Student Spotlights

Ameek Batth

akb17@fordham.edu

Ameek is a first-year graduate student in the Mental Health Counseling program at Fordham GSE. She holds a B.A. in Media Production with minors in Psychology and Film Studies from Radford University. As an undergraduate, she was an NCAA Division I athlete, competing on the women’s tennis team and serving on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, where she advocated for the mental well-being of athletes. Ameek is passionate about mindfulness and meditation practices that support mental wellness. Her academic interests include psychodynamic approaches, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and trauma-informed care. She aspires to work with adolescents and adults facing challenges such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, perfectionism, eating disorders, and intergenerational trauma. Outside of her academic work, Ameek enjoys video editing and creating online content that blends psychology with spirituality. As an international student from India, she is excited to bring her perspective to the SAM team!

Stéphane Benoist

stephane.benoist@fordham.edu

Stéphane Benoist (he/they) calls Jackson Heights home and currently spends his days caring for his infant. After a career in academia as a mathematician at MIT and Columbia, Stéphane reoriented his energy to the well-being of body, heart and mind for himself and others. He participated in a mutual aid collective and union organizing, worked on a small organic vegetable farm, and did chaplaincy work in a nursing home.

As a first-year student in the Mental Health Counseling program, Stéphane's clinical approach is informed by his connection to Buddhist teachings and practice, and in particular to Insight Dialogue, a relational meditation modality that he regularly facilitates in both English and his native French. He is particularly curious about the twin human experiences of suffering and well-being.

Shang Wei Young

sy41@fordham.edu

Shang (He/Him) found his calling in the helping profession through mentoring others throughout his career in software engineering and his volunteer work as a crisis counselor. He aspires to serve BIPOC and LGBTQ+ people who are uniquely impacted by racial trauma, acculturation stress, and issues related to stigmatized sexual and gender identities and hopes to grow his multicultural sensitivities and social justice competencies in Fordham’s Mental Health Counseling program. He believes in taking an anti-oppression approach to understanding our intersectional identities, and is interested in learning how people internalize the discriminatory beliefs of their oppressors to form self-subjugating cognitive processes, and how the counseling process can play a vital role in the healing, acceptance, liberation and empowerment of oneself and their communities. As a violinist and dancer, Shang also aspires to explore the therapeutic potential of creative expression through music and movement as part of his future clinical work. Shang was born and raised in Taiwan and holds a B.A. in Computer Science from Oberlin College.