Contact: Maridith Geuder
Five doctoral students at Mississippi State University soon will be working with some of the top training institutions in their field.
Candidates for advanced degrees in the university's school psychology program, they competed with a total of 2,000 students nationwide for one-year internships that provide intensive professional experience.
"Mississippi State students once again have excelled by being selected for some of the most sought-after openings around the United States," said counselor education/educational psychology professor T. Steuart Watson, coordinator of the school psychology program. It is one of only 45 such programs in the nation accredited by the American Psychological Association.
Participating students and their training sites include Jennifer T. Freeland of Brandon, Stephanie L. Smith of Kansas City, Mo., and Stephanie L. McNeil of Meridian, who will intern at the Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha; Lorrie A. Howell of Carthage, who will intern at The May Institute, a Norwood, Mass.-based nonprofit organization; and Elizabeth McDaniel-Wolfe of Forrest City, Ark., who will complete an internship through the Louisiana School Psychology Internship Program, based in New Orleans.
At the Munroe-Meyer Institute, students will assist with clinical services for children with behavioral, emotional, physical, and cognitive disabilities. The institute provides a number of specialty clinics in areas that range from autism to fetal alcohol syndrome to pediatric pain management.
The May Institute will provide a community-based internship focused on services for those with mental illness, brain injuries and neurological disorders, autism, developmental disabilities, and other special needs. Howell will work in a variety of community behavioral healthcare and educational settings.
The New Orleans internship, a joint venture of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, the state education department, and local school agencies, provides experiences for psychologists who wish to work in schools. McDaniel-Wolfe will concentrate on infant and preschool early intervention.