| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Applicant Name | Julia Duran |
| Applicant Email | Email hidden; Javascript is required. |
| Training Level | Graduate student |
| City of Residence | Pocatello, ID |
| Distance to Chicago, IL | > 2 hour flight |
| Age | 27 |
| Gender identity and pronouns | Female, she/her |
| Have you ever attended an AACN annual meeting? | No |
| The following list includes characteristics of historically underrepresented groups. Please select all characteristics that represent you and/or describe other diverse facets of your identity in the “Other” option. |
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| Funding Opportunitites | |
| I would like to be considered for the following funding opportunities. |
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| If selected for both Student Leader/Assistant and SPS Conference Mentor, I would prefer: | SPS Conference Mentor |
| Application for Student Assistant | |
| By applying to be a student assistant, you agree to the following responsibilities/commitments: |  I carefully reviewed the above responsibilities/commitments and agree with all of them. |
| Would you like to be considered for complimentary lodging? | Yes, please. |
| In-Person Volunteer Slots |
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| Application for Conference Leader | |
| Application for Scholarship | Travel scholarship awardees are provided with free conference registration and reimbursement of up to $550 of travel expenses to support conference attendance, including meals, hotel stay, and airfare. |
| Please provide a paragraph describing an example of your commitment to service. | While an undergraduate I volunteered in a group, mentoring individuals with special needs and this became the first of many opportune moments in which I pursued my vision of helping others. Following my graduation, I worked as a case manager at a community mental health center working with children and adolescents who struggled to maintain behavior in social settings due to severe mental illness. Even with the long hours, I found this job to be fulfilling, as it allowed me to advocate for individuals who like me came from low-income families. This work further grew my passion for helping those with mental illness as my services provided resources and strategies to help clients function at home, school, and in the community to keep them out of a more restrictive setting. While pursuing graduate studies I have served as the president of two separate psychology graduate student associations. Through this service I worked to spread awareness of mental health resources as well as to offer specialized professional development opportunities to current students and providers in the community. Now in the clinical psychology PhD program at Idaho State University, I am striving to become a neuropsychologist. Some of my current responsibilities include providing treatment, conducting research, and performing diagnostic evaluations. Delivering intervention services and assessments allow me to build connections with others and help them to understand the nature of their concerns. Through this process I can share resources and strategies in order to help others improve their daily functioning. Furthermore, my involvement in research allows me to increase knowledge and understanding regarding specific disorders on a larger scale. During my time at Idaho State University, I have gained valuable experiences serving as the Idaho Psychological Association student representative which has allowed me to learn about state advocacy and the roles psychologists play. My specific role is to coordinate with others to program the student poster presentation at the annual convention and promote student involvement in the organization. Furthermore, as a volunteer community project, I co-founded and lead a monthly social support group for neurodivergent individuals in the Eastern Idaho area with the goal of allowing a safe space for people to build connections with others. I have applied for and received grant funding for this group as well as worked with teams to plan activities and to promote the group via media sources. Finally, I was accepted into the Area Health Education Center scholars’ program which has allowed me to gain multidisciplinary learning experiences by collaborating with providers from different specialties. In addition to interdisciplinary work, I fulfilled clinical community experience that is in rural and underserved communities and have received specific didactic training addressing these topics. My opportunities thus far have prepared me for a focus working with rural-underserved areas as well as low-income families. Helping others has always been a focus of my life, and I hope to make an even greater impact as a clinical neuropsychologist serving those from both similar and different backgrounds to myself. |
| Please provide a paragraph describing an example of your ability to persevere or achieve despite barriers. | Growing up in a family whose income was below the federal poverty level, I learned at a young age the value of hard work and where it could lead me. As a result, I supported myself financially by working two jobs throughout college and the years following. I became a first-generation college graduate after earning my bachelor’s degree in three years' time. I went on to complete my master's degree at Fort Hays State University and now work toward my PhD in clinical psychology at Idaho State University. |
| Please provide a paragraph discussing the potential benefits of your conference attendance to you and the professional community. | I hope to learn more about the roles of neuropsychology as advocates, researchers, and clinicians. Specific events spark my interest and I hope to attend workshops discussing strategies for collaborative feedback sessions, social determinants of health, the guidelines/future direction of neuropsychology, and more. I plan to submit a poster abstract in order to present my research covering EEG output over specific brain regions in relation to Autism Spectrum Disorder. Lastly, I can gain additional skills to further develop my leadership abilities and build connections with likeminded students and professionals. |
| Application for Conference Mentor Award | |
| In 500 words or fewer, please describe (1) your prior mentorship experience and what you feel you can offer mentees from historically underrepresented backgrounds at the AACN annual meeting, and (2) how this mentorship experience will contribute to your professional goals. You also may describe the ways in which attending the AACN Annual Meeting would represent a financial hardship for you without this award. | Experiencing a range of different mentorship styles myself has allowed me to shape my own way of doing things. Through my previous employment positions and schooling, I have had the opportunity to meet several undergraduate students who were interested in applying to graduate school. In-person communication as well as via email allowed me to answer any questions they had as well as to pass down resources touching on CVs, personal statements, and more. Additionally, I have taken a graduate-level course on supervision and consultation. This mentorship experience will allow me to meet my own goal of applying what I learned, such as organizing the experience, setting clear expectations, building a relational bond, and more. Now in my fourth year of graduate school, I believe my leadership and volunteer experiences have provided learning opportunities that I can share with potential graduate students. I would offer face-to-face meeting times to answer any questions and share my own experiences, as well as email communication for follow-up information. With the goal of providing guidance and support to undergraduate students, I hope to build their confidence and self-efficacy by working together to discuss a plan for meeting goals. Without this award attending the AACN Annual Meeting would represent a financial hardship. One obstacle that has resulted from being in a more rural area is a lack of neuropsychologists to learn from. Thus, this semester, I am traveling 2.5 hours to and from a larger city in order to get experience working under a neuropsychologist. The placement requires that I work two days a week so I also pay one night a week for a place to stay while in the larger city. I have had to network and think outside the box in order to obtain experience working with neuropsychologists, and I believe these are also valuable tips that I can share with other students who may be in the same position. |
| Tiebreaker | 2 |
