of Delaware's Clinical Science Visit Day, completing a 20hr/week internship with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, and working as a (paid) Program Assistant at the Keck School of Medicine (where she helped with data entry, IRB approvals and amendments, manuscript writing and editing, data analysis, and data collection out in the field on a study involving smoking and other nicotine products, including how smokers feel about the new tobacco policies taking effect in the Los Angeles community).  In Winter/Spring 2019, Ellen was admitted to the Ph.D. program in Preventive Medicine at USC, which she completed in Spring 2024.  She currently works as a research analyst at the Research Services Branch at the CA Department of Justice.

Debra earned a Bachelor of Psychological Science from the University of Queensland in Australia, where she developed a passion for social and cognitive psychology.  During her time in the post-bacc program, Debra completed courses in Advanced Research Methods, Psychology of Inequality, and Applied Statistics, as well as graduate seminars in Social Psychology and Research Directions in Psychology & Social Behavior.  She worked as a research assistant in Dr. Ditto's Hot Cognition lab, and she presented a poster at the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine, CA in May 2017.  She attended the Western Psychological Association conference in Sacramento, CA in April 2017 and the Association for Psychological Science conference in Boston, MA in May 2017.  In March 2018, she was accepted to the Social Psychology Ph.D. program at UC Davis (to work with Professor Nicholas Christenfeld); she began this program in Fall 2018.

Summer graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2016 with a B.A. in Psychology. During her undergraduate career, she volunteered as a research assistant in both emotion regulation and sports psychology research labs. Additionally, she had the opportunity to conduct a full-spectrum research project via the summer research internship program provided by the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Institute. During her time in the post-bacc program, Summer was a research assistant in Dr. Borelli’s lab (where she explored the effects of relationships), and she worked with Dr. Kuhlman (in the Department of Psychological Science) and Dr. Rao (in the Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior).  In addition, she completed courses in Advanced Research Methods, Human Stress, Developmental Psychopathology, and Applied Statistics, and she presented a poster at the 2019 Western Psychological Association conference in Pasadena, CA.  Upon completing the post-bacc program, Summer worked as a full-time (paid) research/study coordinator in Dr. Rao's Biobehavioral Research on Adolescent Development lab, where she was the primary coordinator for the brain development - adolescent depression & maltreatment study.  In Winter 2020, she was admitted to the Clinical Ph.D. programs at USC and the University of Denver; she accepted the offer at the University of Denver, and she started that program in Fall 2020. Most recently (in Spring 2022), she got a second-author publication (entitled, "Women with lower systemic inflammation demonstrate steeper cognitive decline with age: Results from a large prospective, longitudinal sample") in Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health (based on the work she did in Dr. Kuhlman's lab), and she earned her master's degree (en route to the Ph.D.).

Ellie earned her bachelor's degree in French Horn Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.  She attended the Brevard Music Center in the summers of 2017 and 2018, she toured Spain with the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra in 2017, and she participated in the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra's European tour in 2019.  After graduating, she taught private lessons in piano and horn and worked as a freelance musician. Prior to joining our post-bacc program, she took psychology courses including Human Growth & Development, Abnormal Psychology, and Psychology of Women, which led to her interest in studying the effects of childhood trauma on health throughout the lifespan. During her time in our program, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Kuhlman's Teen Resilience Lab and in Dr. Garfin's Resilience, Epidemiology, and Community Health Lab, leading to poster presentations at the 2022 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine, CA and the 2022 Association for Psychological Science conference in Chicago, IL.  In addition, she completed courses in Research Design, Clinical Psychology, Statistical Analysis, Advanced Research Methods, Child Health Psychology, Applied Statistics, and Biological Psychology.  Outside of UCI, she worked part-time at Headway, a mental health startup based in New York City.  After completing our program, she spent some time working as a paid, part-time research assistant in Dr. Kuhlman's lab (while also continuing her work at Headway), and she got a co-authored publication in Research on Child & Adolescent Psychopathology.  Most recently (in February 2023), she was admitted to the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program in our department (at UCI), and she began our program in Fall 2023.

Precious earned her bachelor's degree in Psychological Science from UC Irvine in June of 2020. During her years as an undergraduate student, she volunteered at the Rio Hondo College Health and Psychological Services Center, served as a board member for various campus organizations, developed a web-based off-campus resource directory for the student community, worked as an HR assistant at Greenhouse Agency Inc., and completed an internship at Karate For All. During her time in the post-bacc program, Precious joined Dr. Zalta's Trauma and Resilience Lab and Dr. Borelli's Health, Relationships, and Interventions Lab as a research assistant, and she completed courses in Advanced Research Methods, Developmental Psychopathology, Applied Statistics, Neuroscience of Cognition, and Human Sexuality.  In addition, she gave an oral presentation at the 2021 UC Irvine Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference, and she presented a poster at the 2021 International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies conference.  Since completing the post-bacc program, she worked paid positions as a Behavioral Interventionist/Technician at Behavioral Frontiers and as a Research Assistant in Dr. Zalta's lab.  In October 2021, she was offered a spot at Harvard University's Prospective PhD and RA Event in Psychology and in February 2022, she was admitted to the Developmental Psychology Ph.D. program at UC Irvine (with a Graduate Opportunities Fellowship and a Psychological Science Merit Fellowship) and to the Master of Applied Psychology program at USC.  She started our Ph.D. program in Fall 2022 - and in March 2023, she got a co-authored publication (with Dr. Zalta) in Psychiatry Research (entitled, "Sleep timing, chronotype, and posttraumatic stress disorder: An individual participant data meta-analysis").

Diane received her B.A. in Math from Dartmouth College and her M.B.A. with concentrations in healthcare and finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. After graduate school, she moved to Southern California and worked for an employee benefits consulting firm as a health solutions consultant. Diane also spent many years working part-time as a fitness instructor, and she completed UCI’s Fitness Instructor’s Certificate Program. During her time in the post-bacc program, Diane worked in Dr. Quas’ Adolescent and Child Experiences Lab and Dr. Zalta's Trauma & Resilience lab, and she  completed courses in Health Psychology, Applied Statistics, Social Epidemiology, Clinical Neuroscience, Research Design, and Clinical Psychology.  In addition, she presented a poster at the 2021 American Psychological Association conference and attended the 2021 American Public Health Association conference, and she was awarded a scholarship from the UC Irvine Division of Continuing Education.  After completing our program, she was accepted to Master of Public Health (MPH) in Epidemiology programs at Harvard University and Boston University and to the Health Psychology Ph.D. program at UC Irvine; she decided to accept the offer at Harvard, and she began that program in Fall 2022.  Diane also accepted a part-time position as an ACES Coordinator at the Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) - and because the Harvard program was a low-residency program designed for working professionals, she was able to continue working at CHOC (and volunteering as a research assistant at UC Irvine) while completing her MPH program.  In January 2024, Diane accepted a part-time position as an Assistant Specialist in Professor Kim's Stress, Coping, and Stress in Context Lab at the UC Irvine School of Medicine, and she earned her MPH in May 2024.

Jessenia earned her B.S. in Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Emergency Management from California State University, Long Beach in 2010. During her time in the post-bacc program, Jessenia had the pleasure of working as a research assistant in Dr. Cauffman's Development, Disorder, and Delinquency Lab, resulting in a poster presentation at the 2016 Association for Psychological Science conference in Chicago and a talk at the 2016 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine. She also completed courses in Advanced Research Methods, Psychology & the Law, Applied Statistics, and Social Relationships, and she completed a Field Study Internship at Shortstop (a juvenile crime diversion program). In September 2016, Jessenia accepted a (paid) on-call position as a Youth Specialist II at the CSP Youth Shelter in Laguna Beach & Tustin; she was initially offered a full-time position at the Laguna Beach location, but she asked to instead be given an on-call position, because it is more flexible. This flexibility allowed her to work as a paid, part-time research assistant position in Dr. Cauffman's lab. In Spring 2017, Jessenia was accepted to the master's in clinical psychology program at Columbia University and in April 2018, she was accepted to USC's dual MSW/Ph.D. in Social Work program. She earned her Ph.D. from USC in August 2023, and she is currently working as a consultant and teaching an Intro Psych course at Irvine Valley College.

Lauren earned her B.A. in Music and Economics from UC Berkeley in 2014. During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Heckhausen’s Life-Span Development and Motivation Lab and in Dr. Lukowski’s Memory and Development Lab. She also completed courses in Abnormal Psychology, Research Design, Life-Span Development, Applied Statistics, and Health Psychology, and she interned with the CSP Youth Shelter in Laguna Beach. She presented her research at the 2017 UC Irvine Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference and at the 2017 Association for Psychological Science conference, and she gave an oral presentation at the 2017 Cognitive Development Society conference.  Upon completing our program, she worked as a (paid) part-time research assistant in Dr. Lukowski's lab and as a (paid) part-time guest artist manager for a symphony in Orange County; she also volunteered as a crisis counselor for the Crisis Text Line.  Lauren was admitted to the Child Psychology PhD program (on the Developmental Psychopathology & Clinical Science track) at the University of Minnesota, to the Counseling Ph.D. program at Virginia Commonwealth University, and to the Counseling Ph.D. program at the University of Maryland.  She accepted the offer at the University of Minnesota, and she began that program in Fall 2018.  While in grad school, she got a second-author publication in Memory (based on research that she completed while a post-bacc student in Dr. Lukowski's lab), and she completed her pre-doctoral clinical internship at the University of Minnesota Medical Center.  She earned her Ph.D. in Spring 2024, and she is currently working as a Post-Doctoral Scholar at UCLA.

Branislav received his B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and his M.S. in Radio-Frequency and Analog IC design from Columbia University. After working at Apple for five years as a Senior Hardware Engineer, Branislav decided to take a career break, where he re-evaluated his professional interests, personal values, and overall life purpose. He spent three years traveling and exploring his passions in machine learning, linguistics, and clinical psychology – which led to him applying to our post-bacc program.  During his time in our program, he worked as a research assistant in Dr. Garfin’s Resilience, Epidemiology, and Community Health lab (in the School of Nursing) and in Dr. Silver's Stress & Coping Lab (in the Dept. of Psychological Science).  In addition, he also took  courses in Psychology Fundamentals, Abnormal Psychology, Developmental Psychopathology, Clinical Child Psychology, Applied Statistics, Clinical Neuroscience, Violence in Society, Clinical Health Psychology, Advanced Forensic Psychology, Attachment Relationships, Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Psychosis, Personality Disorders, and Lifespan Developmental Psychology, and he gave poster presentations at the 2022 Western Psychological Association conference and the 2022 UC Irvine Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference.  After completing the program, he spent some time working as a (paid) part-time research assistant in Dr. Silver's lab.  Most recently (in March 2024), he got a first-author publication (with Dr. Garfin) in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders, and he was admitted to the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. programs at the University of Maryland - Baltimore County, the University of Maryland - College Park, and Drexel University (with a Graduate College Doctoral Fellowship).  He has accepted the offer at Drexel and began that program in Fall 2024.

Deborah earned her B.A. from California State University, Fullerton in 2019, where she studied Psychology and Spanish. During this time, she volunteered as a research assistant in the Culture and Social Action (CSA) Lab, and she was an Undergraduate Course Assistant for a Developmental Psychology course and a Learning & Memory course. After graduation, she worked as a Behavioral Technician helping children from diverse backgrounds by implementing different strategies to improve their social and intellectual abilities.  During her time at UC Irvine, she participated in Dr. Klemfuss’s Child Narratives Lab, Dr. Lukowski’s Infants, Children, and Families Lab, and Dr. Kroll's Bilingualism, Mind, and Brain Lab, which resulted in a poster presentation at the 2021 Western Psychological Association conference, a poster presentation at the 2021 Association for Psychological Science conference, a poster and an oral presentation at the 2021 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) conference, and a co-authored publication in Behavioral Medicine with Dr. Lukowski's lab.  In addition, she completed courses in Bilingual Mind & Brain, Acquisition of Language, Applied Statistics, and Advanced Research Methods. In Spring 2021, Deborah was accepted to several events designed to help students prepare for the graduate application process (including the Pipeline to Graduate School Bootcamp at UC Berkeley, the Developmental Discovery Days, and the Northwestern Sneak Peak Program), and outside of UCI, she worked part-time as a Research Associate at Opinion Matters.  After completing the post-bacc program, Deborah spent some time working as part-time (paid) research assistant in Drs. Lukowski & Klemfuss' labs, and in February 2021, she was admitted to the Developmental Psychology Ph.D. program in our department (with a Psychological Science Merit Fellowship); she began our Ph.D. in Fall 2022. 

Emily graduated from Claremont McKenna College in May of 2015 with a B.A. in Science and Management (Biology and Economics dual major, cum laude).  During her time in the post-bacc program, Emily worked as a research assistant in Dr. Elizabeth Cauffman's Development, Disorder, and Delinquency Lab, resulting in an oral presentation at the 2016 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Conference in Irvine, a poster presentation at the 2016 Association for Psychological Science conference in Chicago, and a poster presentation at the 2016 Association for Psychology & Law conference in Atlanta.  She also completed courses in Abnormal Psychology, Statistical Analysis in Social Ecology, Adolescent Development, Clinical Psychology, and Research Design.  After completing our program, she spent a year working as a volunteer research assistant in Dr. Nicholas Scurich's lab (which focuses on judgment and decision making in legal setting), during which time she was accepted to the Ph.D. program in Psychological Science right here at UC Irvine (with full funding for 5 years + funding to participate in the competitive edge summer program).  She earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from our program in June 2022, and she is currently working as a post-doctoral researcher at UCLA and as an adjunct professor at Pomona College.

Maricela graduated in 2017 from UC San Diego with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Philosophy. During her time in the post-bacc program, Maricela worked as a research assistant in Dr. Jamner’s lab (in the Department of Psychological Science) and in Dr. Lotfipour's lab (in the School of Medicine), and she took courses in Advanced Research Methods, Biological Psychology, Applied Statistics, Clinical Neuroscience, and Human Stress.  In May 2019, she gave an oral presentation at the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine, CA.  After completing the post-bacc program, she spent a year volunteering full-time in Dr. Lotfipour's lab, and in Winter/Spring 2020, she was admitted to Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis' Addiction Neuroscience PhD program and to UC Irvine's Interdepartmental Neuroscience Ph.D. program. She decided to accept the offer from UC Irvine.  In September 2020, Maricela got a 2nd author publication (with Dr. Lotifpour) in Behavioral Pharmacology entitled, "Early Adolescent Subchronic Low-Dose Nicotine Exposure Increases Subsequent Cocaine and Fentanyl Self-Administration in Sprague-Dawley Rats" - and shortly thereafter, she began the graduate program at UC Irvine.  As a graduate student, Maricela was awarded the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (which provides funding for three years of graduate study).

Caleb graduated from the University of Florida with a B.A. in Linguistics. A focus on neurolinguistics sparked a broader interest in brain function and a curiosity into further applications of cognition, and his current interests hinge around cognitive functioning within various neurobehavioral and neurodevelopmental disorders, as well as neural rewiring throughout various stages of physical transition in transgender individuals. During his time in the post-bacc program, Caleb worked with Dr. Lukowski in the Memory and Development Lab, and he completed courses in Statistical Analysis in Social Ecology, Clinical Neuroscience, Applied Statistics, Research Design, Cultural Psychology, Lifespan Developmental Psychology, and Social Psychology. In addition, he gave an oral presentation at the 2020 UC Irvine (Virtual) Post-Bacc Research Conference, and he was awarded a scholarship from the UCI Division of Continuing Education that paid for one of his courses in the program. After completing our program, Caleb spent some time working part-time as a (paid) research assistant in Dr. Lukowski's lab, and he gave poster presentations at the 2021 Budapest CEU Conference on Cognitive Development and the 2021 Western Psychological Association conference  (which were both held virtually due to COVID-19).  In April 2021, Caleb was admitted to the Developmental Psychology Ph.D. program in our department, and he accepted our offer.  He began our program in Fall 2022.

Justine earned her B.S. in Forensic Chemistry and B.A. in Biotechnology from SUNY Buffalo State College in 2019. After graduation, she accepted a staff researcher position at UCI MIND as a Tissue Repository Coordinator, where she was heavily involved in research studies associated with neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. During her time in the post-bacc program, Justine took undergraduate courses in Applied Statistics, Health Psychology, Clinical Neuroscience, Neuroscience of Cognition, Research Design, and Clinical Psychology, and she completed a graduate course in Human Neuropsychology.  In Summer 2021, she began the COPE Scholars Program (where she gained first-hand experience in a variety of healthcare settings, impacting patients' lives and becoming an integral part of the care delivery team), and she got a co-authored publication in Nature Genetics (entitled, "Single nucleus chromatin accessibility and transcriptomic characterization of Alzheimer's disease").  After completing the post-bacc program, Justine continued working full-time in her research position at UCI MIND and got a publication (as a second author) in Alzheimer's & Dementia (entitled, "Amyloid Futures in the Expanding Pathology of Brain Aging and Dementia"). In Winter 2023, she was accepted to the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Ph.D. program at UC Irvine and to the Neuroscience Ph.D. program at UC Riverside, and she began the UC Irvine program in Fall 2023.

Elaine has a B.S. in Architectural Engineering from the University of Aleppo, Syria, where she is originally from. During the war in her hometown, she volunteered with the Jesuit Refugee service and was trained to help internally displaced children, adolescents, and women affected by violence through psychosocial support. After migrating to United States, she worked in the architectural and construction fields while trying to find a way back to psychology. Elaine is interested in biological psychology, children’s psychological development in war situations, PTSD intervention and prevention, and the psychological effects of the built environment.  During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Garfin's Resilience, Epidemiology, and Community Health Lab (in the School of Nursing), Dr. Piff's Morality, Emotion, and Social Hierarchy Lab (in the Dept. of Psychological Science), and the UCI Center for Stress and Health (while also completing courses in Introduction to Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Statistical Analysis in Social Ecology, Health Psychology, Research Design, Social Epidemiology, Clinical Psychology, and Applied Statistics).  In addition, she gave a poster presentation at the 2021 Association for Psychological Science conference and at the 2022 American Thoracic Society conference in San Francisco.  In February 2022, she was admitted to the Health Psychology Ph.D. program at UC Irvine, and she began our program in Fall 2022.

Mai-Lan (Lychee) earned her bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Washington.  During her time in the post-bacc program, she conducted research in Dr. Kuhlman's Teen Resilience Lab and she completed courses in Human Stress, Applied Statistics, Developmental Psychopathology, Clinical Psychology, and Advanced Research Methods.  In May 2019, she presented a poster at the Association for Psychological Science conference in Washington DC, and after completing the post-bacc program, she spent some time working part-time as a (paid) research assistant in Dr. Kuhlman's lab.  In February 2021, Lychee was accepted to the Clinical Ph.D. program right here at UCI, and she began our program in Fall 2021.

Francesca graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2017 with a BA in Psychology and minor in Applied Developmental Psychology.  During her time in the post-bacc program, she completed a course in Advanced Research Methods and worked with Dr. Jaeggi in the Working Memory and Plasticity Laboratory on an investigation of the efficacy of combined cognitive and motivational interventions in children with ADHD.  In January 2018, she was offered a full-time, paid lab manager position in Dr. Jaeggi's lab, and she withdrew from the post-bacc program to focus on her paid position.  In April 2019, she was admitted to the Clinical Ph.D. Program at the University of Colorado - Boulder, and she began that program in Fall 2019.

Nate graduated from Trinity College in 2018 with a BS in Economics. During his time at Trinity, Nate was captain of the golf team and served on the Student Athlete Advisory Council; he also served as Sports Editor for the Trinity Tripod for three semesters. As a senior, Nate conducted an honors thesis in Economics entitled "Using Institutional Characteristics to Estimate Return on College Education." During his time in the post-bacc program, he worked in Dr. Borelli's Health, Relationships, & Interventions Lab (where he pursued research interests in behavioral lifestyle interventions and their impact on physical and mental health) and in Dr. Mednick's Sleep and Cognition Lab (which aims to understand who we are as humans by investigating how we form memories), and he completed courses in Clinical Sports Psychology, Developmental Psychopathology, Applied Statistics, Health Psychology, Organizational/Industrial Psychology, and Research Design.  In addition, he gave a poster presentation at the 2021 Association for Psychological Science conference and an oral presentation at the 2021 UC Irvine Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference, and he attended the 2021 SLEEP conference. After completing the post-bacc program, Nate accepted a full-time (paid) 2-year position as a Clinical Research Coordinator in the Integrated Brain Health Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, and in March 2023, he was accepted to the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. programs the University of Arizona, Drexel University, University of Vermont, Boston University, and University of Colorado at Denver. He began the Ph.D. program at the University of Arizona in Fall 2023.

Erika graduated magna cum laude from University of California, Irvine with bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Studio Art.  During her time in the post-bacc program, Erika worked as a research assistant in Dr. Susan Charles’ Emotion Research Lab and completed courses in Advanced Research Methods, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Human Stress, Clinical Health Psychology, and Child Health Psychology. Upon completing the post-bacc program, Erika worked full-time at a market research organization (in addition to working as a paid part-time research assistant in Dr. Charles' Lab).  In March 2017, Erika was accepted to the Social Psychology Ph.D. program at Arizona State University to work with Dr. Shiota in her SPLAT Lab (Shiota Psychophysiology Laboratory for Affective Testing); she started this program in Fall 2017.  She earned her master's degree in Spring 2019 and her Ph.D. in Spring 2024,   and she is currently working as an Assistant Professor at Whitman College.

Jay earned his B.S. in Communication from Boston University and his M.S. in Mass Communications and Advertising from Virginia Commonwealth University. After 15 years as an advertising art director, he changed paths to pursue a career in psychology (with research interests in mindfulness, trauma, resilience, and meta-analysis). During his time in the post-bacc program, Jay was a research assistant in Dr. Dana Garfin’s Resilience, Epidemiology, and Community Health Lab and in Dr. Amy Dent’s Educational Psychology Lab, leading to poster presentations at the 2022 International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies conference in Atlanta, GA and the 2022 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine.  In addition, he completed courses in Research Design, Abnormal Psychology, Statistical Analysis, Applied Statistics, Clinical Psychology, and Lifespan Developmental Psychology, and he completed a field study internship at Project Kinship.  Outside of UCI, Jay worked part-time as a freelance graphic artist, selling his artwork online.  After completing our program, he continued his work as a freelance artist while also volunteering as a peer tutor for Dr. Dent's Statistical Analysis course and as a research assistant in Dr. Dent's lab and in Dr. Zalta's lab, and in October 2023, he got a first-author publication (entitled, "Associations between mindfulness and mental health after collective trauma: Results from a longitudinal, representative, probability-based survey") in Anxiety, Stress, and Coping.  In March 2024, he was admitted to UC Santa Barbara for their Counseling Psychology Ph.D. program, and he began that program in Fall 2024.

Meryl graduated from Mills College in 2012 with a B.A. in Studio Arts.  In the years following graduation, she lived abroad in Seoul, South Korea, where she developed an interest in psychology.  During her time in the post-bacc program, Meryl worked on research examining the psychological and health benefits of yoga with Lisa Conboy, Sc.D. (at Harvard Medical School) and in Dr. Pressman's lab (at UC Irvine), and she completed undergraduate courses in Advanced Research Methods, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Clinical Psychology, Health Psychology, Applied Statistics, and Positive Psychology; she also completed a graduate course in Interpersonal Processes and Health.  Meryl presented at several conferences during her time in the post-bacc program, including a presentation at a pre-conference meeting of the 2018 Symposium on Yoga Research in Stockbridge, MA, poster presentations at the 2018 Association for Psychological Science conference in San Francisco, and a poster presentation at the 2018 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine.  In Winter 2019, Meryl was admitted to the Clinical Psych Ph.D. programs at the University of Kentucky and Arizona State University and the School Psychology Ph.D. program at University of Maryland; she started the Arizona State University program in Fall 2019.  Most recently (in May 2022), she earned her master's degree (en route to the Ph.D.); the title of her master's thesis was, "Does Negative Emotion Differentiation Buffer the Effects of Pain? An Examination of Trait Negative Emotion Differentiation as a Moderator between Pain and Stress."

Tara earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2014, where she worked as a research assistant for the UCLA Anxiety and Depression Research Center.  During her time in the post-bacc program, Tara worked as a Research Assistant in Dr. Lukowski’s Memory & Development Lab, resulting in oral and poster presentations at the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) conference in May 2016 and poster presentations at the Western Psychological Association conference in Long Beach in April 2016 and the Association for Psychological Science conference in Chicago in May 2016.  She also worked as a Clinical Outcomes Volunteer at the UCI Health Child Development School and as a post-bacc teaching assistant for Dr.  Zinger's Psychology Fundamentals C course, and she completed courses in Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Advanced Research Methods, Applied Statistics, and Child Health Psychology.  In June 2017, Tara accepted a full-time, paid position at Stanford University as an Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator for a cancer survivorship research lab, and in March 2019, she was accepted to the Clinical Ph.D. programs at DePaul University and at the University of Arizona.  She began the University of Arizona program in Fall 2019.

Sara graduated summa cum laude from Scripps College with a B.A. in Honors English Literature and Gender/Women’s Studies. She moved to Malaysia not long after, where she spent three years with Fulbright and two years with an educational therapy organization. During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked with Professor Gloria Mark (in the School of Information and Computer Science) on using machine learning to analyze language use as it relates to moral foundations theory and political polarization, and she completed courses in Clinical Psychology, Research Design, Abnormal Psychology, Applied Statistics, Health Psychology, Child Psychology, Infant Development, and Industrial/Organizational Psychology. In Summer 2018, Sara moved to the bay area for a full-time, paid position as a coordinator of a youth development program (where she was able to apply the research skills, statistical knowledge, and theory that she learned at UCI to drive program improvements and funding), and in June 2019, she attended the American Evaluation Association summer conference in Atlanta, GA.  In March 2022, Sara was accepted to the School Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Arizona, and she began that program in Fall 2022.

Pauline earned her B.A. in Psychology from Swarthmore College in 2014. In her senior year, she engaged in collaborative research on the relationship between character traits, GPA outcomes, and classroom satisfaction, which led to the opportunity to present a poster at the Society for Research in Child Development conference. During her time in the post-bacc program, she was a research assistant in Dr. Martin's Behaviors, Emotions, and Affective Neuroscience Lab, and she completed undergraduate courses in biological psychology and applied statistics, as well as graduate courses in self-regulation and affective neuroscience.  She also presented a poster at the 2019 Society for Research in Psychopathology conference in Buffalo, NY.  After completing the post-bacc program, she spent some time working part-time as a (paid) lab manager in Dr. Martin's lab. In Winter 2020, she was accepted to the Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience Ph.D. program at Rice University, and she began that program in Fall 2020.

Rammy earned a bachelor's degree in Government and Near Eastern Studies (with a minor in International Relations) from Cornell University in 2010.  During his time in the post-bacc program, Rammy worked in Dr. Peter Ditto’s Hot Cognition Lab, which focuses on understanding human judgement and decision-making, and in Dr. Paul Piff's research lab,  which focuses on how social hierarchy, inequality, and emotion shape relations between individuals and groups; these research experiences resulted in oral and poster presentations at the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference and a poster presentation at the Association for Psychological Science conference in Chicago in May 2016.  In addition, Rammy took courses in Personality, Basic & Applied Statistics, Research Design, Social Psychology, Violence in Society, and Advanced Forensic Psychology.  The summer after completing the program, he participated in a summer research internship in Dr. Daniel Gilbert's lab at Harvard University (while also studying for the GRE), and in November 2016, he accepted a paid, part-time research assistant position in Dr. Ditto's Hot Cognition lab and a paid, part-time learning assistant position in Dr. Novaco's Violence in Society course.  Rammy was subsequently accepted to the Ph.D. program in Social Psychology at UC Santa Barbara, which he began in Fall 2017.  While in graduate school, he worked as adjunct professor at Santa Barbara City College, and he earned his Ph.D. in Spring 2024. Rammy currently works as an Assistant Teaching Professor at the University of the Pacific.

Cecilia graduated from UCLA in June 2015 with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Anthropology.  During her time in the post-bacc program, Cecila conducted research in Dr. Lukowski's Memory and Development Lab and completed courses in Adolescent Development, Advanced Research Methods, Applied Statistics, Clinical Psychology, Addiction, and Clinical Neuroscience.  She also completed field study internships at the UC Irvine Infant and Toddler Center and at Pathways Community Services, and she presented posters at the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UCI and at the SoCal Symposium on Cognition & Language at UCLA in May 2017.  In August 2017, Cecilia was invited to attend the University of Delaware's Clinical Science Visit Day (an all-expenses paid visit day where research-oriented prospective students from underrepresented groups can learn more about doctoral training in clinical science and about the Clinical Science Program at the University of Delaware), and in April 2018, she was accepted to the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  She began this program in Fall 2018, earned her master's degree (en route to the Ph.D.) in August 2020, completed her predoctoral internship at UCSD/VA San Diego during the 2023-2024 academic year, and earned her Ph.D. in Summer 2024.  She is currently working as a clinical research post-doc (as part of the Interprofessional Advanced Fellowship in Addiction Treatment) at the San Diego VA..

Kimia graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 2016 with a B.A. in Psychology and minor in Gender and Sexuality Studies. During her time in the post-bacc program, Kimia worked as a research assistant with Professor Klemfuss in the Child Narratives Lab, with Education Professor Jaeggi in the Working Memory and Plasticity lab, and with Cognitive Sciences Professor Sarnecka in the Cognitive Development lab, and she completed courses in Cognition & Learning in an Educational Setting, Human Development in a Cross-Cultural Perspective, and Positive Psychology (while also working part-time as a nanny).  In May 2018, Kimia attended the SoCal Memory conference in Irvine, CA.  Shortly after completing the post-bacc program, Kimia was hired as a full-time (paid) lab manager in Dr. Jaeggi's lab, and in January 2019, she was admitted to the University of Nebraska - Lincoln for their Developmental Psychology Ph.D. program.  Kimia began in this Ph.D. program in Fall 2019, and in January 2021, she got a co-authored publication in Memory with some of her mentors from UCI (Dr. Klemfuss and graduate student Emily Slonecker).  Kimia earned her Ph.D. from this program in Spring 2024, and her dissertation was entitled, "Investigating the Links Between Parent Math Anxiety, Parenting Behaviors, and Child Math Achievement and Math Anxiety in Middle Childhood."  She currently works as a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Research in Mathematics Education (RME) in the Simmons School of Education & Human Development at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX.

Sonia earned her bachelor's degree in drama with minors in English and philosophy from Trinity College at the University of Toronto. During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Quas' Child Development Lab; in this lab, in addition to helping Dr. Quas on ongoing studies, she also designed, executed, and wrote up the results of her own independent research study, which was published in Child Maltreatment. Sonia presented a poster at the Association for Psychological Science conference in Chicago and a talk at the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine in May 2016, and she presented the results of her Child Maltreatment study at the American Psychology-Law Society conference in Seattle in March 2017. In addition, Sonia took courses in Abnormal Psychology, Lifespan Developmental Psychology, Statistical Analysis, Applied Statistics, Research Design, and Advanced Research Methods, and she volunteered as a grief counselor at OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center in Los Angeles. After completing the program, Sonia was accepted to Ph.D. in Counseling programs at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, University of Missouri - Kansas City, SUNY Buffalo (with a Schomburg Diversity Fellowship), and the University of Kansas, and she decided to attend the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. She began this program in Fall 2017 and completed it in Summer 2023, and she is currently working in a Post-Doctoral Fellowship position with the Los Angeles VA specializing in trauma treatment and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) organizational work.

Alex graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and biology in 2018. During his time in the post-bacc program, he was a research assistant in Dr. Ilona Yim’s laboratory, researching anxiety, the stress response, and pregnancy, and he completed courses in Human Stress, Lifespan Developmental Psychology, Positive Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychodynamic Studies. In addition, he presented a poster at the 2019 Association for Psychological Science (APS) conference in Washington DC and at the 2019 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine, CA. After completing the post-bacc program, Alex accepted a part-time, paid position as an Assistant Research Coordinator in Professor Borelli's lab at UCI, and he went on to give an oral presentation at the 2020 UCI Psych Science Post-Bacc Research Conference and posters presentations at the 2021 Society for Personality & Social Psychology conference and the 2021 APS conference. In addition, he was a co-author on two papers that were published in JMIR (Journal of Medical Internet Research) Research Protocols ("Assessing the Mental Health of Emerging Adults Through a Mental Health App: Protocol for a Prospective Pilot Study" and "Using Multi-modal Assessments to Capture Personalized Contexts of College Student Well-being in 2020: A Case Study"). In Winter 2021, he was admitted to the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. programs at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Oregon Health & Science University, and the University of Southern Florida, and he accepted the offer at the University of Southern Florida; he began this program in Fall 2021.

Miranda’s lifelong interest in psychology led her to earn a bachelor’s degree in pre-counseling, designed to prepare students for graduate clinical programs. After completing an internship with a private adoption agency, she was offered and accepted a full-time position at this agency. For nearly two years, she worked in a variety of roles with expectant mothers, adopting families, and orphaned children. During her time in the post-bacc program, Miranda worked in Dr. Pressman’s Stress, Emotion, & Positive Psychology Lab, which studies how positive psychological factors and social relationships benefit health and improve the stress response, and she completed courses in Human Stress, Biological Psychology, Applied Statistics, Human Neuropsychology, Research Design, Attachment Relationships, and Child Development.  She also presented a poster at the 2019 Association for Psychological Sciences conference in Washington DC.  Shortly after completing the post-bacc program, Miranda accepted a part-time (paid) lab manager position in Dr. Pressman's lab, and she presented a poster at the 2020 Parenting & Family Dynamics Preconference (at the Society for Personality & Social Psychology conference).  In January 2020, Miranda was accepted to the Developmental Psychology Ph.D. program at UC Riverside and to the Applied Developmental Psychology program at Colorado State University, and she decided to accept the offer from Colorado State.  She began this program in August 2020.

Sanam graduated from UC Davis in June of 2015 with a B.A. in Political Science, Psychology, and Spanish (Cum Laude). During her time in the post-bacc program, Sanam worked as a research assistant in Dr. Elizabeth Cauffman's Development, Disorder, and Delinquency Lab, resulting in an oral presentation at the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference and a poster presentation at the Association for Psychological Science conference in May 2016.  She also took courses in Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Science, Statistical Analysis, Applied Statistics, Adolescent Development, Advanced Research Methods, Violence in Society, and Advanced Forensic Psychology.  Shortly after completing our program, Sanam was accepted to the Clinical Ph.D programs (with a forensic emphasis) at Simon Fraser University (with full funding + a  major entrance scholarship worth $84,000 to be distributed over her first 4 years in the program) and the University of Nebraska - Lincoln (with full funding).  She began the Ph.D. program at Simon Fraser University in Fall 2017, and she earned her master's degree (en route to the Ph.D.) in October 2019.  She is currently completing her pre-doctoral internship at Patton State Hospital.

Stephanie graduated from Hamilton College in May 2016, earning a B.A. with a neuroscience major and a mathematics minor. She worked in Dr. Cauffman's Development, Disorder, and Delinquency lab during her time in the post-bacc program, and she completed courses in Forensic Psychology, Violence in Society, Advanced Forensic Psychology Seminar, and Abnormal Psychology.  In addition, she gave poster presentations at the 2017 Western Psychological Association conference in Sacramento and at the 2017 Association for Psychological Science conference in Boston, and she gave an oral presentation at the 2017 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine.  Upon completing the post-bacc program, she worked as a part-time (paid) post-bacc alum RA in Dr. Cauffman's lab, and she received admission offers from the Clinical Psych Ph.D. programs at the University of Alabama, the University of North Texas, the University of South Florida, Florida State University, and Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.  She accepted the offer to work with Dr. Edelyn Verona at University of South Florida, where they offered her their Presidential Fellowship (which includes complete tuition remission along with a $25,000 stipend per year for at least five years).  She began this program in Fall 2018, and she earned her Ph.D. in December 2024. She is currently completing her post-doc clinical experience at Transformative Healthcare Solutions, working toward becoming a licensed clinician.

Ashe graduated from Duquesne University in 2006 with a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance and a minor in Piano. After graduation, she established a dynamic career with involvement in almost every aspect of music – as a performer and educator, and in arts management for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. During her time at UCI, Ashe was a research assistant in Dr. Pressman’s Stress, Emotion, and Physical Health Lab and Dr. Zalta’s Trauma & Resilience Lab, and she completed courses in Statistical Analysis, Applied Statistics, Biological Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Complementary & Alternative Medicine, Research Methods, and Clinical Psychology.  In April 2019, Ashe attended the University of Virginia's Diversifying Psychology Visit Day, and in May 2019, she presented a poster at the Association for Psychological Science conference in Washington DC and gave an oral presentation at the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine, CA.  After completing the post-bacc program, she moved to North Carolina, where she gave private music (piano and flute) lessons for music schools within the Research Triangle (while also conducting research remotely with UCI grad student Zoe Eng).  In February 2021, Ashe was accepted to the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Utah, and she began that program in Fall 2021.  Most recently (in Spring 2024), Ashe earned her master's degree en route to the Ph.D.  Her master's thesis was entitled, "Prenatal Psychophysiology: Emotion Dysregulation, Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia, and Self-Injurious Behaviors during Pregnancy."

Benjamin earned his Bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning from CSU Northridge in 2010.  During his time in the post-bacc program, Ben worked in Dr. Sarah Pressman's Stress, Emotion, and Physical Health Lab and in Dr. Susanne Jaeggi's Working Memory and Plasticity Lab, and he took courses in Advanced Research Methods, Health Psychology, Clinical Neuroscience, Clinical Psychology, Applied Statistics, and Human Stress.  In addition, he presented a poster at the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in May 2016 and attended the American Neuropsychiatric Association conference in San Diego in March 2016.  After completing the program, he spent a year working as a (paid) part-time research assistant in Dr. Pressman's lab and volunteering as a research assistant in Dr. Jaeggi's lab.  In Fall 2017, Ben began the Ph.D. program at the University of New Mexico (where he worked with Dr. Vincent Clark in the Cognition, Brain and Behavior area), and he completed that program in Spring 2023.  Ben is currently working as a Scientist III at Charles River Analytics.

Colleen graduated from Linfield College in 2013 with a BA in Spanish and a focus on Biochemistry. During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked in Dr. Charles' Emotion Research Lab, and she completed courses in Abnormal Psychology, Personality, Statistical Analysis, Applied Statistics, Clinical Psychology, Research Design, Advanced Research Methods, and Industrial/Organizational Psychology.  In February 2018, she accepted a part-time consulting position at Gehry Partners LLP, and in May 2018, she presented a poster at the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine, CA.  Upon completing the post-bacc program, Colleen volunteered as a learning assistant in Dr. Zinger's Summer 2018 Industrial/Organizational Psychology course and worked as a (paid) part-time research assistant for Dr. Salazar Campo (a professor in the UCI School of Business) - while continuing to work as a part-time consultant at Gehry Partners.  In Fall 2018, she returned to Gehry Partners as an executive assistant, and in Winter/Spring 2019, she was accepted to the Ph.D. program in Applied Social & Organizational Psychology at Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis and to the master's degree program in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at Cal State Long Beach.  She earned her master's degree from Cal State Long Beach in May 2021, and she is currently working full-time as an Employee Research Consultant at Mercer.

Regine graduated from UCLA with a B.S. in Psychobiology and a minor in Global Health, where she worked as a research assistant in two research labs and became involved with the Depression Grand Challenge. During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked as a Research Assistant - and then Lab Coordinator - in Dr. Garfin’s Resilience, Epidemiology, & Community Health Lab (in the School of Nursing) and completed courses in Advanced Research Methods, Applied Statistics, Clinical Neuroscience, Clinical Psychology, and Positive Psychology.  In addition, she gave oral presentations at the 2020 UCI Psychological Science Post-Bacc Research Conference, the 2020 Western Psychological Science conference, and the 2020 Association for Psychological Science conference, and she was a co-author on a manuscript published in the Journal of Health Psychology.  After completing our program, Regine spent a year working as a part-time Lab Coordinator in Professor Pressman’s Stress, Emotion, & Physical Health Lab, and she subsequently accepted as a full-time (paid) Clinical Research Assistant with Dr. Shannon Wiltsey-Stirman in the Fidelity, Adaptation, Sustainability, and Training Lab at The National Center for PTSD and Stanford University.  In addition, she gave poster presentations at the 2020 International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies conference, the 2021 Society for Personality & Social Psychology conference, and the 2021 American Public Health Association conference.  Most recently, Regine was admitted to the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Nevada - Las Vegas, and she began that program in Fall 2023.

Deepali earned her B.S. in Evolutionary Anthropology and minor in Psychology from UC Davis in 2016. During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked as a Research Assistant for Dr. Klemfuss' Child Narratives Lab and in Dr. Scurich's Jury Decision Making Lab, and she gave a poster presentation at the 2019 Western Psychological Association conference.  Deepali also took courses in Forensic Psychology, Juvenile Delinquency, Violence in Society, Advanced Forensic Psychology, Applied Statistics, and Advanced Research Methods; in addition, she volunteered as a Crisis Counselor at the Crisis Text Line, worked as a part-time Public Safety Assistant in the Records Department of the Irvine Police Department, and served as a Learning Assistant for Dr. Zinger's Industrial/Organizational Psychology course and as a Peer Tutor for Dr. Zinger's Psychology Fundamentals C course.  In March/April 2019, Deepali was accepted to Mississippi State for their Clinical Ph.D. program and to Widener University, La Salle University, LIU Post, and Indiana University of Pennsylvania for their Psy.D. programs. She began the Ph.D. program at Mississippi State in Fall 2019; while in graduate school, she got a co-authored publication in Memory with some of her mentors from UCI, won the Mississippi State University College of Arts & Sciences Outstanding Doctoral Graduate Student Award, and completed a pre-doctoral clinical internship at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (Palo Alto Healthcare System). She earned her Ph.D. in August 2024, and she is currently working as a Post-Doctoral Scholar at the VA in Palo Alto.

Justice graduated from UC Irvine in 2017 with a B.A. in English and a minor in Literary Journalism. After doing paralegal work in a law office for several years and realizing a passion for the legal system, criminology, and psychology, Justice decided to pursue a career in psychology & the law. During her time in the post-bacc program, Justice was a research assistant in Dr. Elizabeth Loftus' Eyewitness Memory Lab (where she worked on her own independent project and assisted on several graduate student research projects), and she completed undergraduate courses in Statistical Analysis in Social Ecology, Applied Statistics, Forensic Psychology, Adolescent Development, Eyewitness Testimony, and Research Design; she also completed a graduate course in Memory & the Law. In addition, she gave an oral presentation at the 2020 UCI Psychological Science Post-Bacc Research Conference. Outside of UCI, Justice worked as a coach for the Girl’s Elite Program at the LA Galaxy OC and as a tutor at Advance Academy. After completing the post-bacc program, Justice spent a year working part-time as a (paid) research assistant in Dr. Loftus' lab and volunteering in Dr. Martin's Behaviors, Emotions, Affect, and Neuroscience Lab, and in December 2020, she was accepted to the Social Psychology Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program at the University of Nevada - Reno. Since beginning that program in August 2021, Justice has passed her qualifying exams (which means that she is now officially a doctoral candidate) and earned her master's degree (en route to the Ph.D.).

Adrianna earned her B.S. in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from Rice University in 2019. During her undergraduate career, she developed a passion for research through investigating potential therapies for head and neck cancers and Type II diabetes. She also had the opportunity to mentor cohorts of teenagers, which sparked her interest in adolescent mental health and well-being. During her time in the post-bacc program, Adrianna worked with Drs. Silver and Garfin as a Research Assistant (where she explored psychological responses to exposure to different types of news coverage of mass violence events), and she completed courses in Abnormal Psychology, Health Psychology, Statistical Analysis in Social Ecology, Adolescent Development, Clinical Psychology, Research Design, and Applied Statistics (the latter of which was paid for by a scholarship she received from the UCI Division of Continuing Education). In addition, she gave two oral presentations at the 2020 UCI Psychological Science Post-Bacc Research Conference and poster presentations at the 2020 Western Psychological Association conference and the 2020 Association for Psychological Science conference. After completing our program, Adrianna spent some time working part-time as a (paid) research assistant in Dr. Silver's lab, and in June 2021, she got a co-authored publication with Dr. Garfin (entitled, "Effect of a Nurse-Led Community Health Worker Intervention on Latent Tuberculosis Medication Completion Among Homeless Adults") in Nursing Research. Most recently, she was admitted to the Clinical Ph.D. program at Miami University in Ohio (to work with Dr. Paul Flaspohler), and she began that program in Fall 2021.

Esther graduated from Skidmore College in 2012 with a B.A. in Psychology and minor in Music. During her time in the post-bacc program, Esther worked in Dr. Levine's Lab (studying emotion) and in Dr. Jackie Chen's lab (studying cultural psychology), and she gave a poster presentation at the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Conference in May 2016. In July 2016, she accepted a part-time, paid position as a Youth Specialist at the Korean American Family Counseling Center in Stanton, where she had the opportunity to mentor youths and work with parents and elders, and after completing the post-bacc program, she was offered a part-time, paid research assistant position in Dr. Levine's lab. In Fall 2017, Esther began the Ph.D. program in Developmental Psychology at North Carolina State to work with Dr. Lynne Baker-Ward, where she was offered a 4-year teaching assistantship (which includes funding for tuition & a stipend).

Neda earned a bachelor's degree in Midwifery/Obstetrics from Isfahan University, an MBA from UCI, and a dual master's degree in Public Health and Clinical Social Work at the University of Southern California (USC) within the Children and Family Track. During her time in the post-bacc program, Neda conducted research in Dr. Kuhlman's Teen Resilience Lab, Dr. Pressman’s Stress, Emotions, and Physical Health Lab, and Dr. Borelli's Health, Relationships, and Interventions Lab, and she completed courses in Statistical Analysis in Social Ecology, Applied Statistics, Adolescent Development, Research Design, and Advanced Research Methods. In addition, she got poster abstracts accepted at the 2020 American Psychosomatic Society conference and the 2020 Association for Psychological Science conference, and she received a scholarship from the UCI Division of Continuing Education. Outside of UCI, Neda gained hours toward her social work licensure by working as a school counselor for Outreach Concern and as a clinical therapist at Hoag Hospital Mental Health Center; she also served on the Advisory board of the International Society of Children with Cancer (ISCC) and co-founded the Teen Rise Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit to address educational equity initiatives and resource gaps for underserved communities. After completing our program, Neda passed her Law and Ethics exam for her clinical social work license and got a first-authored publication in the Child Abuse and Neglect journal. In Spring 2022, Neda was admitted to the Ph.D. in Positive Developmental Psychology program at Claremont Graduate University, and she began that program in Fall 2023.

Sirena earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from California State University - Long Beach in Spring of 2020. During her time as an undergraduate student, Sirena worked as both a research assistant and lab administrator in the HeART lab (a health psychology research lab directed by Dr. Karissa Miller). Her research in this lab has focused on attention bias and threat bias in anxious populations, as well as attention and health during the COVID-19 pandemic. During her time in the post-bacc program, Sirena worked as a research assistant in Dr. Michael Hoyt’s Behavioral Medicine Research Lab, which examines biobehavioral processes related to psychological adjustment and coping in the context of chronic disease with a focus on cancer survivorship, and she completed courses in Behavioral Medicine, Health Behavior Theory, Applied Statistics, and Advanced Research Methods. In addition, she gave a poster presentation at the 2022 Western Psychological Association conference in Portland and she served as a peer tutor in Dr. Zinger's Psychology Fundamentals course. Outside of UCI, Sirena worked part-time as a receptionist at a Pilates studio and as a data analyst for a digital marketing company. Since completing our program, she has continued working at the Pilates studies and the digital marketing company. In addition, she got a co-authored publication (entitled, "High-trait anxious individuals show positive relationship between HRV and threat vigilance") in Psychophysiology (based on research she conducted in Dr. Miller's lab at Cal State Long Beach), and she was accepted to University of North Carolina - Charlotte for their Health Psychology Ph.D. program. She decided to turn down the offer at UNC Charlotte because it was not the right fit for her, and she will re-apply to Ph.D. programs in the future.

Ryan graduated from UC Berkeley in 2008 with a BA in English. During his time at the post-bacc program, he worked as a research assistant in Dr. Martin's Behavior, Emotion, and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Dr. Rinehart's Sexual Victimization Lab, and Dr. Yim's Health Psychology Lab, and he completed courses in Human Stress, Personality, Clinical Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Advanced Research Methods, and Psychodynamic Studies. In January 2018, Ryan accepted a volunteer position at the Crisis Text Line, and in May 2018, he gave a presentation at the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine and attended the Association for Psychological Science conference in San Francisco, CA. In addition, in Spring 2018, he served as a Peer Tutor for Dr. Zinger's Social Psychology course. During his gap/application year, Ryan worked a part-time (paid) position as a Post-Bacc Alum Research Assistant, and in Spring 2019, he was accepted to the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. programs at the University of Detroit - Mercy and at Long Island University, to the Psy.D. program at Xavier University, and to the Marriage & Family Therapy master's programs at Cal State Northridge and at Cal State Long Beach. He has decided to accept the offer at Xavier University, and he began this Psy.D. program in Fall 2019.

Joanna is a military veteran who served in the United States Air Force for four years; she received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Central Florida as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.  During her time in the program, Joanna worked as a research assistant in Dr. Roxy Silver's Stress and Coping Lab, and she attended the Society for Behavioral Medicine conference in San Diego in March 2017.  In addition, she completed courses in Human Stress and Behavioral Medicine.  After completing the post-bacc program, Joanna received admissions offers from the Master's in Psychology program at the University of Texas at San Antonio and the Master's in Industrial/Organizational Psychology program at Kansas State University; she started the master's program at UT San Antonio in Fall 2018, and she completed that program in Spring 2020.  During her 2nd year of her master's program, Joanna was accepted to three Ph.D. programs: the Experimental Psychology program at University of Texas at San Antonio, the Clinical program at Fairleigh Dickinson University, and the Clinical program at University of Texas at Tyler.  She began the Ph.D. program at UT Tyler in Fall 2020; the faculty member she is working with is really focused on veteran/military mental health and treatment, which is a topic that Joanna is very interested in. 

Christina received her International Business MBA from Pepperdine University, and she is a Certified Professional Coach. During her time in the post-bacc program, she completed courses in Cognitive Science, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Development in a Cross-Cultural Perspective, Clinical Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, and Research Design, and she worked as a Research Assistant in Dr. Ditto's Hot Cognition lab.  In addition, she presented two posters at the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine, CA in May 2018.  After completing the program, Christina worked full-time as a Training and Development Specialist for the County of San Bernardino (and as Owner and Partner at English and Kim, an executive coaching firm), and in Spring 2019, she was accepted to the Clinical Ph.D. program at Biola University and to the M.S. in Organizational Development program at Pepperdine University.  She started the M.S. program at Pepperdine in Fall 2019, but the program was dissolved in 2020 due to the pandemic.  As such, she started the Ph.D. program at Biola in Fall 2020.  She is also working as a Leadership & Life Development Coach at Authentria and as a Neuropsychology Extern at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles while going to school.

Sadaf graduated from UCLA in 2017 with a B.A in Anthropology. While going to school, Sadaf worked at Autumn Communications (a PR firm), where she learned some key sales and marketing tactics. Upon graduation, Sadaf worked for several years as an Assistant Buyer at Walmart eCommerce in San Francisco, and she later moved to San Diego for a position as a Retail Strategist/Data Analyst with Petco. While working full-time, she took courses at her local community college (including social psychology and abnormal psychology) and came to discover her passion for psychology. During her time in the post-bacc program, Sadaf worked as a research assistant for Dr. Yim’s Community-Based Shelter Study (which primarily examined self-sufficiency, traumatic stress, and resilience in women who have experienced adversity) and in Dr. Zalta's Trauma & Resilience Lab, resulting in poster presentations at the 2022 Western Psychological Association conference in Portland and the 2022 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine. In addition, she completed courses in Clinical Psychology, Research Design, Statistical Analysis in Social Ecology, Applied Statistics, and Advanced Seminar in the Science & Practice of Compassion. Outside of UCI, she worked part-time at Destinations for Teens (a treatment facility). In Spring 2022, she was accepted to the Developmental Psychology master's degree program at San Francisco State, and she earned her master’s degree from that program in May 2024. Subsequently, she was admitted to the Ph.D. program in Human Development and Family Sciences at UT Austin, and she began that program in Fall 2024.

Alec earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of California, San Diego in 2019; he enjoys learning about multiple fields within psychology, but he is especially interested in adolescent development and the study of self-control in childhood. During his time in the post-bacc program, Alec worked as a research assistant in Dr. Cauffman's Development, Disorder, and Delinquency (3D) Lab, and he completed courses in Forensic Psychology, Applied Statistics, Advanced Research Methods, and Abnormal Psychology.  In addition, he had poster abstracts accepted at the 2020 Western Psychological Association conference and the 2020 Association for Psychological Science conference.  After completing our program, Alec worked for several months as a part-time (paid) research assistant in Dr. Cauffman's 3D lab, and then he was accepted to the Master of Arts in Positive Developmental Psychology and Evaluation program at Claremont Graduate University.  He began that program in Fall 2021 and completed it in Spring 2023.  Most recently (in Fall 2023), Alec began the Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology program at Palo Alto University.

Christopher graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor's Degree in Economics, and then attended the University of Illinois at Chicago to earn a Master's Degree in Accounting. He had been working in South Korea for a business consulting firm until he decided to pursue an academic career in the field of psychology. During his time in the post-bacc program, he worked as a research assistant in Dr. Linda Levine's Cognition and Emotion Laboratory, and he took courses in Psychology Fundamentals, Statistical Analysis, Applied Statistics, Abnormal Psychology, Research Design, Social Psychology, and Juvenile Delinquency. In addition, he attended the 2019 Society for Personality & Social Psychology conference in Portland, OR, he presented a poster at the 2019 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine, and he gave an oral presentation at the 2020 UCI Psych Science Post-Bacc Research Conference. After completing our program, he spent some time volunteering as a research assistant in Dr. Chen's Cultural Psychology & Development lab at UCI, and he was accepted to the M.A. in Psychology program at NYU; he earned his master’s degree from this program in Spring 2022. While in his master's program, he got a co-authored publication in Frontiers in Psychology with Dr. Chen and his grad students, and he was accepted to the Ph.D. program in Brain, Behavior, & Cognition at Washington University in St. Louis (to work with Dr. Wouter Kool). He began this Ph.D. program in Fall 2022.

Jessica graduated from California State University, Fullerton in 2018 with a B.A. in Psychology. During her last two years of undergraduate career, Jessica was accepted into the NIH-funded Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) program. During her two years as a MARC Scholar, Jessica worked under Dr. Iris Blandón-Gitlin and investigated how face recognition of previously-seen disguised faces is affected by identification procedures. Jessica also spent the Summer of 2017 at the University of Oregon working under Dr. Dasa Zeithamova in her Brain and Memory Lab, where she studied how the formation of generalized and specific memories work together. During her time in the post-bacc program, Jessica worked as a research assistant in Professor Klemfuss’ Child Narratives Lab and completed courses in Cognitive Development, Juvenile Delinquency, Violence in Society, Advanced Forensic Psychology, and Applied Statistics.  She also attended the American Psychology & Law Society conference (in Portland, OR) and presented posters at the Association for Psychological Science conference (in Washington DC) and the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Conference (in Irvine, CA).  In February 2019, she was accepted to the Applied Cognitive Psychology Ph.D. program at Claremont Graduate University, and she started this program in Fall 2019.  While in grad school, Jessica secured a full-time job as a User Experience Researcher at McGraw-Hill - so, she left the Claremont program (after earning her master's degree) to focus on this new and exciting career opportunity.  Since then, Jessica has transitioned to a new position as a UX researcher Nym Technologies (while also working part-time as an Adjunct Professor at Fullerton College).

Mayan earned her BA in Religious Studies from Rice University. While in the post-bacc program, she was a lab manager in Dr. Elizabeth Martin's Behaviors, Emotions, and Affective Neuroscience lab, and she completed courses in Statistics, Research Design, Neurobiology of Learning & Memory, Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain Disorders, Abnormal Psychology, Advanced Research Methods, and Applied Statistics for Psychology. Shortly before our post-bacc program, she was accepted to UC Irvine's Ph.D. in Affective Sciences program (with a Eugene Cota Robles fellowship) and to UC Berkeley's Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology program (with a Chancellor's Fellowship) - and she decided to attend UC Irvine. She earned her master's degree from our program in Spring 2020, and she is currently working for a local school district.

Joshua earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from San Diego State University. During his time in the post-bacc program, Joshua worked with Dr. Klemfuss (researching how individual differences in cognitive and narrative skills contribute to children's abilities to report about events they've experienced) and with Dr. Borelli (researching topics related to developmental psychopathology), and he completed courses in Personality, Applied Statistics, and Advanced Research Methods. In addition, he served as a Learning Assistant for Dr. Zinger's Winter 2020 Industrial/Organizational Psychology course and as a Peer tutor for Dr. Zinger's Spring 2020 Psychology Fundamentals C course, and he gave an oral presentation at the 2020 UCI Psych Science Post-Bacc Research Conference. After completing the post-bacc program, Joshua spent some time working as a Crisis Counselor for the Montgomery County Hotline (which is connected to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline), and he presented a poster at the 2021 Society for Personality & Social Psychology conference. In Fall 2021, he began the Counseling Ph.D. program at the University of Southern Mississippi, but after a year there, he realized that a Ph.D. degree was not the right fit for his career goals. So, he left that program, and he is currently enrolled in the master's degree in clinical mental health program at Marymount University.

Eumie earned her bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts from The New School in 2015. During her time in the post-bacc program, Eumie conducted research in Dr. Elizabeth Loftus' Eyewitness Memory lab and in Dr. John Hipp's Lab for the Study of Space and Crime, and she completed courses in Human Development in a Cross-Cultural Perspective, Human Stress, Statistics, Positive Psychology, and Research Design; she also completed graduate seminar about Memory & the Law. In addition, she presented a poster at the UC Irvine Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in May 2016. Shortly before completing our program, Eumie was accepted to Cognitive Psychology Ph.D. programs at the University of Texas at Austin and at SUNY – Hunter, and she accepted the offer at UT Austin (working with Dr. Art Markman). She earned her master's degree from UT Austin in 2020, and then she left grad school to pursue a career in industry. Eumie currently works as a Data Scientist at ClearObject.

Bryan graduated from UC Santa Barbara with bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in anthropology. During his time in the post-bacc program, he worked as a research assistant in Dr. Jamner’s lab and took a course in Abnormal Psychology. In addition, he presented a poster at the 2016 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference. In March 2016, Bryan was accepted into the Ph.D. program in Biological & Health Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, but he decided to decline this offer so he could focus on working and saving money. After leaving our program, Bryan held several different full-time, paid research positions, including as a clinical researcher in the psychiatry department of the Fountain Valley Regional Medical Hospital (where he learned valuable research techniques, such as using the EEG machine), as a Data Analyst at the UC San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, as a research analyst at Ipsos (a market research firm in Culver City), and as a Research Manager - Custom Research at YouGov. In July 2020, he was admitted to the M.S. in Data Analytics program at Northeastern University, and he completed this program in Spring 2022. He currently works as a Senior Marketing Analyst at UMass Global.

Jake graduated from James Madison University in the Spring of 2017 with a B.A. in Philosophy and Religion. During his time in the post-bacc program, he worked in Dr. Cauffman's Development, Disorder, and Delinquency Lab (in the Department of Psychological Science) and in Dr. Jaeggi's Working Memory & Plasticity lab (in the School of Education), and he completed courses in Theories of Learning & Cognition, Statistical Analysis in Social Ecology, Applied Statistics, Advanced Research Methods, and Cognitive Neuroscience. He also presented a poster at the 2019 Association for Psychological Science conference in Washington DC. After completing the post-bacc program, he spent a year working as a (paid) part-time research assistant in Dr. Jaeggi and Dr. Cauffman's labs, and in February 2020, he was admitted to the Experimental Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of California - San Diego. He earned his master's degree from this program in 2022 (at which time, he left UCSD to pursue full-time employment), and he is currently working full-time as a Licensing Program Analyst at the California Department of Social Services' Community Care Licensing Division/Children's Residential Office in San Diego.

Solveig earned her bachelor’s degree in history and anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley in May 2014. Her interest in psychology developed from an ethnography she conducted on Sexual Addicts Anonymous meetings. After graduation, she completed an internship at Bridges Project in Musselburgh, Scotland as a Youth Worker for underprivileged young people. During her time in the post-bacc program, Solveig worked as a research assistant in Dr. Levine’s Affective Forecasting Lab, completed a field study at the Yellowstone Recovery Center, and presented a poster at the 2016 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Conference. She also completed courses in Introduction to Psychology, Statistical Analysis, Applied Statistics, Clinical Neuroscience, Human Resources Management, and Introduction to Marketing. After completing our program, she spent two years working for the Art Nouveau Center and KUBE Contemporary Art Museum in Norway, and in Spring 2020, she earned her master's degree in Museology and Cultural Heritage at the University of Oslo. Subsequently, she spent some time working at the Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology and working as full-time research assistant position at the University of Oslo (where she assisted with three projects centered around the history of intelligence testing as a pedagogical and diagnostic tool). In September 2021, she presented a paper at the 2051 Munich Climate Conference, and in Spring 2022, she was admitted to the Ph.D. program at the University of Oslo (to conduct research on historical museology). She began this program in Fall 2022.

Eli earned his B.A. degree in Criminology, Law, & Society from University of California, Irvine in 2016. During his time in the post-bacc program, Eli was the lab manager of Dr. Scurich’s jury research lab, and he completed courses in Abnormal Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Deviance, Psychology of Inequality, Applied Statistics, and Hardiness.  In Spring 2019, Eli earned his master's degree in Criminology from Cal State Long Beach, and he was accepted to the Criminology Ph.D. program at Temple University.  He began this Ph.D. program in Fall 2019.

Tiffany earned her B.S. in human biology with an emphasis on the biomedical track and a minor in healthcare studies from the University of Southern California in 2016. During her time in the post-bacc program, she was a research assistant and lab manager in Dr. Chen's Socio-Cultural Research on Adolescent and Young Adult Development Lab (examining how various factors may influence children's level of conformity in social and/or stressful situations), and she took courses in Clinical Child Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Personality, Clinical Neuroscience, Applied Statistics, Ecology & Evolution, and Neuropharmacology. She also presented a poster at the 2017 Association for Psychological Science conference in Boston, MA. Shortly after completing our program, Tiffany worked as the State Director for California Miss Amazing Pageant (the pageant for girls and women with disabilities), and in May 2018, Tiffany was accepted to the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) programs at Touro University and Des Moines University. She began the program at Des Moines University in Fall 2018. While a medical student, Tiffany completed a research rotation at UCI (with Psych Science Professor Sarah Pressman), resulting in a poster presentation at the 2023 American Psychosomatic Society conference - and her poster won a "citation award" for being one of the best posters of the conference. In addition, Tiffany was matched (as part of her residency rotation in internal medicine) at the Arrowhead Regional Medicine Center in Riverside, CA (which was one of her top three choices). Tiffany earned her D.O. degree in June 2023.

Howard graduated in 2014 from Pomona College with a bachelor's degree in molecular biology and a minor in religious studies, and prior to joining the post-bacc program, he worked as a research assistant at the City of Hope in the Division of Outcomes Research in the Department of Population Studies. During his time in our program, Howard worked in Dr. Jamner's lab studying emotion regulation and pain perception and in Dr. Silver's lab studying traumatic life experiences, and he completed courses in Lifespan Developmental Psychology, Personality, Research Design, Applied Statistics, Clinical Psychology, and Behavioral Medicine.  In February 2018, Howard got a first-author publication in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (based on research he conducted at the City of Hope), and in May 2018, he gave an oral presentation at the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine, CA.  After completing the post-bacc program, Howard applied to medical school and received offers from Johns Hopkins, Yale, Vanderbilt, University of Chicago, University of Rochester, Case Western Reserve, UC Davis, and UC Irvine.  He began med school at Johns Hopkins University in August 2019 and earned his M.D. in Spring 2023.  Howard completed his residency in neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Florida, and he is currently a freelance medical and health writer.

Isabelle earned a bachelor’s degree in English (with a concentration in law & society) from Kenyon College in 2012, a master's degree in education and special education from Touro College in 2014, and a master's degree in crisis and trauma studies from Tel Aviv University in 2015. During her time in the post-bacc program, Isabelle worked as a research assistant in Dr. Cauffman's Development, Disorder, and Delinquency lab, resulting in an oral presentation at the 2015 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine and a poster presentation at the 2015 Association for Psychological Science conference in Chicago. She also completed courses in Abnormal Psychology, Statistical Analysis, Applied Statistics, Adolescent Development, and Clinical Psychology. After completing the program, she continued to volunteer as a research assistant in Dr. Cauffman's lab, while also working as a (paid) ABA Behavioral Interventionist at ACES. In February 2017, she was accepted to the Psy.D. program at Yeshiva University; she earned her Psy.D. program this program in May 2022. As part of her graduate program, she completed a school psychology externship at Hastings-on-Hudson UFSD, a clinical psychology externship at The New York Foundling, and a pre-doctoral psychology internship at the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center. After earning her doctoral degree, Isabelle accepted a position as a licensed clinical psychologist at IMPACT Psychological Services (a private practice run by Dr. Tracy Prouts), and she currently works as an attending psychologist at the Montefiore Healthcare System.

Dallen earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from California State University, Long Beach in Spring 2015. During his time in the post-bacc program, he worked as a research assistant for Dr. Lukowski’s Memory and Development Lab, and he presented a poster at 2016 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Conference; he also attended the 2016 Western Psychological Association in Long Beach. Dallen took courses in Human Stress, Clinical Health Psychology, Child Health Psychology, and Advanced Research Methods, while also volunteering as a trained listener and facilitator at the Community Helpline and working as a (paid) ABA therapist at CARD. After completing the post-bacc program, Dallen was admitted to the Psy.D. programs at Cal Lutheran and the University of Indianapolis, and he earned his Psy.D. from the University of Indianapolis in May 2023. He is currently working as a therapist at the Center for Healthy Sex, a private practice in Santa Monica, where he is working with sex addiction and sex therapy clients (while gaining supervised hours for licensure).

Lina graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a B.S. in cognitive science and a specialization in neuroscience. During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked as a research assistant for two quarters in Dr. Lukowski's Memory and Development Lab, and she completed courses in Clinical Neuroscience, Abnormal Psychology, Advanced Research Methods, and Brain Disorders. She also presented a poster at the 2017 Association for Psychological Science conference in Boston. Outside of UCI, she worked as a (paid) research associate and administrative assistant at the UCLA Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research, located in the Reed Neurological Research Center. In September 2017, Lina accepted a full-time, paid position as a Rehabilitation Technician at the RiverRidge Center for Brain Injury and Stroke Rehabilitation in Maine, and she left our post-bacc program to pursue this opportunity. In December 2018, she returned to California, and she met the qualifications (and passed the certifying exam) to become a certified brain injury specialist. She spent some time working as a full-time ABA technician at Behavior Frontiers and then at the Concussion Sports Institute and Nexus Clinical Solutions. In March 2021, Lina was admitted to the Psy.D. program (neuropsychology track) at Pacific University, and she began that program in Fall 2021. She earned her M.A. in psychology (en route to the Psy.D.) in August 2024.

Ryan earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of San Diego in May of 2014, with a major in psychology and a minor in philosophy. During his time in the post-bacc program, Ryan gained research experience by assisting Dr. Jamner in his research lab, and he completed courses in Clinical Neuroscience, Child Therapies, Human Sexuality, and Health Psychology. In Spring 2015, he was accepted to the M.S. in Psychology program at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (which fulfills the educational and clinical training requirements for the state of California's Marriage and Family Therapist license), so he left our post-bacc program to pursue this graduate program. He earned his master's degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in Spring 2017 and his Psy.D. degree from Pepperdine University in Spring 2021. After earning his Psy.D., Ryan completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Adlephi University, and he currently works as a licensed clinical psychologist for the U.S. Dept. of Veteran's Affairs.

Corey graduated cum laude from California State University, Fullerton with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. During his time in the post-bacc program, Corey worked as a research assistant in Dr. Susan Charles’ Emotion Research Lab and completed an internship at the NRC Research Institute. He also completed courses in Advanced Research Methods, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Clinical Neuroscience, and Prejudice, Stereotyping, & Discrimination. In June 2016, he accepted a paid, full-time position as an assistant recruitment coordinator at his internship site, and in March 2017, he was accepted to the Psy.D. program in clinical psychology (neuropsychology track) at Pacific University. He began this Psy.D. program in Fall 2017 and completed it in Summer 2023. He began a 2-year post-doctoral neuropsychology residency at the Portland VA in September 2023.

Karli graduated in 2017 from Antioch University Los Angeles with a B.A. in Liberal Studies. She completed an undergraduate internship at La Ventana Treatment Programs, functioning as a mental health worker in the treatment of eating disorders and substance abuse, which led to her becoming a certified yoga teacher. During her time in the post-bacc program, Karli was a research assistant in Dr. Ditto’s Hot Cognition Lab, and she completed undergraduate courses in Social Psychology, Violence in Society, Applied Statistics, Advanced Forensic Psychology, and Adult Psychopathology, as well as a graduate-level course in Moral Psychology. In addition, Karli attended the 2019 Society for Personality & Social Psychology (SPSP) conference in Portland, OR, and she presented a poster at the 2020 SPSP conference in New Orleans. After completing our program, Karli spent one year working as a part-time (paid) lab manager in Dr. Ditto's lab, and in Spring 2020, Karli was accepted to the Psy.D. program at Cal Lutheran University. She completed one year of this program, but then decided that a master's degree program would be a better fit for her goals. In February 2022, she was admitted to the marriage & family therapy master’s program at Colorado State, and she began that program in Fall 2022. She works part-time as a graduate student teaching assistant and a yoga teacher while going to school.

Allan earned his B.A. in English with a creative writing emphasis at Stanford University. During his time in the post-bacc program, he worked with Dr. Scurich (in the Department of Psychology & Social Behavior) and Dr. Lynch (in the Department of Criminology, Law, and Society) investigating conformity and other interpersonal effects in a jury setting. He completed courses in Introduction to Psychology, Research Design, Advanced Research Methods, Clinical Psychology, Psychodynamic Studies, and Health Psychology, and he completed a field study internship at the Hanmi Hope Korean Family Center. In addition, he gave an oral presentation at the 2017 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine. After completing our program, Allan got accepted to the Psy.D. program in Clinical Psychology at Alliant International University - Los Angeles (with a scholarship that covered about 50% of his tuition); he began that program in Fall 2018 and completed it in Spring 2023. Since earning his Psy.D., Allan has been working as a postdoc accruing hours for licensure at a private child psychology practice in Westwood doing therapy, assessment, and intensive outpatient summer camp.

Josie earned her BA in Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University and her MA in Counseling & Psychology from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. She is a licensed professional clinical counselor and licensed marriage and family therapist in California, and she runs her own private practice. During her time in the post-bacc program, Josie was a research assistant in Dr. Pressman's Stress, Emotions, & Physical Health Lab, and she completed courses in Health Psychology and Clinical Neuroscience; she also attended the FACES Conference on Compassion, Mindfulness, and Wisdom. In April 2015, she was accepted into the PsyD Couple and Family Therapy program at Alliant International University. She deferred her admission to the Psy.D. program for a couple of years while building her private practice and then started this Psy.D. program in Fall 2017. While completing her doctoral degree, Josie is also working as an associate director and clinician at the Center for Stress Recovery and Resilience.

Dominique earned her bachelor’s degree in Peace Studies with a minor in English from Chapman University. Following graduation, she accepted a position at Franklin Educational Services providing comprehensive academic and organizational support to students with learning and behavioral differences. During her time in the post-bacc program, she took courses in Abnormal Psychology, Clinical Neuroscience, Research Design, Advanced Research Methods, Lifespan Developmental Psychology, and Applied Statistics. In Fall 2016 & Winter 2017, Dominique worked as a research assistant in Dr. Lukowski’s Memory and Development Lab, investigating recall memory in children with Down syndrome. She attended the 2017 Southeastern Psychological Association conference, and she was a co-author on a poster that was presented at the 2017 Association for Psychological Science conference. In Summer 2017, she completed a full-time research internship in Dr. Dan Gilbert's psychology lab at Harvard University, and in Fall 2017, she returned to Southern California to finish up the post-bacc program and resume her position at Franklin Educational Services; she also began conducting research with a professor at USC. Since completing our program, she spent a summer working as the educational director for an summer program for children with autism, and she spent several years working as the director of the Orange County site at Franklin Educational Services. In 2019, Dominique earned her M.S. in Psychology from Arizona State University, and in May 2024, she earned her Ed.D. from Johns Hopkins University. Since earning her Ed.D., Dominique has been running her own educational therapy & organizational coaching business.

Katie graduated with her bachelor’s degree in political science from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (where she also discovered her love for beekeeping). During her time in the post-bacc program, she conducted research with Dr. Paul Piff, Dr. Azim Shariff, and Dr. Ray Novaco, and she completed courses in Introduction to Psychology, Social Psychology, Research Design, Adult Psychopathology, Basic Statistics, and Applied Statistics. In addition, she audited a graduate-level Helping and Cooperation course, presented a poster at the 2017 Society for Personality & Social Psychology conference in San Antonio, and gave an oral (and a poster) presentation at the 2017 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference; outside of UCI, she worked part-time as a project associate at International Litigation Services. After completing the program, Katie continued to work part-time as a project associate, while also working as a part-time (paid) research assistant for Drs. Piff, Shariff, and Novaco. In Winter/Spring 2018, Katie was accepted to four Master of Social Work/Welfare (MSW) programs: UCLA, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Long Beach, and San Diego State. She accepted the offer at UCLA, and she earned her master's degree from this program in June 2020. After earning her MSW, Katie spent a year as a stay-at-home mom (caring for her newborn baby), and in August 2021, she accepted a part-time position at the UCI Medical Center as a per-diem clinical social worker.

Kelly earned her B.A. in psychology in 2018 from Sonoma State University, where she was a participating member of the Psychological Research Lab team and assisted on a research project studying how valence of curvature and angularity influences decision-making. During her time in the post-bacc program, Kelly worked as a research assistant in Dr. Pressman's Stress, Emotions, and Physical Health Lab and in Dr. Borelli's Health, Relationships, & Interventions lab, and she completed courses in Advanced Research Methods, Human Stress, Biological Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, and Applied Statistics. She also presented a talk at the American Psychosomatic Society conference and was a co-author on several posters presented at the Western Psychological Association conference and the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference. After completing the post-bacc program, Kelly worked in several different paid positions, including as a Counselor at the Lifehouse Agency, a Residential Counselor at Victor Treatment Centers, and a research assistant at Johns Hopkins University. More recently, Kelly has been working as bartender and events planner Tarantula Hill Brewing Company while also starting her own small business (McRey Motocross Co), which sells women’s off-road apparel and motocross gear. In Fall 2022, she was accepted to the M.S. in Organizational Leadership program at Johns Hopkins University and to the MA program in Organizational Psychology at Alliant International University (which are both online programs), and she started the program at Johns Hopkins in January 2023.

Sara graduated from California Institute of the Arts with a BFA in character animation. During her first year in the post-bacc program, she worked with Dr. Susan Charles in the Emotion Research lab, with a graduate student (Doron Zinger) in the School of Education, and with Dr. Jessie Borelli in the Health, Relationships, and Interventions Lab. She presented a poster at the 2017 UC Irvine Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference, and she was an author on a poster that that was presented at the 2018 American Education Research Association conference. In addition, she attended the 2017 California Psychological Association conference in San Francisco, and she completed courses in Statistics, Attachment, Abnormal Psychology, and Clinical Psychology. During her second year in the post-bacc program, she accepted a (full-time) position as a program assistant at the Mental Health Association of Orange County, and she was admitted to two Master of Social Work (MSW) graduate programs: CUNY Hunter College and University of Michigan. She decided to accept the University of Michigan offer, and she earned her MSW from that program in Spring 2020. After earning her master’s degree, Sara accepted a full-time (paid) position as a mental health therapist associate at Seattle Children's Hospital.

Sonia earned her B.A. in Psychology and Neuroscience & Behavior from Wesleyan University in 2015.  During her time in the post-bacc program, Sonia worked with Dr. Fortier as a research assistant in the UCI Center on Stress and Health at CHOC, and she completed courses in Developmental Psychopathology, Infant Development, Clinical Psychology, Social Psychology, and Clinical Child Psychology (while also working part-time as a behavior therapist, helping children who have been diagnosed with autism).  In May 2018, she gave an oral presentation at the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine, CA and a poster presentation at the Association for Psychological Science conference in San Francisco, CA.  Upon completing the post-bacc program, Sonia worked for two years as a full-time (paid) Research Associate at UC Irvine (with her time split between the UCI Center on Stress and Health and Professor Borelli's Health, Relationships, & Interventions Lab), and in September 2020, she accepted full-time (paid) position as a Research Study Coordinator at Northwestern Feinberg Medical (under the Medical Social Sciences department) in Chicago.  In August 2023, Sonia completed the Health Data Science Graduate Certificate Program at Northwestern University, and she is currently enrolled in their Health Analytics master's program.

Candy graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2017 with a BA in psychology. During her time in the post-bacc program, Candy worked with Dr. Cauffman in the Development, Disorders, and Delinquency Lab (investigating adolescents' experiences with the justice system and how these experiences affect them) and with Dr. Borelli in the Health, Relationships, and Interventions Lab, and she completed courses in Advanced Research Methods, Developmental Psychopathology, Clinical Psychology, Applied Statistics, and Health Psychology. In May 2018, she gave an oral presentation at the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine and presented a poster at the Association for Psychological Science conference in San Francisco. After completing the program, she spent some time volunteering in Dr. Cauffman's lab and then later accepted a paid position as an elementary facilitator at Girls, Inc. In Winter 2020, Candy was accepted to the Master of Social Work (MSW) programs at USC (with a scholarship), Columbia University, and Cal State Fullerton and to the Master of Marriage & Family Therapy programs at Chapman University and San Diego State University. She earned her MSW from USC, and she has since decided to change careers to become a physician's assistant (PA). She began a PA program in August 2024.

Carly earned her B.A. in history from the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor in 2012. During her time in the post-bacc program, Carly worked in Dr. Silver’s lab (which focuses on coping with traumatic events), in Dr. Borelli's lab (which focuses on developmental psychopathology and attachment), and in Dr. Piff's lab (which focuses on social hierarchy, inequality, and emotion), and she completed courses in Abnormal Psychology, Research Design, Human Stress, the Psychology of Inequality, Applied Statistics, Lifespan Development, and Introduction to Human Memory. In addition, she attended the Society for Research in Child Development conference in Austin in April 2017, and she presented a poster at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology conference in Atlanta in March 2018. Outside of UCI, Carly worked and volunteered at Chrysalis, a Los Angeles non-profit that helps homeless and low-income individuals find employment. After completing the post-bacc program, Carly earned her Master of Social Work (MSW) from USC, and she currently works as a private practice therapist at Compass Therapy in Newport Beach.

Crystal graduated from the University of California, Irvine in December 2015 with a B.A. in psychology and social behavior. During her time as an undergraduate student, she worked as a research assistant at the Cal Plug Load Research Center with Dr. Joy Pixley, where she conducted one-on-one interviews with UCI staff, faculty, and students for a computer and energy expenditure study; collected, recorded, and uploaded data; and installed computer software on participants’ computers. Crystal was also a research assistant in UCI’s Health Response Lab for one year, where she collected, entered, and cleaned data (and reviewed and analyzed research articles) for a study investigating physiological responses to stress. After earning her bachelor’s degree, Crystal spent several years working in the engineering field as a project engineer and a junior project manager. During her time in the post-bacc program, Crystal worked in Dr. Borelli’s Health, Relationships, and Interventions Lab (first as a research assistant and then as a study coordinator) and in Dr. Schuck's Child Development Lab, and she completed courses in Developmental Psychopathology, Adolescent Development, Cognition & Learning in an Educational Setting, and Issues in K-12 Education. In addition, she volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate with the Riverside Superior Court of California (where she mentored foster youth), and she spent some time working as a Behavioral Interventionist. In August 2023, Crystal accepted a  job as a Paraeducator in a special education classroom in the Norco Corona School District, and she left our program to focus on working in this full-time position.  Most recently, she was accepted to the Ed.S. program in School Psychology at Chapman University (with a $16,000 scholarship); she will wait to hear back from the other programs she applied to before making a decision.

Katie graduated from the University of San Francisco in 2014 with a BA in art history and a minor in fine art. In 2013, she worked as an art program assistant at a non-profit organization in San Francisco that focuses on empowering youth to move beyond homelessness by providing employment, healthcare, and education, and in 2017, she worked as a freelance art writer in Los Angeles. During her time in the post-bacc program, Katie was a research assistant in Dr. Martin's Behaviors, Emotion, and Affective Neuroscience Lab, and she completed courses in Abnormal Psychology, Addiction, Applied Statistics, Clinical Neuroscience, Clinical Psychology, Research Design, Lifespan Developmental Psychology, and Industrial/Organizational Psychology. She also presented posters at the 2019 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference and the 2019 Society for Research in Psychopathology conference. After completing the post-bacc program, she spent some time volunteering in Dr. Martin's lab, and in Winter 2020, she was accepted to the Master's in Industrial/Organizational Psychology program at San Jose State, to the M.S. in Applied Psychology program at USC, and to the M.A. in Psychological Science program at Cal State Fullerton. She began the program at Cal State Fullerton in 2020 and completed it in 2024. She currently works as a global diversity, equity, & inculsion (DEI) and talent manager at Levi Strauss & Co.

Katherine earned her B.A. in American Literature and minor in Spanish at UCLA in 2012. Upon graduation, she moved to San Francisco and started a career in human resources in Silicon Valley. Working in this space confirmed her love of working with people; it also clarified that her ultimate goal is to work in service of people and their personal development, outside of a business context. During her time in our post-bacc program, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Quas' research lab, where she learned about the impact that stress, trauma, and maltreatment have on childhood development; she also completed courses in Introduction to Psychology, Lifespan Developmental Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, and Research Design. In Spring 2019, Katherine was accepted to the Marriage & Family Therapy (MFT) master's degree program at Chapman University (with a $34,000 fellowship, which paid for over 50% of her tuition) and to the Master of Science in Counseling program at Cal State Fullerton, and she decided to attend the program at Chapman. During her time at Chapman, she worked as an MFT trainee at the LGBTQ Center Orange County and at the Chapman University Francis Smith Center, and she earned her master's degree from this program in May 2022. She is currently working as a private practice therapist at The Practice Therapy Group (https://www.infiniteyoutherapy.com) and as a family therapist at The Arrow House.

Ronan graduated from Princeton University in 2016 with a B.A. in linguistics and a minor in translation studies. During his time in the post-bacc program, Ronan was a research assistant in Dr. Martin's Behaviors, Emotions, and Affective Neuroscience Lab, and he completed courses in Positive Psychology, Research Design, Abnormal Psychology, Addiction, Adolescent Development, and Psychodynamic Studies. He also completed a field study internship at Outreach Concern (a school-based counseling agency that works with students on a confidential, one-on-one basis to help them overcome obstacles that impact classroom performance). Shortly before completing our program, Ronan was admitted to the M.A. in Clinical Psychology program (with a Latino Mental Health Concentration) at Antioch University in Santa Barbara, and he completed that program in September 2019. Since earning his master’s degree, Ronan has provided therapy services at several organizations (including the Community Counseling & Education Center, the Family Service Agency, Wellness Together School Mental Health, Hearyou.org, and the Neighborhood House Association), and in November 2023, Ronan earned his license from the Board of Behavioral Sciences, which means that he is now officially a licensed marriage & family therapist.

Elizabeth earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and social behavior with a minor in criminology, law, & society from UC Irvine in June of 2014. While in the post-bacc program, she worked as a research assistant for Dr. Quas (who studies memory development and children's involvement in the legal system), and she presented her research at the 2015 Western Psychological Association conference in Las Vegas, NV and at the 2015 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference. In addition, she completed undergraduate courses in Clinical Psychology, Human Development in a Cross-Cultural Perspective, Applied Statistics, Advanced Research Methods, as well as a graduate-level Research Methods course. After completing our program, she accepted a part-time (paid) position as a project director in Dr. Quas' lab and a part-time (paid) position as an administrative assistant at Western Youth Services. In April 2016, Elizabeth was accepted to the Master's in School Psychology programs at Chapman University and Cal State Long Beach. She accepted the offer at Cal State Long Beach (her top choice), and she completed this program in Spring 2019. Elizabeth now works as a school psychologist for the Fullerton School District.

Jonathan graduated from the UC Berkeley with a B.A. in philosophy in 2015. After a few years of teaching English in San Francisco, Jonathan discovered his calling in clinical psychology and psychotherapy, with specific interests in the practice of psychotherapy, men's issues, military and veterans' mental health, Latino-American mental health, and clinical psychology research in general. During his time in the post-bacc program, Jonathan worked in two research labs in the Department of Psychological Science: Dr. Borelli's Health, Relationships, and Interventions Lab and Dr. Piff's Morality, Emotion, and Social Hierarchy Lab. In addition, he completed courses in Abnormal Psychology, Social Psychology, Research Design, Clinical Psychology, Applied Statistics, and Advanced Research Methods, and he gave a poster presentation at the 2018 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine. In November 2018, Jonathan left the post-bacc program to teach English in China, and Spring 2021, he was accepted to the Clinical Psychology master's degree program at Asia University (in Taichung, Taiwan) with a scholarship that would have covered for 100% of his tuition and 50% of his dormitory costs. He had planned to begin this program in Fall 2021 but was unfortunately unable to get to Taiwan from China due to the travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, he has continued his work teaching English in China, and he may re-apply to graduate school in the future.

Caitlin earned her bachelor’s degree in 2011 from Northeastern University, majoring in business with a marketing concentration and minoring in history. During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked as a research assistant for Dr. Roxy Silver (studying the way people cope with traumatic events) and took courses in Research Design, Applied Statistics, Clinical Health Psychology, and Interpersonal Processes & Health. In March 2016, Caitlin was accepted to the San Diego State University Master of Social Work and Master of Public Health (MSW-MPH) dual degree program. She began this program in Fall 2016, and after her first year, she changed her focus to concentrate only on the MPH degree. In May 2018, she earned her MPH in Health Management & Policy. After earning her master's degree, she held full-time positions as the director of quality for Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest in San Diego and as a program manager for MedImpact Healthcare Systems, and she currently works as a clinical consultant IV for the Population Health Management Initiative at Kaiser Permanente.

Amy graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 2018 with a B.A. in Psychology and Social Behavior. As an undergraduate, she took courses in Clinical Neuroscience, Lifespan Developmental Psychology, and Child Therapies, which sparked her interest towards child psychology. In addition, she completed an internship at Child Abuse Services Team (CAST). Working directly with child victims of abuse was a valuable experience that grew her passion towards child psychology. As a post-bacc student, Amy worked as a research assistant in Dr. Schueller’s Technology and Mental Health (TEAM) lab, and she completed a course in Clinical Psychology. In Summer 2024, Amy accepted a full-time (paid) position as a Behavior Therapist at an Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) agency, and she left our program to focus on this position. Amy was subsequently admitted to the Master's in Behavior Analysis program at the Florida Institute of Technology, and she began that program in Fall 2024.

Rebecca earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology in May of 2015 from California State University, Long Beach. During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Elizabeth Loftus’ Memory & Law Lab and in Dr. Martin's Behavior, Emotion, and Affective Neuroscience Lab, and she presented a poster at the 2016 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine. She took courses in Human Development in a Cross-Cultural Perspective and Memory and the Law, and outside of UCI, she worked as an advanced behavior interventionist at Autism Spectrum Therapies. In December 2016, Rebecca was accepted to the Master of Applied Behavioral Analysis program at Simmons University (her first choice of graduate programs), and she earned her master's degree from that program in Spring 2018. She currently works as a BCBA program supervisor at Brightview Behavioral Health Services.

Nicole graduated magna cum laude from Santa Clara University in June of 2015 with a B.S. in psychology and a double minor in communications and sociology. During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Goldberg's Family Lab, studying typically developing children and children with Autism, and she completed a field study internship at the CSP Youth Shelter in Laguna Beach. Prior to completing the program, Nicole was accepted to all of the graduate programs she applied to, including UCLA's and Boston College's Master of Social Welfare/Social Work (MSW) programs, Columbia University's M.A. in International Educational Development program (with an $18,000 scholarship), Pepperdine University's M.A. in Social Entrepreneurship and Change program, and University of San Diego's M.A. in Peace and Justice program (with a $20,000 scholarship). She decided to attend the program at Columbia, and she earned her master's degree in Spring 2018. Currently, Nicole works with the Salesforce Foundation in New York City, running their donation/grant program (which donates 10 Salesforce CRM licenses to nonprofits and educational institutions).

Gabi graduated from California State University, Los Angeles with her bachelor’s degree in psychology. During her time in the post-bacc program, Gabi was a research assistant at UCI’s Center on Stress and Health under the advisement of Dr. Michelle Fortier, and she completed courses in Applied Statistics, Positive Psychology, Advanced Research Methods, Behavioral Medicine, Clinical Neuroscience, Human Stress, and Psychodynamic Studies. Shortly before completing our program, she was admitted to the master's degree programs at Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Dominguez Hills. She accepted the offer at Cal State Fullerton, and she earned her M.S. in Clinical Psychology program in Spring 2020. She is currently working as licensed marriage & family therapist at Stepping Forward Counseling Center in Yorba Linda, and she is in the process of publishing a book chapter based on her master's thesis.

Sara graduated from the University of California - Irvine in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in psychological science, where she developed an interest in pursuing a career in research and clinical psychology. During her senior year, she became a research assistant in Dr. Zalta’s Trauma and Resilience Lab, contributing to studies examining moral injury and military trauma. Upon starting the post-bacc program, Sara also joined Dr. Borelli’s Health, Relationships, & Interventions Lab as a research assistant, where she contributed to the "Enjoying Memories" eating disorder study. In addition, Sara completed courses in Applied Statistics, Clinical Neuroscience, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and she got a poster accepted to the 2022 International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies conference. Outside of UCI, Sarah volunteered as an exposure assistant at Compass Therapy, and she worked part-time at a recruiting firm.  Sara’s clinical interests include eating disorders, anxiety, trauma, and PTSD, and in March 2023, she was admitted to Cal State Fullerton for their M.S. in Clinical Psychology program.  She began this program in Fall 2023.

George earned his AA in liberal arts studies from Fresno City College and his BA in psychology from UC Merced. He served in the California Army National Guard for 6 years as military police, and he was deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. During his time in the post-bacc program, George worked with Dr. Novaco’s Domestic Violence Research Lab, and he completed undergraduate courses in Violence in Society, Advanced Forensic Psychology, and Applied Statistics; he also completed graduate courses in Interpersonal Processes & Health and Social & Affective Neuroscience. In addition, he attended the 2018 Association for Psychological Sciences conference, and he participated in Northwestern University's 2018 Sneak Peek weekend. During his first year after completing our program, George worked part-time for the City of Irvine - Disability Services providing 1:1 accommodations for children with special needs in after school programs, recreational classes, and excursions (while also volunteering as a research assistant in Dr. Zalta's lab), then he returned to his home town of Fresno, CA to work as full-time as a senior admissions and records assistant at Fresno City College. In April 2021, George was accepted to the Master of Science in Counseling - Option in Student Affairs and College Counseling program at Fresno State, and he earned his master's degree from that program in Spring 2023. He currently works part-time as an adjunct counselor in the Transfer Center at Fresno City College.

Pauline graduated from University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. During her time in the post-bacc program, Pauline worked with Dr. Wendy Goldberg to better understand the family context and the social and cognitive functioning of students with autism, and she completed courses in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cognition & Learning in an Educational Setting, Research Design, and Advanced Research Methods. In addition, she presented a poster at the 2018 Western Psychological Science conference in Portland, OR and at the 2018 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine, CA. In Winter/Spring 2019, Pauline was accepted to the Ed.S. programs in School Psychology at San Diego State and Chapman University and to the M.S. in Counseling (with an emphasis in School Psychology) program at Cal State Los Angeles. She earned her master's degree from Cal State Los Angeles in May 2022, and she got a first-author paper (entitled, "College students’ perceptions of peers with autism") published in the Contemporary School Psychology (with a graduate student she worked with UCI as one of the co-authors) . Pauline currently works as a school psychologist in East Whittier, CA.

Vesta graduated from the University of California, Riverside in 2017 with a B.A in Media and Cultural Studies. During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked in Dr. Sabrina Schuck's lab at the UC Irvine Child Development Center, and she completed a course in Clinical Psychology.  After leaving our program, Vesta took courses at local community colleges in order to strengthen her application for master's programs in social work (while also working full-time as a Sales Representative at AT&T), and in Spring 2019, she was accepted to the Master of Social Work program at Asuza Pacific University.  She completed this program in Spring 2021, and she currently works full-time as a Clinical Care Coordinator at Bay Area Community Services.

Laura earned her BA in Psychology and a minor in Applied Psychology from UC Santa Barbara. During her time in the post-bacc program, she completed courses in Personality, Applied Statistics, Behavioral Medicine, Health Psychology, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, and Stress Management, and she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Zinger's lab (where she conducted a study on the relationship between syllabi word use and teaching evaluations in university professors). She gave a poster presentation at the 2018 Association for Psychological Science conference and gave oral and poster presentations at the 2018 UC Irvine Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference; she was also a co-author on a poster that was presented at the 2018 Society for Personality & Social Psychology conference. After completing our program, Laura earned her M.A. in Clinical Psychology (with an emphasis in Marriage & Family Therapy) from Pepperdine University; as part of her master's program, Laura interned as a Marriage and Family Trainee at the OPICA Adult Day Care in West LA (where she worked with seniors with early-stage memory loss) and at the LA City College Life Skills Center (working with community college students). She currently works as full-time as an Associate Therapist at Family Clarity Therapy Services (in addition to working part-time as an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University).

Alexis graduated from Tulane University in 2013 with a B.S. in Management. After college, Alexis worked in the insurance industry at agencies in Boston and New York. During her first year in the post-bacc program, Alexis worked in Dr. Kuhlman’s Teen Resilience Lab, where she worked with adolescents who have undergone or were undergoing a series of stressful life events. She was also a club member of H.E.A.R.T. (Healthy Emotions & Attitudes in Relationships Today) at UCI, and she completed courses in Abnormal Psychology, Statistics, Complementary & Alternative Medicine, Health Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Health Behavior Theory, and the Science and Practice of Compassion. She also completed a Field Study Internship at Human Options, and she presented posters at the 2019 Association for Psychological Science conference and at the 2019 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference. Outside of UCI, Alexis worked as a child care provider. After completing our program, Alexis was admitted to Leslie University for their Clinical Mental Health Counseling - Holistic Studies master's degree program (with a $9,000 scholarship) and to Northeastern University for their Master of Science in Counseling program (with a $10,000 scholarship). She accepted the offer at Leslie University; she began that program in Spring 2021 and completed it in May 2024. Since then, she has started a business called "Intuitive Guidance by Alexis" (www.intuitiveguidancebyalexis.com). She is also in the process of becoming a certified hypnotherapist so she can work with people from that lens as well.

Anthony graduated from the University of California - Irvine with a B.A. in Psychology and Social Behavior and a Minor in Criminology, Law and Society in the Spring of 2018. It wasn't until his senior year at UCI that he realized his passion for the field of clinical psychology and its intersection with juvenile delinquency. During his time in the post-bacc program, Anthony worked as a research assistant for Professor Scurich (in the Department of Psychological Science) and Professor Rodriguez (in the Department of Criminology, Law, and Society), and he completed courses in Juvenile Delinquency, Advanced Research Methods, Adolescent Development, and Applied Statistics. In addition, he presented a poster at the 2019 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference. After completing our program, Anthony earned his master’s degree in counseling psychology from Palo Alto University. After earning his graduate degree, Anthony spent some time working as counselor at the Oak Grove School District and a mental health clinician at Wellpath (where he worked directly with incarcerated individuals at the Santa Cruz County Jail). He currently works as a marriage and family therapist at the Santa Clara County Department of Corrections and as a private practice therapist at Therapy By Choice in San Jose.

Kaitlyn earned her A.A. in Social Sciences in 2011 from Pasadena City College (where she was the President of the Psychology Club), and she earned her B.A. in Psychology from California State University, Los Angeles in 2014. During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked in Dr. Jamner's Social Psychopharmacological Lab and she took undergraduate courses in Advanced Research Methods, Developmental Psychopathology, Clinical Neuroscience, Applied Statistics, and Positive Psychology; she also took a graduate-level Social & Affective Neuroscience course. In addition, she attended the 2018 Western Psychological Science conference in Portland, OR and presented a poster at the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine, CA. After completing the post-bacc program, Kaitlyn continued being active on the professional conference circuit, attending the 2019 Society for Research in Psychopathology conference in Indianapolis, IN and presenting posters at the 2019 Western Psychological Association conference in Pasadena, CA and the 2019 Association for Psychological Science conference in Washington DC, and she worked full-time as a Human Resources Assistant at Barlow Respiratory Hospital. Kaitlyn subsequently earned her M.A. in Psychological Science program from the Catholic University of America, and she currently works as a research assistant at National Defense University.

Reanna earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology (with a minor in writing) from UC Merced in 2014. During her time in the post-bacc program, she completed courses in Health Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Sports Psychology, and Positive Psychology, and she was a part of Dr. Pressman’s lab to study stress levels. In addition, she completed quarter-long internships at the Yellowstone Recovery Center and the CSP Youth Shelter. In Spring 2016, Reanna was accepted to master's degree programs in counseling psychology at NYU, San Francisco State, and University of Kansas; she accepted the offer at NYU and completed one semester there before deciding that counseling psychology was not the best fit for her. She subsequently returned to Southern California, worked as an alumni parent coordinator at Newport Academy, and completed a certification course in sports mind training. In August 2021, Reanna was accepted to the Transpersonal Psychology master's degree program at Sofia University, but she decided not to attend. Then, in February 2022, she was admitted to the University of Western States for their M.S. in Sport and Performance Psychology program, and she earned her master's degree from this program in December 2023.

Chris graduated from UC Irvine in June 2014 with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Social Behavior. During his time in the post-bacc program, he worked as research assistant for several different professors (including Drs. Loftus, Piff, Scurich, and Levine). In addition, he attended the 2015 Society for Personality & Social Psychology conference, and he presented his research at the 2015 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Conference. Chris also took courses in Forensic Psychology, Psychology & the Law, and Applied Statistics. After completing our program, Chris accepted a paid position as a lab manager for a psychologist in the Business School at the University of Southern California, and in 2018, he co-authored a paper in Psychiatry, Psychology, and Law with Dr. Scurich. After working at USC for a couple of years, Chris left this position to work as a manager at his father's donut shop (help his family keep their business going). In Summer 2020, Chris was participated in the Virtual Research Internship Program at New York University, and in Spring 2022, he was admitted to the Master of Social Work programs at Cal State San Bernardino, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State LA, Cal State San Marcos, and the University of Nevada - Las Vegas. He began the program at Cal State San Bernardino in Fall 2022, and as part of his graduate program, he completed an internship as a mental health counselor at Colton Joint Unified School District.

Cara graduated from Arizona State University in May of 2014 with a B.A. in Psychology (Magna Cum Laude). During her time in the post-bacc program, she was a research assistant in Dr. Elizabeth Martin's Behaviors, Emotion, and Affective Neuroscience Lab, and she helped grad student Robert Garcia with his dissertation study. In addition, she took courses in Behavioral Medicine, Applied Statistics, Cognition & Learning in an Educational Setting, and Clinical Psychology, and she attended the 2015 Western Psychological Association conference in Las Vegas, NV. After completing our post-bacc program, Cara was admitted to the M.S. in Psychology program at Arizona State University and the M.A. in Applied Social Psychology program at Claremont Graduate University (with a fellowship); she earned her master's degree from Claremont in 2020 and she subsequently published a manuscript (as second author) in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology (entitled, "Relationships Matter! Social Safeness and Self-Disclosure may Influence the Relationship Between Perceived Social Support and Well-being for In-person and Online Relationships"). She currently works as a technical operations specialist at Intellectual Technology, Inc.

Priya earned her B.A. in English literature from Scripps College in Claremont, CA in May 2021. During her time there, she took some psychology courses and participated in a copywriting internship at Worldview Studio, which sparked her interest in psychological research and led her to apply to our post-bacc program. During her time in our program, she worked in Dr. Pressman’s Stress, Emotion, and Physical Health lab and volunteered at 7 Cups of Tea as a trained listener, and she completed courses in Clinical Psychology, Applied Statistics, Abnormal Psychology, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Health Psychology, and Research Design.  She also completed a field study internship at the Bloom Foundation (a non-profit organization that has a mental health curriculum for middle and high school girls, including anti-bullying programs, group counseling, etc.), and she presented posters at the 2023 Western Psychological Association conference in Riverside, CA and at the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine.  After completing our program, she spent some time teaching English in the Czech Republic, and most recently (January 2025), she began the Masters in Speech Pathology program at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia.

Ghadeer graduated in Summer 2016 from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (U of M) with a Bachelor's degree in Neuroscience. During her senior year, she worked at U of M’s School of Public Health as a research assistant to investigate the effectiveness of administering pneumococcal vaccines to children on the incidence of pneumococcal disease, and after graduation, she took a year off to care for her baby daughter and to explore different graduate school options. During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked in three different research labs: Dr. Martin’s Behavior, Emotion, and Affective Neuroscience Lab (in the Department of Psychological Science), Dr. Sarnecka's Cognitive Development Lab (in the Department of Cognitive Sciences), and Dr. Stark's Memory Research Lab (in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior).  In addition, she completed courses in Cognitive Development Research, Social & Affective Neuroscience, and Case Studies in Public Health, and she gave an oral presentation (about the research she conducted in Dr. Sarnecka's lab) at the 2018 UC Irvine Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program.  She left the post-bacc program in Spring 2019 to focus on finding paid employment opportunities, and in Spring 2022, she completed the Teach for America program and earned her preliminary teaching credential.  She spent three years teaching high school chemistry in Los Angeles, and she is currently works as the co-founder/marketing & operations lead at Quartz Guitars LLC.

Molly earned her B.A. in speech, language pathology, & audiology from Loyola University of Maryland in 2014. During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked in Dr. Lukowski’s Memory and Development Lab and took courses in Lifespan Developmental Psychology and Cognition & Learning in an Educational Setting. In Spring 2017, Molly left our program due to a change in career focus, and she spent some time working as an educational therapist at One Mind Learning (and then as a literacy and executive functioning coach for students with learning disabilities). In 2019, she earned her Masters of Education in Educational Psychology at Florida Atlantic University, and she now runs her own private practice as an individual learning specialist in Pompano Beach, Florida.

Elise earned her Bachelor’s Degree in History from UC Berkeley in Spring 2018. During the latter part of her time as an undergraduate, she discovered that she did not want to pursue a career as a historian or other occupations relevant to history. This, combined with a lifelong interest in human behavior and motivators, led Elise to pursue a post-bacc certificate. During her time in the post-bacc program, Elise worked as a research assistant in Dr. Quas’ Child Development lab (where she studied children with trauma backgrounds), and she completed courses in Statistical Analysis, Psychology & Law, Abnormal Psychology, Positive Psychology, Research Design, Clinical Psychology, and Human Stress. After completing our post-bacc program, she moved back to the Bay Area and spent time working as a transitional kindergarten teacher and as a second-grade teacher at a private school. In Spring 2022, Elise completed the multiple subject teaching credential program at CalState Teach (an online, joint program between Cal State Fresno and Cal State Los Angeles), and she earned her multiple subject teaching credential (with the state of California). She is currently working full-time as an elementary school teacher at the Mount Diablo Unified School District.

Ramon graduated from the University of California - Santa Barbara (UCSB) in 2016 with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychology. During his time in the post-bacc program, he worked with Dr. Fortier in the UCI Center on Stress & Health on her research with child cancer patients and pain perceptions, resulting in poster presentations at the Association for Psychological Science conference in San Francisco, CA and at the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine, CA. In addition, he completed an undergraduate course in Forensic Psychology and a graduate course in Interpersonal Processes and Health. Outside of UCI, Ramon worked with a non-profit organization (The Seneca Family of Agencies - Ventura Crisis Program) that serves youth in psychiatric crisis. In Fall 2018, Ramon was promoted to unit supervisor at this organization, and shortly thereafter, he took a leave of absence from our program so he could focus on his new position. Most recently (in May 2022), he completed the Master of Public Policy program at UC Berkeley, and he is currently a data analyst for the Seneca Family of Agencies.

Bill graduated from the UC San Diego in 2016 with a B.A. in Critical Gender Studies. During his time in the post-bacc program, he took courses in Abnormal Psychology, Clinical Neuroscience, Research Design, Advanced Research Methods, Lifespan Developmental Psychology, and Applied Statistics. In Fall 2017, Bill worked as a paid, part-time field intern conducting public health research, and in Winter and Spring 2018, he worked in Dr. Rinehart's lab studying sexual victimization. Furthermore, in Winter 2018, Bill became a UCI LGBT mentor, and he gave a workshop at the UC Students of Color Conference at UC Riverside. He presented two posters at the 2018 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference, and he attended the 2018 Association for Psychological Science conference. Since completing our program, Bill has held several paid research positions, including working as a clinical research coordinator at the Paloma Medical Group, as a project coordinator/case manager at the Friends Research Institute (which led to poster presentations at the 2020 Clinical Conference at the National Ryan White Conference and at the 2020 American Public Health Association Meeting and Expo), as a PrEP education specialist at AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) Health (which led to a co-authored publication in AIDS Patient Care & STDs), and as a training and community education manager at the San Diego LGBTQ Community Center. Most recently (in November 2024), Bill was accepted to the Master of Science in Instructional Design & Technology program at Cal State Fullerton, and he began this program in Spring 2025.

Gioia received her B.F.A in Illustration from Art Center College of Design in 2015. During her time in the post-bacc program, she completed undergraduate courses in Statistics, Research Design, Abnormal Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Educational Technology, and Social Psychology, and she completed a graduate course on the topic of childhood. She worked as a research assistant for Dr. Quas (researching adverse experiences in childhood and its sequelae) and Dr. Piff (researching income inequality, prosocial behavior, and awe), and in May 2017, she presented posters at the Association for Psychological Science conference and at the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference. In Summer 2017 and Summer 2018, Gioia worked as a (paid) teaching assistant at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth Summer Program at UC Santa Cruz, where she TA'ed for a Foundations of Psychology course. After completing the post-bacc program, Gioia spent some time working at the Child Creativity Lab and as a substitute teacher, and she volunteered as a research assistant for Dr. Sheron Wray (UCI School of Dance) and for Dr. Beth van Es' (UCI School of Education). While earning her teaching credential from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Intern, Credentialing, and Added Authorization Program, Gioia was admitted to the Instructional Technology & Media master's degree programs at USC (with a scholarship), NYU, and Columbia University. She earned her master's degree from Columbia University in February 2024, and she is currently working full-time as a teacher for LAUSD.

Marissa earned her Bachelor's degree at UC Irvine in 2013, double-majoring in Criminology, Law and Society (CLS) and Psychology and Social Behavior (PSB). During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked as a research assistant for Dr. Silver's lab, resulting in an oral presentation at the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in May 2015. In addition, she completed field study internships at the CSP Youth Shelter and Shortshop, as well as courses in Human Development in a Cross-Cultural Perspective, Clinical Neuroscience, and Prejudice, Stereotyping, & Discrimination. After completing our program, Marissa worked for 5 years at the Irvine Company - first as a property assistant, then as a property coordinator, and then as a senior associate - all while earning her Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Cal State Fullerton (which she completed in 2021); this MBA program was designed for working professionals, so Marissa was able to work full time while earning her degree. Marissa currently works as a senior property manager at Links Logistics Real Estate.

Olivia earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Management Consulting from the Mendoza School of Business at the University of Notre Dame in 2015. During her time in the post-bacc program, Olivia worked as a research assistant in Dr. Borelli's Health, Relationships, & Intervention (THRIVE) Lab, evaluating the effectiveness of a strengths-based relationship program for low-income Latinx parents and youth, and she took courses in Abnormal Psychology, Lifespan Development, Developmental Psychopathology, Complementary & Alternative Medicine, Research Design, Attachment Relationships, and Industrial/Organizational Psychology. After completing the post-bacc program, Olivia spent almost two years working as alumni engagement coordinator in the Office of Advancement at Chapman University, and in June 2020, she was admitted to the MBA program at Chapman University. She ultimately decided not to accept the offer (given the cost and the time it would take to complete the program), but she may consider re-applying to this (or a similar) program in the future. Since then, Olivia has worked as a digital marketing & community lead at DreamPops and a digital marketing & social media manager at Nixie Sparkling Water. She is currently the Chief Operating Officer at Hayden Consultancy (while also running her own shopper marketing consultant business, Kwitny Consultancy).

Joseph graduated from UCI with a B.A. is Psychology in 2012. During his time in the post-bacc program, he was a research assistant in Dr. Piff's lab (doing research on social mobility and economic inequality), and he completed courses in Adolescent Development, Cognition & Learning in an Educational Setting, Positive Psychology, Advanced Research Methods, Psychology of Inequality, and Applied Statistics. In addition, he presented a poster at the 2017 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference, and he attended the 2017 Western Psychological Association conference and the 2017 Association for Research in Personality conference (both held in Sacramento). During the 2017-2018 academic year, he continued volunteering in Dr. Piff's lab while applying to graduate programs, and in Spring 2018, he was accepted to the Master's in Psychology program at New York University (NYU). He ultimately declined the NYU offer for financial reasons, and he spent the next couple of years working as a substitute teacher. He has since moved in the quality assurance space, first working has a quality assurance tester at Motive Fleet Management and now as a quality analyst at Brilliant Smart Home.

Evelyn graduated from the University of Washington with a B.S. in psychology in June 2021, and she earned her M.A. in psychology from Pepperdine University in December 2022. Evelyn took two neuroscience courses at the University of Washington that sparked her interest in pursuing a career focused on neuropsychology, and while at Pepperdine, Evelyn learned theories and techniques of psychotherapy and strategies for administering assessments. Between 2017 and 2020, Evelyn also worked as a volunteer transporting patients and medical specimens, first at St. Joseph’s Hospital and then at the UW Medical Center. During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked in Dr. Nation’s Vascular Senescence and Cognition Lab (which studies vascular functioning as it relates to aging and cognitive decline) and in Dr. Yassa's Translational Neuroscience lab (in the School of Biological Sciences), resulting in a poster presentation at the 2023 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine and an oral presentation at the 2024 International Neuroscience Society conference in NYC. In addition, Evelyn completed courses in Clinical Neuroscience, Applied Statistics, and Health Psychology. Since completing our program, she has been working as a full-time (paid) Junior Specialist in Dr. Yassa's lab, and in January 2025, Evelyn was invited to the graduate interview day at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center for their Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program.

Nathan transferred from Saddleback College (with an A.A. in Psychology) to UC Irvine, where he later earned his B.A. in Psychology & Social Behavior in 2019. During his time as a UCI undergraduate student, he joined Dr. Dana Mukamel’s iTEQC Lab (Program of Research in Translational Technology Enabling High Quality Care) in the Department of Medicine.  Throughout his one-year commitment to the lab, he assisted in conducting research focused on patient decision-making concerning adherence to physicians’ choice of treatment. He joined the lab as a research assistant organizing large data sets and was later promoted to lab coordinator where he oversaw recruitment and supervision of several other undergraduate research assistants; his achievements in this lab earned him an Undergraduate Research Fellowship. Nathan later interned at UCI’s Campus Assault Resources & Education (CARE) office, where he participated in outreach events to educate the campus community on power-based personal violence and to promote safety; he also worked to personally provide individuals who have faced sexual or other violence-based acts with the proper resources they need. Nathan joined the post-bacc program to gain more research and clinical experience, and during his time in our program, he worked as a research assistant in Dr. Zalta's lab, resulting in a poster presentation at the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine.  He also completed courses in Applied Statistics, Queer Knowledges, Science & Practice of Wellness & Resilience, Addiction, and Psychosis.  After completing our program, Nathan spent some time working part-time as a (paid) lab manager in Dr. Zalta's lab, and he currently works as a full-time (paid) research project assistant for Dr. Ramirez (Associate Dean of DEI) in the School of Public Health here at UC Irvine.

Julia earned her B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2016. During her time in the post-bacc program, she had the privilege to work in Dr. Jamner's lab (which focused on psychophysiology, the interactions between psychological factors and physiological behaviors, and the effect of the social environment) and in Dr. Rinehart's lab (focusing on sexual assault). She took courses in Advanced Research Methods, Clinical Child Psychology, Applied Statistics, and Clinical Neuroscience, and she completed a field study internship at the NRC Research Institute. In addition, she presented posters at the 2017 Society for Behavioral Medicine conference in San Diego and at the 2017 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine. After completing our program, she spent some time working as a shift manager at Luna Grill while also volunteering at the NRC Research Institute - and in August 2017, she accepted a full-time (paid) position as an assistant clinical research coordinator at the NRC Research Institute. She has since been promoted to clinical research coordinator supervisor & senior clinical research coordinator.

Stephen earned a BA in English literature from Lander University in 2015, triple minoring in history, philosophy, and religious studies. During his undergraduate education, he spent a spring semester at the University of Winchester, a summer at Cambridge University, and a summer at Harvard University. Upon graduating college, he spent a semester at the University of Geneva & Swiss Affective Science Center, where he studied analytic philosophy of emotion and metaphysics.  After studying in that highly interdisciplinary environment, he pursued a MSc in Social and Cultural Psychology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he completed a qualitative thesis on folk epistemology and the fake news phenomenon. During the latter half of his MSc, he worked as a Research Assistant in a moral psychology lab at Michigan Technological University.  During his time in the post-bacc program, Stephen was a research assistant in Prof. Pete Ditto’s Hot Cognition Lab; he also completed undergraduate courses in Biological Psychology, Statistics, Applied Statistics, Quantitative Methods in Cognitive Science, and Introduction to Inductive Logic and graduate courses in Philosophy ("What's Thinking For?") and Moral Psychology.  After completing the program, Stephen worked for one year as a (full-time, paid) lab manager in the Social Learning Lab at Stanford University, and he is currently working as a full-time (paid) tutor at AJ Tutoring.  In addition, he has been working on a project with some anthropologists and psychologists at Harvard, and in September 2020, he began volunteering in Professor Engleman's lab at UC Berkeley.

Prior to joining the post-bacc program, Melody completed her Early Childhood Education certification to teach preschool, spent some time working as an elementary school aide, and earned her B.A. in psychology (with an emphasis in human development) from Vanguard University of Southern California.  After college, Melody spent four years working in accounting - but her passion has always been in the field of psychology.  During her time in the post-bacc program, Melody worked with Dr. Kuhlman in the Teen Resilience Lab and with Dr. Nation in the Clinical Neuropsychology Lab, and she completed courses in Human Stress, Clinical Neuroscience, and Advanced Research Methods.  In addition, she got a poster abstract accepted to the 2020 Association for Psychological Science conference, and she was awarded a scholarship from the UC Irvine Division of Continuing Education (which covered most of the course fees for one course).  After completing the post-bacc program, Melody spent a year working part-time as a (paid) research assistant in Dr. Kuhlman's lab, she got married, and she had a baby.  Most recently, Melody has been working a (paid) part-time, remote position as a research assistant (on the behavioral science team) at Fidelity Investments (while also taking care of her young children), and in May 2022, she got a first-author publication (entitled, "Women with lower systemic inflammation demonstrate steeper cognitive decline with age: Results from a large prospective, longitudinal sample") in Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health) based on the work she has been doing in Dr. Kuhlman's lab.

Robert graduated from Chapman University in December 2022 with a B.F.A. in Theatre Performance and a B.A. in Political Science; during his time at Chapman, he was a member of the University Honors Program. After realizing that a career in acting wasn’t a good fit, Robert began orienting himself towards a career that did more for those in need. As a child with ADHD and other learning disabilities, he knows how valuable a diagnosis can be, and he is aiming for a career in child assessment to help neurodivergent children in disadvantaged communities get access to the resources they need. Robert has worked in clinical settings previously, including drug addiction treatment centers.  During his time in the post-bacc program, Robert worked as a research assistant in Dr. Borelli’s Health, Relationships, & Interventions (THRIVE) lab, and he completed courses in Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Clinical Child Psychology, Cognition & Learning in an Educational Setting, In Search of the Perfect School, and Health & Social Relationships. Since completing the post-bacc program, he has been working full-time as a mental health technician at The Neurodivergent Collective in Newport Beach (while also preparing to apply to master's programs in counseling psychology).

Vincent earned his bachelor's degree in History and his master's degree in Counseling from St. John's University. While completing his master's degree, he worked as a graduate assistant in the Office of Campus Ministry, leading undergraduate students on various service initiatives to provide aid to underserved communities throughout New York City. Vincent also completed internships at several K-12 schools including Archbishop Molloy High School, where he worked under Senior Guidance Counselor Br. James Norton FMS. In addition, he also led a career as an independent rock musician, touring both the U.S. and Europe and releasing several records. Despite his array of interests, whatever the endeavor, Vincent's principal goal was always to inquire into the nature of the human experience. This goal led him to the post-bacc program, where he worked as a research assistant in Dr. Pete Ditto's Hot Cognition Lab (exploring moral judgments and moral decision-making), Dr. Jaeggi's Working Memory & Plasticity Lab (in the School of Education), and Dr. Peters' Cognitive & Neural Computation Lab (in the Dept. of Cognitive Science).  In addition, he took courses in Research Design, Introduction to fMRI, and The Neuroscience of Cognition. Since leaving our program, Vincent has been working part-time as a research assistant position at Fidelity Investments and part-time as a Per Diem Pedagogue for the NYC Dept. of Education (while also volunteering as a part-time counselor at Archbishop Molloy High School).  

Isaac graduated from UCLA in 2023 with a B.S. in Psychobiology and a minor in Central American studies. During his time at UCLA, he took on multiple roles to support his underserved and underrepresented communities, such as working as an academic peer counselor for Latinx students and volunteering for the LGBTQ+ Campus Resource Center. Prior to graduating from UCLA, he began his journey as a research assistant in two psychology labs that investigate the psychological factors that impact the overall health of individuals, and he is interested in how relationships, community, and cultural organizations impact the physical and mental health of minority groups. During his time in the post-bacc program, Isaac completed courses in  Advanced Research Methods and Applied Statistics while also working full-time as the Student Affairs Specialist for UCI’s CalTeach program and being a mentor for UCI's LGBTQ+ mentorship program. In addition, he gave poster presentations at the 2024 Association for Psychological Science conference in San Francisco and the 2024 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine.  At the end of Spring 2024, Isaac took a leave of absence from the post-bacc program in order to focus more fully on his full-time job at CalTeach - and in July 2024, he was selected to participate (as a mentee) in the Psicologos Latinos Avanzando Nuestros Servicios (PLANS) mentorship program.

Gina graduated from the University of California, Irvine in June 2017 with a B.A. in Psychology and Social Behavior.  During her time in the post-bacc program, Gina worked as a research assistant in Dr. Sarah Pressman's lab (studying cultural variations in stress response) and in Dr. Paul Piff's Morality, Emotion, and Social Hierarchy lab, and she completed undergraduate courses in Advanced Research Methods, Psychology of Wellness, and Applied Statistics; she also completed graduate courses in Interpersonal Processes & Health and Social & Affective Neuroscience.  In May 2018, she presented a poster at the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine, CA, and she attended the Association for Psychological Science conference in San Francisco, CA.  Since completing the post-bacc program, Gina has working full-time as a Client Service Advocate at the Adult Enrichment Center in Santa Ana.

Leslie earned a bachelor's degree in English and a master's degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of South Carolina. As a graduate student, she was an administrative assistant in Dr. Julius Fridriksson’s Aphasia Lab and a research assistant in Dr. Suzanne Adlof’s Child Language & Literacy Lab. As a speech-language pathologist in the community, she provides speech/language evaluation and treatment services for people of all ages with communication disorders. During her time in the post-bacc program, Leslie was a research assistant in Dr. Alyson Zalta’s Trauma and Resilience Lab, and she presented a poster at the 2023 Association for Psychological Science conference in Washington DC.  After leaving our program, she spent some time working at Chapman University, first as a Clinical Supervisor, then as a Clinic Manager, and now as an Adjunct Instructor, and she currently working as a Speech Language Pathologist at Banner Health.

Sara graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a B.S. in psychology and biological sciences in May 2022. As an undergraduate, she was a research assistant in Dr. Kasey Creswell’s Behavioral Health Research Lab, which is focused on studying the development and maintenance of addiction. In this lab, she completed a senior thesis project which prospectively examined the associations between adolescent extraversion and alcohol use/problems in young adulthood. Sara has also worked as a telephone support specialist for the Allegheny County Warmline. During her time in the post-bacc program, she was a research assistant in Dr. Borelli’s Health, Relationships, and Interventions Lab, and she completed courses in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Clinical Health Psychology, Health Psychology, Addiction, and Advanced Research Methods.  She also attended the 2023 Association for Psychological Science conference in Washington, DC.  Since completing our program, Sara has been working as an Behavioral Technician at an ABA Clinical in San Jose (while preparing to apply to master's programs in clinical/counseling psychology and/or social work).

Paul earned his bachelor’s degree in psychological science at UC Irvine in 2022, and his research interests include mental health, technology, parent-child relationships, and family dynamics.  During his time in the post-bacc program, he worked as a research assistant in Dr. Schueller’s Technology & Mental Health Lab, Dr. Schiffman’s Psychosis Risk Evaluation, Early Intervention, and Treatment Lab, and Dr. Kuhlman’s Teen Resilience Lab, resulting in a poster presentation at the 2023 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Conference at UC Irvine.  In addition, he  completed courses in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Advanced Research Methods, and Applied Statistics.  Outside of UCI, he worked part-time as an ABA therapist.  Since completing our program, he has continued his work in ABA therapy (while also volunteering in Drs. Schueller, Schiffman, and Kuhlman's research labs), and in April 2024, he presented a poster at the Anxiety & Depression Association of America conference in Boston. He plans to apply to PhD or PsyD programs focusing on clinical psychology in the near future.

Will earned his Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Biola University in 2014.  During his time in the post-bacc program, he worked as a research assistant in Dr. Quas' Child Development Laboratory and completed courses in Adolescent Development and Human Sexuality.  Will took a leave of absence from the program in September 2015 and accepted a full-time job as Community Advocate at REACH (Resource for Education, Advocacy, Communication, and Housing), and more recently, he has been working as the Elementary Director at the Whittier Area Community Church (where he oversees all of Elementary programming, making sure Sunday mornings run smoothly and facilitating events like children's summer camp).

Melissa graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a B.A. in psychology in June 2022. During her time there, she conducted undergraduate research investigating the relationship between cultural congruity (or person-environment fit) and academic outcomes such as student retention rates, academic success, and imposter syndrome.  She also took courses in Developmental Psychology, Adversity and Trauma, Psychology of Addiction, and Advanced Statistical Methods, which sparked her interest in conducting research in topics such as deviant behavior, eyewitness testimony, and substance abuse outcomes (which then led her to apply to our post-bacc program). During her time in the post-bacc program, Melissa worked in Dr. Beth Cauffman’s Development, Disorder, and Delinquency Lab, resulting in poster presentations at the 2023 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine and at the 2023 Association for Psychological Science conference in Washington DC.  She also completed courses in Advanced Research Methods, Developmental Psychopathology, Adolescent Development, Violence in Society, and Advanced Forensic Psychology.  Outside of UCI, Melissa was employed as an academic advisor for high school students in Santa Ana. Since completing our program, Melissa has been working as a tutor for Newport Healthcare (which specializes in mental health treatment programs for teens and young adults), while also volunteering in Dr. Cauffman's lab and preparing to apply to Forensic Psychology graduate programs.

Danny graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2014. After working in sales for two years, he switched to politics with naïve hopes of making the world a better place but soon came to the realization that his skills would better utilized in an arena outside of national politics; he then discovered this program while researching careers in psychology. During his time in the post-bacc program, Danny worked in Dr. Piff's lab, studying economic inequality, morality, and altruism, and he completed courses in Abnormal Psychology, Personality, Applied Statistics, Social Psychology, Research Design, Social Relationships, and Industrial/Organizational Psychology.  In May 2019, he attended the Association for Psychological Science conference in Washington DC and presented a poster at the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference in Irvine, CA.  Since completing the program, Danny spent two years working as part-time (paid) lab in Dr. Piff's lab (and as a freelance Spanish tutor), and he spent one year working full-time as a high school teacher.

Glenda completed her bachelor's degree in 2014 at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) where she double majored in Psychology and Human Development. After earning her bachelor's degree, she worked as a nurse staffing coordinator for a hospital in Bakersfield, California and volunteered as a crisis counselor for Crisis Text Line. During her time in the post-bacc program, Glenda was a research assistant in Dr. Jessica Borelli’s Health, Relationships, and Intervention Lab (where she examined the effectiveness of a strengths-based relationship program for low income Latinx parents and youth), and she completed courses in Human Stress, Social Relationships, Cross-Cultural Health Psychology, Science & Practice of Compassion, and Clinical Psychology.  Outside of UCI, Glenda worked full-time at Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) as a staffing coordinator for the inpatient nursing units.  Since completing the post-bacc program, Glenda has continued her full-time position at CHOC, originaly as a Staffing Coordinator and more recently as an Electronic Medical Records Trainer.

Maniyah obtained her B.A. in Psychology and Africana Studies from Rutgers University-New Brunswick in New Jersey, where she served as the Vice President of the NAACP chapter at Rutgers and worked to create an equitable, equal, and diverse environment on campus. She also worked as a research assistant on a study that examined the impact of restorative justice practices on students in New York’s public schools. During her time in the post-bacc program, Maniyah worked as a research assistant in Dr. Garfin's Resilience, Epidemiology, and Community Health Lab, Dr. Nyamathi's lab in the School of Nursing, and in Dr. Molina's Inequality & Health Lab (while also completing courses in the Psychology of Chicano/Latino Studies, Social Epidemiology, Applied Statistics, Research Design, and the Science & Practice of Compassion), and she was awarded a scholarship from the UC Irvine Division of Continuing Education (which paid for a little more than half of the cost of one of her courses). In addition, she presented a poster at the 2021 Imhotep Interdisciplinary Student Research Conference at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, and she was a co-author on a poster that was presented at the 2021 American Public Health Association conference. Outside of UCI, Maniyah worked remotely as an Assistant to the Talent Manager at the Partnerships for Los Angeles Schools. After completing the post-bacc program, she got a co-authored publication in Global Qualitative Nursing Reserch (with Dr. Nyamathi's lab) and accepted a full-time position as an Operations Manager at a nonprofit dedicated to the advocacy for affordable housing in California.  She also freelances as a graphic designer in her free time (https://drive.google.com/file/d/15owNzndFzUsPz_kzqPkh6zBFKSC2ZGmi/view).

Matthew earned his Bachelor's Degree in Film and Media Studies from UC Irvine in 2013, receiving Cum Laude honors. During his time in the post-bacc program, he was a research assistant in Dr. Pressman's Positive Health Psychology lab, and he took courses in Research Design, Applied Statistics, Advanced Research Methods, and Personality.  He also completed a field study internship at the UC Campus Assault Resource and Education (CARE) Center.  In September 2015, Matt accepted a salaried position as a Data Entry Specialist at Broadbean in Irvine, where he has been work full-time.  After joining this company, Matt was promoted up the corporate ladder several times - moving through the ranks of Product Support Specialist, Senior Product Support Manager, Associate Product Manager - and most recently Product Manager in Spring 2021.  He has since left Broadbean, and he currently works as a Support Specialist at Benchmark Analytics.

Jonathan graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.A. in Economics and Real Estate Finance. Upon graduating, he embarked on a varied career path, spending time in industries such as investment banking, tech, and education. Additionally, he founded and ran a game-based learning company for four years. During his time in the post-bacc program, worked in Dr. Martin’s Behavior, Emotion, and Affective Neuroscience Lab (where he learned more about the neuroscience of attention, emotions, and perception), resulting in poster presentations at the 2022 Association for Psychological Science conference in Chicago, IL and the 2022 Undergradaute Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine.  In addition, he completed courses in Research Design, Abnormal Psychology, Applied Statistics, Clinical Neuroscience, Clinical Psychology, and Psychosis.  Upon completing our program, he received several job offers for full-time, paid positions (a customer success manager at GitLab, a research assistant position at Kernel, and a research assistant position in the Brain Mechanisms of Pain, Health and Mindfulness Lab at UCSD), and he decided to accept the position at Gitlab.  

Angela graduated from The College of New Jersey in 2012. She double majored in Business Marketing and Communication Studies with a concentration in Public Health. During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Heckhausen's lab studying motivation, and she took a course in Behavioral Medicine.  In July 2016, she left the post-bacc program so she could focus on her full-time job at Microsoft, first as a Strategic Account Coordinator, then as an Account Manager, and now as a Client Partner; in April 2017, she won the "all blacks award" at Microsoft, which awarded monthly to one person in all of the West (LA, SF, and Seattle). 

Maedeh graduated from California State University, Fullerton in 2017 with a B.A. in Psychology. During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked as a research assistant in Professor Loftus' Eyewitness Memory Lab and completed courses in Cognitive Development, Eyewitness Testimony, and Applied Statistics (while working full-time). Since completing the post-bacc program, Maedeh worked in full-time positions as an Analyst in the Revenue Operations department of DaVita Kidney Care and as a Sr. Business Analyst at OptumRX, and she is currently self-employed as a Junior Project Manager.

Thom earned his Bachelor's degree in Communications from Cal State Fullerton in 2008. While in the post-bacc program, he worked for one quarter as a research assistant in Dr. Heckhausen's Lifespan Development & Motivation lab, he worked for two quarters as a research assistant in Dr. Ditto's Hot cognition lab, and he completed a one-quarter field study internship at the UC Irvine Human Resources Department.  During his time in the program, he also completed courses in Research Design, Applied Statistics for Psychology, Social Relationships, and Psychology of the Workplace.  In September 2015, Thom accepted a full-time, paid position as a Lead Outgoing Data Specialist in the Medical Department at Gilson Daub, Inc., and in February 2020, he started a new position as a Human Resources Information System Analyst at KushCo Holdings, Inc.

Sahara earned a Bachelor's degree from University of California, Irvine in June of 2013, double majoring in Criminology, Law and Society (CLS) and Psychology and Social Behavior (PSB); in her senior year, Sahara was awarded the Social Ecology Special Recognition in Multidisciplinary Achievement award.  During her time in the post-bacc program, she was a research assistant for Dr. Cauffman's Delinquency, Disorder, and Development lab, which focuses on adolescent development, mental health, juvenile justice, and social policy, and she presented her research at the Association for Psychological Science conference in New York City and at the Undergraduate Opportunities Research Conference at UCI in May 2015.  She also took courses in Forensic Psychology, Violence in Society, and Psychology of the Workplace, and she completed a field study internship in the UCI Human Resources Department.  After completing the program, Sahara spent several years working full-time at Equinox Fitness, starting as a front desk manager at the Huntington Beach location and working her way up to General Manager at the San Francisco location. She currently works as a Regional Loss Prevention Manager at Amazon.

Ana graduated from Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, FL with a B.A. in Psychology and in Women’s and Gender Studies. During her time at FIU, she was a research assistant and lab manager in the Power, Women, and Relationships Lab (a social psychology lab that researches the interaction between gender and power structures). She worked on projects that examined cyber dating abuse victimization and perpetration among Latinx emerging adults, the experience of women at the Lotus House Women’s Shelter, and more. She also worked as a learning assistant for an Introduction to Psychology course for four semesters. During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Garfin’s Resilience, Epidemiology, and Community Health Lab and in Dr. Zalta's Trauma & Resilience lab, resulting in a poster presentation at the 2022 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine and a poster presentation at the 2022 International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies in Atlanta, GA.  In addition, she completed courses in Applied Statistics, Black Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Judgment & Decision Making.  After completing our program, she spent some time working at Headway (a website/app that matches people with mental health providers), and she currently works as a full-time Project Coordinator at Spring Lake Ranch Therapeutic Community (while also preparing to apply to grad school).

Jay earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology (minor in cognitive science) at the University of California, Los Angeles. During his time as an undergraduate, he engaged in three concurrent research assistant positions, covering a range of topics from cognition to relationship health. During his time in the post-bacc program, he worked with Dr. Heckhausen in the Life-Span Development and Motivation Lab and completed a course in Human Stress.  Outside of UCI, Jay worked full-time as a GI Technician as a Gastrointentional Outpatient Facility.  He left our program in Spring 2020 in order to focus on his full-time job.

Joshua received his BA in Mathematics from UCSD and his MS in Mathematics from CSUSM with an emphasis in probability and graph theory, and he has been teaching Mathematics at Cal State San Marcos for over 10 years.  During his time in the post-bacc program, he was a research assistant in Professor Sng's Evolution, Culture, and Stereotyping Lab, and he completed an Introduction to Psychology course.  During to the increased workload involved in teaching during the pandemic, Joshua had to leave our program in January 2021 to focus on his Cal State San Marcos position.

Yoselin graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a B.S. in Business Marketing. After earning her bachelor's degree, she spent some time working as an Account Manager at a social media marketing agency and she spent a year teaching English in a rural part of northeastern Thailand.  During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked as a research assistant in Professor Piff's Morality, Emotion, and Social Hierarch Lab and she completed courses in Abnormal Psychology, Social Psychology, and the Science & Practice of Compassion.  Outside of UCI, Yosi also worked as a Sales Representative for ReNude (a skincare recommendation platform).  In Spring 2020, things started to get busier at her job, so she left the post-bacc program to focus on work responsibilities.  Since that time, Yoselin was promoted at ReNude - first to Sales Operations Manager, then to Operations Manager - and now she is a Revenue Analyst.

Darren graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting and Business Administration with a finance concentration and a Master's Degree in Business Taxation . After completing his degrees, he obtained his CPA license and worked in federal corporate taxation. Darren also spent time volunteering at Minds Matter, an academic mentoring program for students from low-income background, in addition to volunteering at UCI and Hoag Hospitals. During his time in the post-bacc program, Darren worked as a research assistant with Dr. Susan Charles (in the Emotion lab) and with Dr. Salazar Campo (in the School of Business), and he completed courses in Biological Psychology, Developmental Psychopathology, Research Design, and Clinical Sports Psychology. Outside of UCI, Darren worked part-time as Senior Tax Associate at PricewaterhouseCooper. Darren left our program to focus on his family and work responsibilities, and he current works full-time as a Tax Director at Veritone.

Maria earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology in Spring 2019 from UC Riverside, where she volunteered at the Botanical Gardens and was a lab prep assistant in the Biology shop; shortly after graduation, she obtained a job working the front desk of the Sanctuary Wellness Center and Yoga Studio in Tustin, CA. During her time in the post-bacc program, Maria worked in Dr. Martin’s Behaviors, Emotion, and Affective Neuroscience Lab and in Dr. Piff's Morality, Emotion, and Social Hierarchy Lab, and she completed courses in Advanced Research Methods, Developmental Psychopathology, Applied Statistics, The Science & Practice of Compassion, Consciousness & the Brain, and Social Epidemiology.  In addition, in Spring 2020, she received a scholarship from the UCI Division of Continuing Education, which paid for the majority of the course fees for her Social Epidemiology course.  After completing the program, Maria continued volunteering in Dr. Piff's lab and Dr. Molina's lab, and she presented posters at the 2022 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) conference in Irvine, CA and at the 2023 Society for Personality & Social Psychology conference in Atlanta, GA.  In addition, she has continued working at the Sanctuary Wellness Center and Yoga Studio (while also applying to paid research positions).  Most recently (Summer 2024), Maria joined Dr. Landry's research group (which studies diet and chronic disease prevention) in the Dept. of Population Health & Disease Prevention, in preparation for applying to graduate programs in Public Health in Fall 2024.

Nash graduated from Yale University in 2018 with her B.A in Film Studies and Screenwriting. While working in administration at a medical clinic, she engaged with a plethora of patients suffering from mental distress - and lack of coverage - due to the effects of their various injuries, inspiring her to pursue an education in psychology. During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked with Dr. Paul Piff in his Morality, Emotion, and Social Hierarchy Lab, studying the effects of these factors on interpersonal processes, and she completed courses in Abnormal Psychology, Social Psychology, the Science and Practice of Wellness and Resilience, and Research Design.  Also, she presented a poster at the 2021 UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference.  Outside of UCI, Nash worked part-time at an insurance agent (while studying to take the insurance agent exam).  In Summer 2021, Nash's boss (at the insurance company) offered her to give her a promotion and pay for her to become an insurance agent (upon passing her insurance agent exam), so she left the post-bacc program to pursue a career in insurance full-time.  Nash is currently working full-time as a Marketing Coordinator & Assistant & Client Manager at Griffith E. Harris Insurance Services.

Vena received her B.S. in Management Science from the University of California – San Diego with a minor in Engineering Science and her M.S. in Software Engineering from Golden Gate University.  Her work experiences in IT, finance and management (and the different roles that she had taken on in these industries) inspired her interest in psychology, and she is especially fascinated by the brain, cognitive processes, and neuroscience.  During her time in the post-bacc program, Vena spent a year working as a research assistant in Dr. Jaeggi’s Working Memory and Plasticity Lab, and she completed undergraduate courses in Statistical Analysis, Brain Disorders, and Abnormal Psychology; she also completed a graduate course in Cognitive Neuroscience & Human Development.  In Fall 2021, she accepted a new full-time job as the VP of Finance and Business Operations at Fonegear, so she took a leave of absence from our program to focus on this new position.

Olivia graduated from UC Irvine with a B.A. in Psychological Science and a B.A. in Criminology, Law, & Society in 2021. Before transferring to UC Irvine, Olivia attended community college in Santa Cruz, CA, and she worked as a Registered Behavior Technician (where she led 1:1 therapy sessions with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder). While in undergrad, she took courses that focused on adolescent development, abnormal behavior, and juvenile delinquency, and she built on this knowledge by taking an advanced seminar on forensic psychology and a graduate seminar on anger. She was also a research assistant in Dr. Cauffman’s Development, Disorder, and Delinquency (3D) Lab, and she presented a project that examined the role of sleep in young adults’ response to violence exposure at the 2021 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) conference at UC Irvine. During her time in the post-bacc program, Olivia worked as a research assistant in Dr. Quas’ Child Development Lab and in Dr. Cauffman's 3D lab, and she completed courses in Applied Statistics, Advanced Research Methods, and Addiction.  In addition, in Winter 2022, she completed a Social Media Marketing Internship at Sweety High.  The internship went so well that she decided to change her career focus from psychology to digital marketing - and in March 2021, she was offered a paid position as an in-house social media marketing intern for a fashion company in Los Angeles.  She left the post-bacc program to pursue this new opportunity/career path.  In September 2022, Olivia accepted a position as a Social Media Coordinator and Content Creator for Awe Inspired (a Los Angeles based brand, emphasizing female empowerment through gorgeous jewelry and homegoods), and most recently (in May 2023), she accepted a position as Influencer Manager at MyMuse.  

kat graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in English and a secondary field in Dramatic Arts. After graduating, they moved to New York City to pursue a career in theatre, staging workshops and productions at Drama League, The Tank, The Brick, and Dixon Place, and they developed an interest in research and therapeutic practice while working between shows as the staff training coordinator at the Museum of Sex in Manhattan (where they created resources, trained sales associates, and provided education for customers on sexual wellness and BGLTQ+ issues). During their time in the post-bacc program, they served as a research assistant for Dr. Borelli (assisting with research on parent/child relationships and interventions for parents of children on the spectrum), and they completed courses in Statistical Analysis in Social Ecology, Abnormal Psychology, and Applied Statistics. Since leaving our program, kat has been self-employed as a freelancer and working as an editorial resident for Clotheshorse, a blog that focuses on sustainability and the fashion industry - while also weighing her options for graduate school (deciding between graduate programs in English, theater, social work, or psychology).

Jamie graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2021 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Studies. She transferred into UCLA from Irvine Valley College, where she was a student researcher who presented research at the 2019 Honors Student Research Conference at University of California, Irvine and at the 2019 Western Psychological Association Conference in Pasadena. During her time at UCLA, Jamie was a peer mental health coach for UCLA's Screening and Treatment for Anxiety & Depression (STAND) program, which aimed to use digital technology to create personalized treatment for university and community college students. She also volunteered with the Trevor Project as a crisis counselor for youth in crisis. As a post-bacc student, Jamie worked in Dr. Silver's Stress & Coping Lab, and she completed courses in Clinical Psychology, the Science & Practice of Wellness & Resilience, and Cultural Psychology. In addition, she completed a field study internship at Well Suited, she served as a peer tutor for Dr. Zinger's Industrial/Organizational Psychology course, and she attended the 2024 Western Psychological Association conference in San Francisco. Since completing the post-bacc program, she has been working part-time at a local bakery (while also preparing to apply to master's programs in school counseling/higher education).

Liam graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) in August 2021 with a BS in Psychology and Brain Sciences. While at UCSB, Liam worked as a research assistant in Dr. Greg Ashby’s Laboratory for Computational Cognitive Neuroscience under PhD candidate Paul Kovacs. After graduation, Liam worked in the Applied Behavioral Analysis field as a behavioral technician working with young children with autism. During his time in the post-bacc program, Liam worked as a research assistant in Dr. Kate Kuhlman’s Teen Resilience Lab, and he completed courses in Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Attachment Relationships, Positive Psychology, and Abnormal Psychology. After completing our program, Liam spent some time volunteering for a non-profit called Young Lives Redeemed as a youth mentor for a foster youth in Orange County. He is currently working as a server (while applying to Master of Social Work programs).

Jennifer earned her bachelor’s degree in behavioral neuroscience from Florida International University in 2022. During her time as an undergraduate, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Jonathan Comer’s Mental Health Interventions and Technology (MINT) Clinic, conducting phone screens for potential patients and participating in exposure therapy with pediatric patients diagnosed with selective mutism. She was also a learning assistant for Dr. Leila Allen’s Intro to Behavioral Neuroscience course and a treasurer for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). During her time in the post-bacc program, Jennifer is a research assistant in Dr. Elizabeth Martin’s Behaviors, Emotions, and Affective Neuroscience (BEAN) Lab (which studies the underlying mechanisms of emotional and social functioning, particularly in individuals on the psychosis spectrum) and in Dr. Kuhlman's Teen Resilience Lab (which studies child and adolescent clinical psychology, adolescent depression, early life stress / childhood adversity, psychoneuroimmunology, and psychoneuroendocrinology), resulting in poster presentations at the 2023 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine and at the 2023 Association for Psychological Science conference in Washington, DC. In addition, she completed undergraduate courses in Clinical Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Personality Disorders, Advanced Research Methods, and Psychodynamic Studies, and she completed a graduate course in Cognitive Neuroscience of Human Development.  Since completing our program, Jennifer has been looking for full-time research positions (while also preparing to apply for Clinical Psychology Ph.D. programs).

Julianne earned her BBA in Business Economics with a minor in Biomedical Ethics from the University of San Diego (USD) in 2020. While attending USD, she took two psychology courses and volunteered with a local hospice center, both of which helped her discover her interest in psychology and her love of working with patients. After graduation, she worked for over two years at a healthcare communications and advocacy firm and she began volunteering with the Crisis Text Line. As a post-bacc student, she assisted in Dr. Ilona Yim’s Mind-body Pathways in Well-being and Resilience (MPWR) Lab and in Dr. Liz Martin's Behavior, Emotion, and Affective Neuroscience (BEAN) Lab, resulting in a poster presentations at the 2024 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine.  In addition, she completed courses in Clinical Psychology, Research Design, Personality Disorders, Advanced Psychological Research Methods, Lifespan Developmental Psychology, Applied Statistics, and Social Psychology. Outside of UCI, she worked part-time as an ABA Behavior Technician.  Since completing our post-bacc program, Julianne has been continuing to volunteer in Dr. Martin's BEAN Lab (while also applying for full-time, paid research position), and she will present a poster at the Association for Behavioral & Cognitive Therapies conference in November 2024.  She plans to apply to graduate programs in clinical/counseling psychology in Fall 2025.

Zoë graduated magna cum laude from Soka University of America with a B.A. in Life Sciences in May 2023. During the summer of 2022, she was awarded a John Stauffer Summer Research Fellowship for chemistry and biochemistry students, allowing her to work as a biochemistry research assistant. She examined whether the phosphorylation state of Breakpoint cluster region (Bcr) protein’s C-terminus determines Bcr’s enzyme specificity. Although she initially intended to pursue a career in the medical field, her background as a pre-professional ballet dancer sparked her interest in sport psychology mid-way through her undergraduate degree. During her senior year, she conducted an independent research study where she assessed how self-perceived body image influences athletic performance in female athletes. During her time in the post-bacc program, Zoe worked as a research assistant in Dr. Uma Rao’s Biobehavioral Research on Adolescent Development (BRoAD) Lab, and she completed courses in Clinical Sports Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Social Inequality, Neuropsychopharmacology, Biological Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, and Professional Development in Pharmaceutical Sciences.  In addition, she attended the 2024 Anxiety and Depression Association of America conference in Boston. Since completing our program, Zoe has been searching for a paid position as a pharmacy technician (while also preparing to apply for Pharmacy School).

Megan graduated summa cum laude from the University of Missouri-Columbia in May of 2022 with a B.S in Psychology, a minor in Human Development and Family Science, and a minor in Sociology. During her undergraduate studies, Megan worked as a research assistant in a cognitive neuroscience lab, where her interest in neuropsychology began to flourish. She received departmental honors for her undergraduate research thesis and is published in the journal Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology. After graduation, Megan joined the Neuroimaging Laboratories at Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis as an Imaging Analyst. There, she processed MRI and PET data for the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer’s Disease Observational Study (DIAN-OBS) and Trials Unit (DIAN-TU), both longitudinal studies for genetic, autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s Disease. During her time in the post-bacc program, Megan worked as a research assistant in Dr. Schuck’s Child Development Lab at The Craig School, a private non-profit school which provides cognitive-behavioral intervention for children with ADHD and other executive challenges, and she completed courses in Clinical Child Psychology, Advanced Research Methods, Applied Statistics, Cognition & Learning in an Educational Setting, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Since completing our post-bacc program, Megan has been volunteering at The Craig School in Irvine as a behavior specialist intern and research assistant (while also interviewing/searching for full-time behavioral aide and technician roles within a school environment).

Priscilla graduated from Pacific Union College with a B.S. in Psychology and a Minor in Biology. While at PUC, Priscilla worked on different research projects investigating trustworthiness, conformity, altruism, social media, and behavior, as well as the effects of sleep on learning and memory. While working on these research projects as an undergraduate, Priscilla found her calling in cognitive psychology and became greatly fascinated with the research process. Priscilla became interested in doing research on learning and memory along with research on cognition and language. She was inducted as a member of the International Honor Society in Psychology (Psi Chi), and she became a student member of the Association for Psychological Science. After graduating, Priscilla worked in the Los Angeles Unified School district, where she gained further insight on statistical analysis. During her time in the post-bacc program, Priscilla worked as a research assistant in Dr. Judith Kroll's Bilingualism, Mind, Brain (BMB), resulting in a poster presentation at the 2024 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine.  In addition, she completed courses in Advanced Research Methods, Psychological Science Research Directions, Eyewitness Testimony, Cognition & Learning in an Educational Setting, and Applied Statistics.  Since completing our program, she has continued volunteering in Dr. Kroll's lab (while also preparing to apply to Ph.D. programs in Cognitive Psychology).

Mary graduated from the University of Georgia in May of 2022 with a B.S in psychology, and she spent over a year volunteering as a crisis counselor for the Crisis Text Line. During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked in Dr. Martin’s Behaviors, Emotions, and Affective Neuroscience lab, resulting in poster presentations at the 2023 Western Psychological Association conference in Riverside, CA, the 2023 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine, and the 2023 Association for Psychological Science conference in Washington, DC.  In addition, she completed courses in Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Personality  Disorders, and Evolutionary Psychogy, and she did a field study internship at  Waymakers Youth Shelter.  Since completed our program, she has been looking for paid clinical or research positions in California or the New York/New Jersey area (while also preparing to apply for Psy.D. programs).

Nahal graduated from UC Santa Cruz, earning a Bachelor’s degree in both Psychology and Sociology with honors. After graduation, she worked in the mortgage/financial industry then transitioned into Human Resources. In her HR role, Nahal had a unique opportunity to work with a SaaS (Software as a Service) HR company, delivering HR solutions to hundreds of businesses across the United States. This experience granted her valuable insights into the intricate dynamics of employee and employer relationships within workplace environments. During her time in the post-bacc program, Nahal worked as a research assistant in Dr. Pressman's Stress, Emotion, and Physical Health Lab and Dr. Dent's Meta-Analysis Lab, resulting in poster presentations at the 2024 Western Psychological Association conference in San Francisco, the 2024 Association for Psychological Science conference in San Francisco, and the 2024 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine; she also attended the 2024 Society for Personality & Social Psychology conference in San Diego and the 2024 Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology conference in Chicago. In additional, Nahal complete courses in Advanced Research Methods, Clinical Psychology, Applied Statistics, Positive Psychology, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, and Social Psychology.  Since completing our program, Nahal has continued volunteering in Dr. Pressman's lab (now as a lab manager) and in Dr. Dent's lab, and in January 2025, she got an interview for the Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology program at Michigan State University. We wish you the best of luck on your interview, Nahal!

Ngan graduated from the University of San Francisco with majors in Finance and International Business (and minors in Economics and Chinese Studies), where she gained quantitative and qualitative research experience and analytical proficiency. Drawing on her inquisitive nature in group dynamics and cross-cultural diversity, Ngan also served as a Peer Tutor in Mandarin Chinese language to foster academic success in others. While working as a coal import analyst in Vietnam, she interacted with a range of foreign clients to maintain a reliable supply chain and ensure production quality, which sparked her interest in learning about the impact of cultural principles on work effectiveness. In addition to attending seminars and completing a course about the fundamentals of psychology, Ngan participated in retreat programs that discussed the neurophysiological basis and clinical applications of mindfulness. As a long-term mindfulness practitioner, she is greatly inspired to acquire non-duality insights into researchable mechanisms and paradigms underpinning health outcomes and psychosocial factors such as happiness and social integration. During her time in the post-bacc program, Ngan completed courses in Research Design, Clinical Psychology, Statistical Analysis in Social Ecology, Advanced Research Methods, Psychology Fundamentals, Health Psychology, and Attachment Relationships, and she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Campos’s Culture, Relationships, and Health Lab. Outside of UCI, Ngan volunteered (remotely) at the Vietnamese Social Services of Minnesota as an interpreter, and she attended an "Intro to Python" workshop. Since completing our program, she has been continuing volunteering in Dr. Campos' lab and in Dr. Guney Scurich's lab (while also preparing to apply to master's degree programs).

Samar graduated summa cum laude from San Diego State University in May of 2023 with a B.A in psychology, emphasizing in neuroscience. While at SDSU, she was a part of the Translational Emotion Neuroscience and Development (TEND) laboratory, which aimed to understand the neural basis of emotions in children using fMRI technology.  During her time in the post-bacc program, she worked in Dr. Rao’s Biobehavioral Research on Adolescent Development (BRoAD) lab and completed courses in Clinical Psychology, Personality Disorders, Attachment Relationships, and Health & Social Relationships.  In addition, she attended the 2024 Anxiety & Depression Association of America conference in Boston, and she completed a field study internship at Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Outside of UCI, she volunteered for the Crisis Text Line.  Since completing our program, Samar has been looking for paid work while also applying to Psy.D. programs in Clinical Psychology. She is especially interested in mood disorders among young adults, and her long-term goal is to become a practitioner for treating these disorders.

Dana earned a Bachelor's degree in Sociology and Anthropology from the American University of Beirut in 2012. During her time in the post-bacc program, Dana worked as a research assistant for Professor Nicholas Scurich (who studies judgment and decision making and psychology and the law), Professor Linda Levine (who studies emotion, memory, and emotion regulation), and Professor Paul Piff (who studies socioeconomic status, prosocial behavior, and social emotion).  She also completed courses in Applied Statistics; Advanced Research Methods; Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination; Social Psychology; and Forensic Psychology, and she attended the Society for Personality & Social Psychology conference in Long Beach, CA.  

Peter graduated from New York University (NYU) in 2021 with a B.S. in applied psychology and global public health. During his undergraduate years at NYU, he joined the Latino Family Engagement and Language Development Research Team, where he volunteered at schools, distributed surveys to parents, and explained the goal of the research project to parents who were interested, and he worked as a research assistant for The Listening Project, where he created and coded transcripts (while also aiding in the project's development). Additionally, he interned at WayAhead Mental Health Association of New South Wales while studying abroad in Sydney, Australia, where he worked under the CEO of the company, managing the Australian Coalition for Loneliness website and collaborating with other organizations to help distribute mental health resources. During his time in the post-bacc program, he worked in Dr. Stephen Schueller's Technology & Mental Health Lab (where he reviewed mental health apps and assessed the efficacy of the apps to distinguish the best apps that people can use for themselves), in Dr. Jutta Heckhausen's Motivation Lab, and in Dr. Gary Lynch's lab (in the School of Medicine), and he completed courses in Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Applied Statistics, Advanced Research Methods, and Evolutionary Psychology.  In addition, Peter received the Association for Psychological Science (APS) Student Travel Award (which included free registration to the conference and a $200 stipend), and he gave poster presentations at the 2023 APS conference in Washington, DC and at the 2023 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference at UC Irvine.  Since completing our program, Peter has continued volunteering in his UCI research labs, while also looking for paid research positions and preparing to apply to Clinical Psychology Ph.D. programs.

Mina graduated from California State University Dominguez Hills in 2016 with a bachelor's degree in psychology.  During her time in the post-bacc program, she completed courses in Advanced Research Methods and Forensic Psychology, and she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Martin's Behaviors, Emotions, and Affective Neuroscience lab.  After leaving our program, she decided to apply to veterinary school, and she took courses as a local community college and volunteered at two animal shelters in Los Angeles to prepare for her new career path.

Annette graduated magna cum laude from the University of San Diego with a B.A. in Behavioral Neuroscience and a minor in Sociology in 2022; after graduating, she accepted positions as a medical scribe at the Children's Hospital of Orange County and as a clinical data coordinator at Hoag. During her time in the post-bacc program, Annette worked in Dr. Kuhlman's Teen Resilience Lab, resulting in a poster presentation at the 2024 Anxiety & Depression Association of America conference in Boston; she also got a poster abstract accepted at the UC Irvine Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference.  In addition, she completed courses in Clinical Psychology, the Science & Practice of Compassion, Health Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, and Social Epidemiology. Since completing the post-bacc program, Annette has been working on her applications for medical school in hopes of becoming a physician. She is interested in specializing in psychiatry or neurology but is keeping an open mind. 

Harper graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2023 with a B.A. in Psychology. As an undergraduate student, Harper worked as a research assistant for the Community Health Interventions and Resilience Promotion (CHIRP) lab, where she was involved in community-based participatory research aiming to address mental and physical health disparities through community-oriented interventions. Through her research, Harper helped develop an intervention to understand and improve Black men’s health-related quality of life. She received second place for her poster presentation about understanding one’s positionality while using qualitative coding at Discover USC and is a co-author on an article published in the American Journal of Community Psychology. During her time in the post-bacc program, Harper worked in Dr. Zalta’s Trauma and Resilience Lab and in Dr. Martin's Behaviors, Emotions, and Affective Neuroscience (BEAN) Lab, and she completed courses in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Personality Disorders, Advanced Psychological Research Methods, and Biological Psychology.  Since completing our program, Harper has been working as a part-time, paid research assistant in Dr. Rao's Biobehavioral Research on Adolescent Development (BRoAD) Lab at UC Irvine (while also preparing to apply to graduate school), and she will be presenting a poster at the 2024 Association for Behavioral & Cognitive Therapies conference in Philadelphia in November 2024.

Sierra graduated from University of California - Irvine with a B.A. in Psychology and Social Behavior and a minor in Education. During her undergraduate years, Sierra  interned at UCI’s Campus Assault Resources and Education (CARE) Center, and she completed the Advanced Field Study (AFS) program, where she interned at Higher Ground Youth & Family Services (HGYFS) in Anaheim. As an AFS intern at HGYFS, Sierra was involved in the launching of the new Human Trafficking Prevention Program, conducted independent research about the effects of after-school programs and teacher perspectives of need for at-risk youth, and staffed HGYFS’s after-school program.  During her time in the post-bacc program, Sierra was a Research Assistant in Dr. Kuhlman’s Teen Resilience Lab, Dr. Heckhausen’s Life-Span Development and Motivation lab, and Dr. Borelli's Health, Relationships, and Interventions Lab, and she completed undergraduate courses in Applied Statistics, Clinical Neuroscience, Human Stress, and Advanced Research Methods (as well as a graduate course in Cognitive Neuroscience of Human Development).  In addition, she gave poster presentations at the 2021 Association for Psychological Science conference and the 2021 Conte Center @ UCI Symposium, and she gave an oral presentation at the 2021 UC Irvine Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program conference.  After completing the program, Sierra has been continuing to volunteer in Dr. Kuhlman's lab as a research assistant and in Dr. Borelli's lab as a study coordinator (while also looking for full-time, paid positions).  Eventually (after gaining a bit more experience), she plans to apply to PhD programs in Clinical Psychology.