Team

Kara is an undergraduate student at the University of New Orleans, pursuing a B.S. in Psychology. She received her Associate of General Studies, Psychology Concentration, from Delgado Community College in 2019. She is a recent recipient of the Virginia Rosanne Amato Memorial Scholarship, which honors undergraduate women who exhibit hard work, ambition, and motivation, and academic success. Kara is still developing her interests but is currently conducting independent research in body image and personality perceptions, a continuation of her course project for Psyc 3300 (more info in the Alumni tab). She was a recipient of the Richard D. Olson Award in Experimental Design and Methodology for her work in the course. Kara served as an undergraduate teacher’s assistant for Dr. Kotelnikova’s Research Methods and Statistics course in Spring 2020 and plans to continue her education in the Applied Developmental Psychology Ph.D. program at UNO beginning in Fall 2021.

Kaylyn received her B.A. in Social Science with honors from Tulane University in 2018. Kaylyn has worked with Dr. Matthew Scalco in Crescent City Substance Use Lab (CCSUL) and served as a teaching assistant for Dr. Yuliya Kotelnikova's Research Methods and Statistics course. She also conducted independent research exploring stigma and research related variables in female exotic dancer and non-dancer background to further examine stigmatization of exotic dancers (seen under Alumni tab). She was a recipient of the Richard D. Olson Award in Experimental Design and Methodology for her work in the course. Her academic and professional experience has been working with disadvantaged populations with a focus on substance use and psychopathology. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and aims to continue her work in the mental health field.

Nicole is an undergraduate in the honors program at the University of New Orleans where she will receive her B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Sociology. She developed an interest in Psychology research after taking the Research Methods and Statistics course with Dr. Yuliya Kotelnikova in the Fall of 2019, where she studied the effects of internal and external stigmas on one’s seeking mental health services (more details in the Research Methods Alumni tab!). She was a recipient of the Richard D. Olson Award in Experimental Design and Methodology for her work in the course. Nicole then was an undergraduate teaching assistant for the Research Methods course in the Spring of 2020. She has plans to pursue graduate school in Psychology after receiving her B.S in 2021.

Christina Striegel is an undergraduate student at the University of New Orleans, graduating in the fall of 2020 with a B.S. in Psychology. She completed the Research Methods & Statistics course in the Spring of 2020 where she investigated the safety of LGBTQ+ students on campus, which can be found under the Alumni tab. In the future, she plans to obtain her Master's degree in Psychology at the University of New Orleans, and ultimately get accepted into a Ph.D. program for clinical psychology.

Shelby received his B.A. in Music from the University of New Orleans in 2013. His decision to return to UNO came about after a sabbatical from continuous touring with bands, with his sights aimed at the field of Psychology. Upon successful completion of Research Methods and Statistics with Dr. Kotelnikova in the spring of 2020, he registered as an undergraduate TA for further experience with Research Methods and the DREaM lab. He plans to extend his research at UNO in the Ph.D. program for Applied Developmental Psychology in 2021.