Students

Student Affiliates:

2020 is already off to a great start! We are looking forward to an exciting year for the Student Affairs Committee (SAC)! With the expansion of opportunities for student involvement in Society initiatives, including the second annual Society Leadership Program, further expansion of the Student Chapter Network, and continued opportunities for students to present their research at regional and national levels, there has never been a better time for students to get involved. The best way to stay up-to-date with the latest leadership position openings, training experiences, networking opportunities, and other CV boosters is to follow our monthly listserv announcements, follow us on social media, or visit our recently overhauled student website at http://www.division19students.org.

Welcome New Leaders
I am happy to announce and warmly welcome our new Chair-Select, Alyssa Allen to our Student Affairs Committee. Alyssa is a second-year Psy.D. student at the Graduate School of Professional Psychology at the University of Denver and an intelligence officer in the Colorado Army National Guard. Alyssa is passionate about her work with cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy Peak Performance Center and has clinical interests in the areas of assessment and selection and moral injury. Alyssa has already proven herself to be a valuable asset to our team and will no doubt make a positive impact on the military psychology community. The 2020 Student Leadership Team is eager to continue many of the important initiates started by our predecessors and we look forward to further engagement with our student affiliates in the process. Please visit the leadership page on our website for an overview of our leadership structure and to learn more about our team!

Farewell Past Leaders
While we are grateful to bring on emerging student leaders, January was also a time to say a fond farewell to our veteran leaders as they continue on their professional and personal journeys. We say goodbye to Afik Faerman, our former VPO. Afik has made a profound impact on our team and student affiliate community by modeling leadership, professionalism, and successful student engagement throughout his time with us. Afik, you have left very large boots to fill.

In December 2019, Kelsi Rugo ended her watch as Past-Chair and transitioned off the SAC. Throughout her time on the SAC, Kelsi served as a great mentor to our students and engaged meaningful and successful initiates for students across the nation. She has kept Jourdin and I laughing throughout our busy, sometimes stressful, work and has reminded us to find joy in everything we do. Kelsi’s spirit will continue to motivate us as graduate students and developing leaders. Kelsi, we wish you the best of luck moving forward, and thank you for your service to this committee.

What to Look Forward to in 2020
As we look forward to a successful 2020, I hope to continue the momentum initiated by the leaders who have established our robust committee. In the early parts of this year I plan to make two major changes. We are a grassroots organization who finds the most success when our student affiliates are actively engaged at the community level. With this in mind, our committee plans to offer more support to our regional and campus networks to encourage these groups to remain active. First, our regional representatives are gaining increased leadership responsibility by taking on new educational initiatives at the national level. Second, we plan to publish updated guidelines for our campus representatives to encourage active campus level work in support of our overall mission.

The Division 19 Student Chapter Network’s mission is threefold: (1) To increase the total number of qualified, interested candidates for commissioned or civil service as US Air Force, Army, Navy, or VA psychologists; (2) To develop strong leaders in anticipation of eventual military service and/or participation in Division 19 governance; (3) To enhance military cultural awareness in civilian graduate education programs with respect to treatment of US military personnel (current and previous) and their family members. With this mission in mind, we hope a clear and succinct set of standard operating guidelines will further support our already robust campus network to thrive in the maintenance of the growing and complex field of military psychology. For any students interested in creating a campus chapter within their graduate department, we encourage you to find more information on our website: https://www.division19students.org/campus-representatives.html

This past August we announced and celebrated the recipient of our 2019 Outstanding Chapter of the Year Award. The Student Association for Military Psychology (SAMP) at the California School of Professional Psychology – San Diego is a wonderful example of a campus chapter striving to effectively engage our mission. The SAMP hosted a ton of great events on their campus over the past year and have been devoted to serving their community. We look forward to witnessing their growth this coming year and hope they serve as a model for other eager campus networks! We plan to continue this tradition by awarding another successfully engaged chapter this year at the annual APA Convention, being held in Washington D.C. on August 6-9, 2020. If you are looking for guidance on how to take your campus chapter to the next level, do not hesitate to reach out to your regional reps or the SAC.

We already have several training opportunities in the pipeline, and we are looking forward to the opportunity to collaborate with other divisions and organizations to meet the needs of a diverse student population. Thank you to everyone who helped play a role in shaping our success in 2019, including our society leadership, mentors, webinar presenters, campus representatives, faculty sponsors, and of course all of our student affiliates!

Engage us on Facebook, tweet at us (@div19students), and email us your dissertation participation announcements so we can assist in distribution. Cheers to another great year!

Very Respectfully,

Ethan Bannar, M.S.
Chair, Student Affairs Committee

Membership in the division provides students with the opportunity to network with fellow students and professional psychologists in the field. With our social networking groups, listserv, APA convention social events, and large network of student chapters across the country, we hope that you will make new friends, network to find new colleagues, and connect with new mentors in a supportive community. Through our Facebook and Twitter accounts, you will find active opportunities for involvement and frequent job postings.

In addition to the many benefits division membership offers, our organization provides a number of unique leadership opportunities through our Student Chapter and Campus Representative Network. An added benefit to membership in the division: student affiliate membership is only $10! Also, division membership does not require you to be a member of APA/APAGS.

Membership is open to all students with an interest in the goals and mission of Division 19.