Cerritos College Student Awarded Scholarship to APA Conference
Diversity Project Allows Students Face-Time with Practicing Psychologists
For Immediate Release: August 30, 2005
NORWALK, CA – August 30, 2005 – Cerritos College psychology student Lucy Sanchez, of Huntington Park, recently received a full-ride scholarship to attend the American Psychological Association's 113th Annual Convention in Washington D.C. As a scholarship recipient, Sanchez
participated in the 2005 Diversity Project 2000 and Beyond (DP2kB) Summer Institute held August 16-19. DP2kB is a mentoring and leadership program for future psychologists and a cooperative effort between the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Center for Mental Health Services and the APA Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs.
While attending the student portion of the convention, Sanchez had a unique opportunity to learn leadership development skills, meet prominent psychologists of from minority and underrepresented groups, and be exposed to the full spectrum of psychology while networking with her community college peers. Sanchez and other students attended various programs, sessions, and activities at the APA convention on Thursday, August 18 and Friday, August 19.
“I want to continue my studies and become a psychologist,” said Sanchez. “Going to D.C. was a great experience and gave me an opportunity to meet practicing psychologists that I hope to be like one day.”
Sanchez, a second-year student at Cerritos College, received the DP2kB scholarship through her involvement as a member of Cerritos College’s chapter of Psi Beta, the National Honor Society in Psychology for Community Colleges. Assistant Professor of psychology Dr. Kimberly Duff advises the club.
"I am extremely proud of Lucy,” Duff said, “and I know that she’ll be able to reach her goal of becoming a psychologist. She is a very determined young woman.”
Sanchez said she hopes to graduate from Cerritos College in May 2006 and transfer to either California State University – Long Beach or the University of California at Irvine to study clinical psychology.
Cerritos College celebrates the 2005-06 school year as its 50th anniversary in serving as a comprehensive community college for southeastern Los Angeles County. Communities within the college’s district include Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood, La Mirada and Norwalk. Cerritos College offers degrees and certificates in more than 180 areas of study in nine divisions. Annually, more than 1,200 students successfully complete their course of studies, and enrollment currently surpasses 22,000 students. Visit Cerritos College online at
www.cerritos.edu, and view a celebratory site honoring the college’s 50 years of tradition, honor and values at
www.cerritos.edu/50.
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