NVC Psychology Students Present at International APS Meeting
June 1, 2023
Psychology Students Present at the International Meeting of the Association for Psychological Science in Washington, D.C.
by Dr. Don Lucas
With 35,000 psychological scientists, academics, clinicians, researchers, educators, administrators, and students representing 80 countries, the Association for Psychological Science (APS) is the leading international organization advancing scientific psychology.
APS meets every year in late spring, bringing together 4000+ scientists to share, present, and discuss the latest research in the psychological field.
This year’s meeting was held in Washington, D.C. from May 25th through May 28th and was attended by Northwest Vista College (NVC) Professor of Psychology, Dr. Don Lucas, and six NVC Psychology students: Michael DeLeon, Joseph Gorena, Aurora Riojas, Mark Sanchez, JoAnna Secor, and Ginger Smith.
In addition to attending—four students presented their original scientific research at APS. o be accepted for presentation at APS, research must go through a rigorous evaluation and review process.
Ginger Smith—a spring 2023 psychology graduate of NVC, and Sember Lucas—a spring 2023 psychology graduate of Texas Tech University (and Dr. Lucas’ daughter), presented two studies, one titled: Incidence, Consequences, and Mediators of Childhood Sexual Abuse in Community College, and the other titled: A Computer Text Analysis Program (Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count) Can Reveal Childhood Sexual Abuse.
JoAnna Secor and Michael DeLeon—sophomore-level psychology students at NVC, presented a study titled, San Antonians’ Behavioral and Attitudinal Happiness Relative to Social Economic Status.
Current psychological research being conducted at NVC—and likely to be presented at the 2024 annual meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association, involves implicit biases effects on learning relative to race, ethnicity, and gender.
NVC psychology students have been attending and presenting at professional research conferences since 2005.
Northwest Vista College (NVC), part of the Alamo Colleges District, is designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution. The college opened in 1995 with 12 students and has grown to one of the largest institutions of higher education in San Antonio and the region with current enrollment exceeding 17,000 students. Located in Westover Hills, NVC’s expanding agreements with business and higher education partnerships provide a wealth of opportunities for students and the community.
NVC was the only community college in San Antonio and one of eight in Texas that was invited in 2021 to compete for the 2023 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the nation’s highest recognition in community college education. The Aspen Prize recognizes excellence in teaching and learning, certificate and degree completion, transfer and bachelor’s attainment, workforce success as well as equity for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds.