I am pursuing a graduate degree because I aspire to be a tenured professor at a research-oriented university. I specifically selected Florida State University and its clinical psychology program because it is one of the best locations in the world to study suicide and related conditions, with several leading researchers in the area, including my doctoral advisor, Dr. Thomas Joiner. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, with more than 800,000 individuals dying by suicide each year. My program of research focuses broadly on understanding transdiagnostic processes that facilitate the development of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. I am especially interested in the phenomenology of acute suicidal crises and short-term risk factors that lead an individual with suicidal thoughts to engage in suicidal actions. Overall, I hope that the integrative investigation of transdiagnostic risk domains for suicide will introduce numerous potential avenues for clinical intervention and ultimately lead to reductions in suicide rates.

In addition to continuing this line of research in a faculty position, I also hope to have the opportunity to teach advanced statistics courses to graduate students. I am passionate about applied quantitative analysis and hope to continue integrating advanced analytic techniques into both my research and the classroom setting. I also look forward to mentoring students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Overall, I am grateful to have been awarded the PEO Scholar Award, as it has alleviated my concerns about the costs of applying to and completing a predoctoral psychology clinical internship--a requirement for earning a doctorate in clinical psychology. I urge all current graduate students to proactively seek out opportunities, whether for funding or research involvement, as the only way to receive these awards is to apply to as many as possible.