Mattea Parker (she/her) is a first-year master’s student in the Clinical Psychology and Quantitative Psychology programs at Ball State University. At Ball State, Mattea is a graduate assistant in the Personality and Psychopathology (P2) Lab under the supervision of Dr. Tayla Lee.

Mattea is exploring the influence cultural and environmental factors have on externalizing psychopathology in youth and families. She also studies culturally fair assessments, aiming to discern if an individual’s behavior is an indication of externalization or a culturally appropriate response.

Prior to joining the P2 Lab, Mattea was a project management intern through the Columbia University Irving Medical Center and The New York State Psychiatric Institute for a study implementing an alcohol reduction and family engagement intervention for problem-drinking fathers in Eldoret, Kenya. In the P2 Lab, Mattea’s primary responsibilities involve data management of information coming from a large community-based research project at the Youth Opportunity Center.

In her free time, Mattea loves spending time with her dog Judah, learning to cook vegan meals, and engaging in nature walks and yoga.

Molly Armstrong (she/her) is a first-year master’s student in the Clinical Psychology and Quantitative Psychology programs at Ball State University. At Ball State, Molly is a graduate assistant in the Personality and Psychopathology (P2) Lab under the supervision of Dr. Tayla Lee. Molly is studying externalizing behaviors in youth, including the assessment of these behaviors. She aims to approach her future work from a developmental psychopathology perspective. In line with her interests, Molly completed her Honors Thesis examining psychopathy and rule-breaking in college students and presented it at the Midwestern Psychological Association Conference in 2023. Currently, Molly is working on a project examining the detection of response styles in youth.

In the P2 Lab, Molly serves as a Graduate Assistant and lab manager under the supervision of Dr. Lee. Her primary responsibilities are training and supervising the undergraduate lab assistants as they code medical records for longitudinal, community-partnered projects serving youth involved with the juvenile justice system.

In her spare time, Molly likes to listen to podcasts, watch comedy shows, and read a good book while drinking a cup of hot tea.

Carson Brooks (he/him) graduated from Ball State University in December 2023 with a major in  Psychological Science and minors in Counseling Psychology and Social Work at Ball State University. Carson is a Crisis Specialist for the 988 Suicide Prevention Lifeline and an intern at Muncie OUTreach, a local community youth group focusing on LGBTQ+ advocacy. Carson has been an undergraduate research assistant in Dr. Holtgraves’ Communication and Experimental Pragmatics Lab for two semesters, working on projects relating to scalar expressions, microaggressions, gendered Chat GPT response, miscommunication, and chat repair in the digital context. He presented two research studies at the Midwestern Psychological Association Conference in April 2023: “Conversational repair in the digital realm” and “Sound and fury; Linguistic analysis of microaggression and aggression tweets.” Carson now also volunteers in the Personality and Psychopathology Lab led by Dr. Lee, where he assists with data collection at the Youth Opportunity Center. This project will help serve underrepresented and marginalized populations by furthering our understanding of the validity of psychological tests. In addition to being an active student researcher, Carson has been a resident assistant for the Social Science Living-Learning Community, a teaching assistant for a Psychology of Diversity course, and a first-year social science mentor for the University College. Last year, Carson received the Dr. Robert E. Hill Scholarship and the Don T. and Geneva E. Sprague Scholarship from the Psychological Science Department at Ball State University.

In addition to continuing his work in the P2 Lab as a Post-Baccalaureate volunteer research assistant, Carson is finalizing his applications for Clinical Psychology master’s programs. In his future graduate education, Carson hopes to research risk reduction for suicidality and substance use in LGBTQ+ populations, as well as the effectiveness of positive psychology.

In his free time, Carson enjoys doing cardio workouts, eating and cooking new foods, and watching reality television.

Isabella Capoun (She/Her) is a Junior Psychological Science major at Ball State University with a minor in Counseling Psychology. This is her first year in the Personality and Psychopathology (P2) Lab and she is ecstatic to be collaborating with the Youth Opportunity Center in Muncie. As a research assistant in the P2 Lab, she assists in data collection, such as coding data from assessment records. Isabella  has also been working as a math tutor for the past year at Ball State University and helps other students develop a better understanding of mathematics.

Isabella’s interests are in Counseling Psychology. She plans on obtaining a Master’s in Counseling Psychology after she graduates with her Bachelor’s in Psychological Science. After achieving her master’s, she would like to work towards getting her PhD in Counseling Psychology and hopes to become a licensed psychologist, serving those who struggle with internalizing difficulties such as anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. She has specific research interests in disordered eating among youth populations as well as research on substance use problems.

In her free time, Isabella partakes in video games, painting, makeup, and rocking out at concerts.

Meghan Kirkpatrick (she/her) is a senior at Ball State University. She is majoring in Psychological Science with minors in Counseling and Speech Language Pathology. As a first-year member of the P2 Lab, her responsibilities include coding data from clinical assessments for projects conducted in collaboration with the lab’s community partner, the Youth Opportunity Center. This lab experience will help set Meghan up for graduate school by helping her to continue building her research skills and knowledge of personality and psychopathology. Meghan is hoping to obtain a master’s degree in Counseling so she can become a therapist in a private practice. Meghan is thrilled to be in this lab because of its emphasis on advocacy, which is something she is passionate about. Meghan is currently working on her senior thesis. This project will evaluate the reliability and validity of a popular personality test, the Enneagram, and examine its potential impacts and applications.

When she’s not at the lab or in class, Meghan can be found reading, baking, rewatching a comfort show with a friend, or making a playlist on Spotify.

Alondra Martinez (she/her) is a Senior in the Psychological Science undergraduate program at Ball State University. Her minors include Infant and Toddler Specialization, Exceptional Needs in Early Childhood Special Education, and Women and Gender Studies. This is her first year as a research assistant in the Personality and Psychopathology Lab under the supervision of Dr. Lee. In the lab, Alondra is responsible for coding assessment data at the Youth Opportunity Center. Alondra is also a practicum student at the TRC Head Start building where she observes, monitors, and assesses a child’s developmental stages using the ASQ-3 while working with teachers, families, and their children. Alondra also works at Mitchell Early Childhood and Family Center as a part time teacher. This experience has helped her learn the importance of being an advocate for her students’ education. After graduation, Alondra plans to get her master’s in Applied Behavior Analysis with an emphasis in serving Autistic people.

During her free time, she enjoys picking up new hobbies, her most recent being crocheting. She also loves reading, going to concerts, and spending quality time with her family.

Sarah Papp (she/her) is currently in her fourth year as an undergraduate student at Ball State University. She is pursuing a major in Psychological Science, as well as a minor in American Sign Language. In her first year as a volunteer in the P2 Lab, her primary roles include coding and analyzing research data collected from adolescents receiving clinical treatment at theYouth Opportunity Center. This valuable experience will contribute to Sarah’s growing understanding of assisting vulnerable youth. After completing her undergraduate studies, Sarah aspires to enroll in a master’s graduate program in Mental Health Counseling. Sarah’s research interest revolves around exploring the impact of trauma on children’s mental health.

 In addition to her academic pursuits, Sarah has worked as a member of the support services team at Ball State’s Bracken Library for two years. This position has helped Sarah to financially support her education. Additionally, last year, she served as a camp counselor for Noblesville Best. This opportunity allowed her to lead and mentor children ages 5-16 from diverse backgrounds, including those with emotional and physical disabilities. Sarah is currently employed as a student athletic mentor at Ball State. She provides one-on-one support to students to help them overcome various barriers. Specifically, she helps those struggling to complete academic goals due to having learning disabilities or having language barriers. Furthermore, Sarah actively volunteers at the Recovery Café in Muncie. There, she offers emotional and social support to individuals in recovery from substance use or other mental health disorders.