Aran Garnett-Deakin (she/her) is a fourth year doctoral candidate in Family Science. She studies fathering identity and is currently focusing on how masculinity moves through families intergenerationally from a critical feminist perspective. Broadly, she is interested in relational and interactive identity, gender, and how individuals interact with other individuals, small groups, and communities to create meaning in their lives. She has been a part of the REST lab for 3 years.

Lauren Pittman (she/her) is a PhD student currently in her second year. Her program area is Marriage and Family Therapy. Lauren is interested in research surrounding bisexual+ women and the messages they receive about their identity, along with the concept of internalized stigma within this population. Outside of her academic roles, she enjoys crocheting and baking. 

Kassidy Mieses (she/her) is a third-year MS to PhD student in Child and Adolescent Development. She mostly focuses on parent-chid relationships and children's socioemotional development. 

Erin Mahoney (they/she) is a second year MS to PhD student in Human Development & Family Science at Virginia Tech. They are in their third semester of working with Dr. Rice & the REST Lab. Their individual research interests are in the effect of heterosexism & racism on interracial queer relationships. 

Caryl Faulks (she/they) is a first-year MS to PhD student in Human Development with a concentration in Family Science. Their research interests are the interpersonal relationships within BIPOC & interracial and queer families (e.g. parental relationships, romantic relationships, parent-child relationships) and how those relationships impact the well-being of individuals and families. This is her first semester working in the REST Lab.