Contact: Robbie Ward
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A Mississippi State University graduate student in clinical psychology will be serving next year as an FBI intern to enhance her skills in identifying suspected criminals.
K. Chandler Yonge recently was selected to work at the bureau's National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime near Washington, D.C. Assigned specifically to the Behavioral Analysis Unit, she will assist agents in profiling offenders and solving crimes.
A former Pensacola, Fla., resident now living in Starkville, she is scheduled to begin the semester-long training in January after an extensive background check has been completed during the summer and fall.
Working for the FBI should help Yonge achieve her career goal to work as a forensic psychologist and criminal profiler in a federal agency's behavioral unit. After graduating from MSU, she plans to pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology, with an emphasis in forensic psychology.
"I am extremely interested in the field where criminology and psychology intersect," said Yonge, an Auburn University criminology and psychology graduate and member of Psi Chi national psychology honor society.
This summer, Yonge continues her graduate research with juvenile sex offenders at the Alabama Department of Youth Services' campus in Mt. Meigs. Her master's degree thesis will focus on profiling accuracy, an area she has studied extensively.
Kristine M. Jacquin, Yonge's academic adviser, praised the graduate student's outstanding class and research achievements. Her proven excellence in both areas has helped Yonge earn the opportunity to train with one of the federal government's premier investigative agencies, the associate psychology professor added.
"Very few students are selected from a huge pool of applicants," Jacquin said. "We are especially proud of Chandler for her accomplishment."
The National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime combines investigative and operational research functions. Its research and training assistance is provided free to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies investigating unusual or repetitive violent crimes.
Child abductions or mysterious child disappearances, serial murders, single homicides, serial rapes, extortions, threats, product tampering, arsons and bombings, weapons of mass destruction, public corruptions, and domestic and international terrorism are among cases in which the center's staff typically is involved.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For more information, contact Yonge at kcy2@msstate.edu or 850-255-4156. Dr. Jacquin may be reached at kmj8@psychology.msstate.edu or 662-325-1022.
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PENSACOLA EDITOR: Yonge is the daughter of Howard and Amelie Yonge.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.