Tag: College of Psychology

Psychology Alum Spins the Wheel, Wins Cash, Prizes

Matthew Jalazo, Psy.D.

“I’d like to buy a vowel.”

Contestants on Wheel of Fortune excitedly utter these words to host Pat Sajak and then hope Vanna White uncovers the letters they have chosen. NSU College of Psychology alumnus Matthew Jalazo, Psy.D., recently became one of those contestants. He spun the wheel and solved the puzzle—several puzzles, in fact.

Jalazo’s turn on the popular game show earned him $26,000 in cash and prizes, including a trip to Costa Rica.

His 15-minutes of fame—technically 22 minutes without commercial interruption—was the culmination of a journey that began when he was eight years old and first saw the colors of the wheel on his grandmother’s kitchen countertop television. He was in his 20s when his cousin got to meet Bob Barker on The Price is Right. She got to hear her name called with the phrase, “Come on down. You’re the next contestant on The Price is Right,” but unfortunately lost the game. Jalazo joked to her that it was now his singular life mission to get on The Price is Right to fix that disgrace to the family.

He did eventually audition for a spot on The Price is Right, and then tried using his celebrity impression of wrestler Hulk Hogan at a casting call for Deal or No Deal. Unfortunately, he didn’t make the cut for either show.

In November of 2022, Jalazo happened to see an advertisement inviting super fans of wrestling to try out for Wheel of Fortune, so he made a video and sent in the application. He was invited to a zoom audition, solved sample puzzles, and even dressed up as Hulk Hogan to entertain the casting committee and show his passion for wrestling. He remembered them laughing hysterically at his impersonation. Two hours later, he got the call to be a contestant, albeit not for WWE Week.

“They liked my energy and my enthusiasm, but not my wrestler impressions,” Jalazo said.

Jalazo traveled to California to be on Wheel of Fortune and put his psychology background to use when prepping for his appearance. Banking on his knowledge that it’s impossible to feel two emotions at once, he made sure he went into the taping feeling completely relaxed so it would be difficult to feel nervous. His goal was to be relatable—striking the balance between being entertaining and being ruthless in playing to win.

“I wanted to be a likeable, fun contestant, but I also wanted to play in a way that showed people I was taking the game seriously, because I understood I was very fortunate to get selected,” Jalazo said.

An army veteran and father of a 16-year-old son, Jalazo is a forensic psychologist and serves on the faculty of Albizu University. He has also participated in open mic nights for stand-up comedy.

“I tend to enjoy creative, spontaneous things where I get to show my personality,” he said. “It’s a nice balance with the serious work that I do.”

And while Wheel of Fortune is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Jalazo’s dream of competing on game shows isn’t done. His next goal is to appear on Let’s Make a Deal. He still wants to dress up as a professional wrestler and show off his Hulk Hogan impersonation to a televised audience.

“If you have a dream – whether trying to be a national game show, or something else that you think is not within reach – go, get it,” Jalazo said. “Appearing on Wheel of Fortune was an amazing experience—one I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life. But had I not been looking at my computer for five minutes on that Wednesday morning, it wouldn’t have happened.”

“The message is to be open to life experiences each and every day. No dream is too big.”

Posted 05/10/23

College of Psychology Receives ASCA Recognition

On February 1, 2023, the College of Psychology’s M.S. in Counseling: School Counseling concentration earned national recognition through the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Specialized Professional Association (SPA) under the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). Per ASCA, their school counselor preparation program standards, “are a unified set of principles guiding school counselor preparation programs in training effective future school counselors in areas of professional practice and ethical behavior.”

NSU is the first-ever program to be awarded this national recognition. Attaining this specialty recognition was an essential component of maintaining CAEP accreditation as an advanced program, and it required the School Counseling program to demonstrate that they met each of the ASCA School Counselor Preparation Program Standards. In May 2022, the program was also granted the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) accreditation with the Fischler College of Education & School of Criminal Justice.

The School Counseling concentration is one of five options offered as part of the M.S. in Counseling program. The concentration, which consists of 48 credit hours, is offered online. As part of the curriculum, students attend two residential institutes on campus.

More information about the ASCA SPA can be found HERE.

Posted 03/06/23

Psychology Professor Presents at Law Society of Ireland

NSU College of Psychology adjunct professor Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren will be presenting to the Law Society of Ireland’s annual human rights lecture. The lecture is scheduled for Wednesday, June 7, 2023 and will be conducted via Zoom.

Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren, who teaches in the College’s Forensic Psychology M.S. program, is currently the presiding County Court Judge of the Misdemeanor Mental Health Court of the 17th Judicial Circuit in Broward County. She pioneered the nation’s first therapeutic Mental Health Court in 1997 which has been dedicated to the decriminalization of persons with mental illnesses and neurological disorders.

The Law Society is the educational, representative and regulatory body of the solicitors’ profession in the Republic of Ireland. It offers legal education and training as well as encouraging and supporting the highest professional standards in the profession.

Posted 02/19/23

NSU Counseling Professor Quoted in Counseling Today

Ashlei Petion, Ph.D. / Photo by David I. Muir

In the January 25, 2023, edition of Counseling Today, NSU Counseling faculty Ashlei Petion, Ph.D., was quoted in an online article called, “Generational trauma: Uncovering and interrupting the cycle” written by Bethany Bray. The article explained the term “generational trauma” and its impact on clients.

Per Petion, generational trauma is “a collection of traumas that have been experienced by their ancestors, passed down, and it’s affecting them to this day.” She continued by stating that, “Clients often report that it feels like [a weight] sitting on their shoulders”.

Petion’s interest in generational trauma started when she was a master’s intern. Later it became the topic of her dissertation and her specialty as a counselor.

Counseling Today is a website and monthly magazine published by the American Counseling Association.  It was first published in 1958.

Posted 02/19/23

College of Psychology Faculty Honored at Funding Reception

At the university’s annual External Funding Reception, which celebrates faculty and their research activities, several College of Psychology faculty were honored for their contributions to research.

Of the five Provost Research Awards were given, three recipients were from the College of Psychology. They were Jeffrey Kibler, Ph.D. (President’s Distinguished Professor, Department of Clinical and School Psychology), Justin Landy, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, and Emily Georgia Salivar, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical and School Psychology).

Kibler has an impressive history of publishing in prestigious high impact academic journals, and he has developed a solid, sustainable research program. The high quality of his scholarship is demonstrated through success with external research grants; he has received over $1.9 million in competitive funding from a range of agencies, including National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Landy pursues research that is located at the intersection of social psychology and cognitive psychology, and he’s delved into how people form moral judgments of other people and their actions. He has received recognition as a leading scholar from national professional societies and has an impressive publication record in top-tier journals and has authored five chapters in edited volumes from prominent publishers including Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press.

Salivar is a fellowship-trained licensed psychologist whose research focuses on romantic relationships and online couples therapy. She has an impressive record of peer-reviewed publications and book chapters and has achieved an h-index of 14 and an i10-index of 15. Her exceptional promise in the field of psychology has been demonstrated through research dissemination, national leadership positions and grant funding.

In addition, 12 College of Psychology faculty were recognized for their research activities. They were Soledad Arguelles-Borge, Ph.D., Jonathon Banks, Ph.D., Travis Craddock, Ph.D., Amy Ellis, Ph.D., Ana Fins, Ph.D., Barbara Garcia Lavin, Ph.D., Scott Poland, Ed.D., David Reitman, Ph.D., Lisa Robison, Ph.D., Jaime Tartar, Ph.D. (President’s Distinguished Professor), Vincent Van Hasselt, Ph.D. (President’s Distinguished Professor), and Angela Waguespack, Ph.D.

The Provost Research Awards, which are given annually, recognize demonstrated achievement in research, scholarship, and creative pursuits by NSU faculty members. Faculty are recognized across disciplines and career stages for their achievements in these areas. Faculty are nominated by NSU faculty and staff.

The first Provost Research Award was given to Mark Sobell, Ph.D. (currently Professor Emeritus, Department of Clinical and School Psychology) in 2011. In 2018, Linda Sobell, Ph.D. (President’s Distinguished Professor) became the second College of Psychology faculty member to receive the award.

The reception was held at Grand Oaks Golf Club on Tuesday, Jan 25, 2023. In attendance were the university’s senior leadership team as well as faculty and staff.

(Photos courtesy of the NSU Office of Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs)

Posted 02/05/23

Psychology Doctoral Candidate Featured in APA Profile

Nicole Herrera, a College of Psychology clinical psychology doctoral candidate

Nicole Herrera, a College of Psychology clinical psychology doctoral candidate, was recently featured this past November in her own APA (American Psychological Association) profile for her work with older adults.

Herrera has been working closely with her mentor, College of Psychology Professor Soledad Argüelles-Borge, Ph.D., in this research area. Her overall research interest is in creating treatment options that lead to the betterment of older adults.

Recently, Herrera had the privilege of being selected as an intern to APA. During her time at APA, she was involved with a variety of tasks surrounding bettering the lives of older adults such as updating the Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Older Adults, assisting with the APA 2022 Convention, and aiding in the development of the Psychologists Against Ageism webinar series.

Presently, Herrera is participating in an internship at the Community Action and Human Services Department in Miami, where she splits her time between working with preschool student at Head Start, and with individuals in the rehabilitation center for substance abuse.

Posted 01/22/23

NSU Holds First School Psychology Conference

Due to Hurricane Nicole, the 2022 Florida Association of School Psychologists (FASP) Annual Conference was forced to cancel. These unfortunate circumstances left College of Psychology students unable to present the research they had been diligently working on.

In order to give these students an opportunity to disseminate their research, Nova Southeastern University decided to host a mini-conference on campus instead. This was NSU’s first school psychology conference, and recognized students for their hard work on a vast array of research topics.

About 50 students participated in the event: 12 students presented posters and three students presented presentations. Students included mostly school psychology doctoral students with some clinical psychology doctoral students presenting as well.

Faculty and other students were able to walk around and ask any questions about the research, engaging the students in vital presentation experience. Overall, both students and faculty alike reported the event as a huge success. No hurricane could stop the care NSU shows regarding the success and development of their students.

Posted 01/08/23

LatinX Conference Presentation Receives Positive Reception

Diana Formoso, Ph.D., and members of the Unaccompanied, But Not Alone research team in the College of Psychology presented a symposium entitled Strengths and Needs of Unaccompanied Immigrant Minors and their Caregivers:  Working Collaboratively Across Disciplines to Fill Resource-Need Gaps at the National Latinx Psychological Association in Denver, CO. The talks focused on the strengths and needs of unaccompanied immigrant youth and their caregivers, balancing protection and autonomy for UIM in the U.S. refugee foster care system, and how we used community asset mapping methods to develop a community resource guide for migrant youth and families in South Florida.

The presentation was very well-received, with comments noted about how the various projects exemplified the strengths of community-based work (for example, interviewing migrant youth and professionals who work with them, forming a community advisory board), the importance of building trusting, respectful relationships with community partners, how to harness the University’s mission of community engagement and the privilege of education to build community resources and resilience, and the power of organizing and sharing community resources to support migrant youth and their families.

This work was made possible by a President’s Faculty Research and Development Grant and the commitment and hard work of the students in the Unaccompanied, But Not Alone research team: Jocelyn Meza, Adriana Wilson, Melissa Perez, Marianela Pena-Martinez, Veronica Grosse, and Courtney Clark. The NSU team was joined by Dr. Maria Fernanda Garcia from the University of Miami.

Posted 12/11/22

Honors Course Immerses Students in Korean Cuisine

Honors students enjoy Korean lunch.

On Monday, November 28, 2022, students in the Farquhar Honors College reading seminar enjoyed authentic Korean cuisine in honor of their course text—Grace M. Cho’s Tastes Like War. Funded by the Honors College, the meal allowed students to experience firsthand some of the dishes Cho writes about in her powerful memoir about food and family.

Course instructors Leanne Boucher, Ph.D., professor in the College of Psychology (COP), Kelly Anne Concannon, Ph.D., associate professor in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, and William Collins, Ph.D., professor in COP, planned and hosted the lunch for students in their section of the reading seminar.

The honors reading seminar is offered every semester and allows students to engage with and lead discussions on a chosen text that changes each semester. Tastes Like War, the selected text for the second term of the fall semester, documents Cho’s relationship with her schizophrenic mother, her familial and cultural history, and the importance of food to both of those relationships.

Posted 12/11/22

NSU Jointly Hosts Immigration Legal Screening Service Project

NSU’s Shepard Broad College of Law and College of Psychology along with Americans for Immigrant Justice, Catholic Legal Services, Office of New Americans, Florida Immigrant Coalition, Haitian Lawyers Association, Hispanic Unity, and student organizations: the Evening Law Student Association (ELSA), the Immigration Law Organization (ILO), and the Public Interest Law Society (PILS) hosted an Immigration Legal Screening One-Day Service Project.  The event held on Sunday, October 16th, 2022, provided free immigration legal screenings to those in need. Students and attorneys worked together to help local community members learn more about how immigration law affects them and their families.  Community members received legal and non-legal resources to assist with immigration relief and next steps.

For more information on this and/or upcoming Immigration Legal Screening One-Day Service Projects, please contact Jennifer Gordon, Esq., Director of Public Interest Programs at jgordon@nova.edu.

Posted 11/20/23

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