Senior Kimberly Assad from Gurnee, Ill., earned the Donald G. Paterson Award for the presentation of her psychology research at the Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference (MUPC) on April 23, 2005.
“The purpose of the award is to recognize and encourage high achievement psychology at the undergraduate level. It is given to the outstanding senior among Minnesota colleges who is planning a career in psychology,” Professor of Psychology Richard Martin says.
The annual award is evaluated on presentations given during the conference. Gustavus customarily nominates its most outstanding upper-class psychology student, determined by a number of different factors including research and presentation skills. Assad is the fourth Gustavus student to earn the award; previous students earned the Paterson award in 1995, 1980, and 1977.
“While I have received much recognition for this award, I think it’s important to note that it’s not entirely mine,” says Assad. “While my name might be on the plaque, it belongs to the entire psychology department, whether it was through teaching me in class, helping me with an experiment, or pushing me to think more deeply about a problem or construct.
“I especially owe thanks to Dr. Martin. He has been working with me on research since my sophomore year, and has been the best advisor I could have ever asked for.”
Assad has accepted an offer of admission to Michigan State University for a graduate program in psychology, graduating from Gustavus this spring and beginning graduate work in the fall.
The MUPC has been awarding distinction to psychology majors since 1965, when the conference began. Held at different institutions throughout the state, the conference was at Bemidji State University this year. Gustavus hosted the event in 1986 and 1995.
Leave a Reply