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STUDENT PROFILE ► Kathryn Fokas
Senior
Psychology Major
Kathryn Fokas plans to become a mental health therapist because “it’s really important for me to help people,” she says. The Auburn, Mass., native is making the most of internships and independent studies to build a strong foundation for the future.
Kathryn—who has achieved the highest GPA in her class for three consecutive years-- is an intern with the Federal Bureau of Prisons at Federal Medical Center Devens, a federal prison in Devens, Mass. “I work one-on-one with a clinical psychologist, observing a variety of mental health assessment and treatment activities and participating in these activities as appropriate,” she explains.
She is also enrolled in an Independent Study with Associate Professor of Psychology C. Keshini Soysa, Ph.D.. She works with data Dr. Soysa collected in Sri Lanka on posttraumatic stress disorder responses to war and the 2004 tsunami. “I am responsible for collecting literature relevant to this data and collaborating with Dr. Soysa in preparing a manuscript to submit for journal review, with the hope of getting published,” Kathryn notes. “We are presenting a poster on this research at this year's Association for Psychological Science [one of two major national psychology organizations] conference in San Francisco.”
Kathryn also volunteers at a group home for young adults recovering from mental illness, where her responsibilities include planning and conducting recovery groups with the residents.
A student member of the American Psychological Association, Association for Psychological Science, and New England Psychological Association, she is also a member of WSC Psi Chi, the national honor society in psychology.
Kathryn works as a computer lab assistant in the WSC Psychology Department, helping students enter and analyze data in SPSS, a statistics program used in psychological research.
“I’m incredibly busy,” Kathryn admits, “but I’m getting hands-on experience in the kinds of work I want to be engaged in after I graduate. It’s very exciting.”
STUDENT PROFILE ► Jenkins Macedo
Senior
From Refugee Camp to WSC
WSC student Jenkins Macedo has a past that most of his classmates find hard to imagine: He spent 14 years of his childhood as a Liberian refugee in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Ghana. The 21-year-old sociology major discussed his experiences with a captivated audience last November as part of the College’s annual Diversity Lecture Series.
On December 24, 1989, Macedo and his brother and sisters were separated from their mother at the start of the Liberian Civil War. The five siblings traveled together seeking refuge and ultimately ended up in a refugee camp in Ghana. While there, he became active in youth organizations. He served as program coordinator for RESPECT Ghana, a chapter of RESPECT International, to promote education and awareness about refugee issues among non-refugee students.
During his presentation, Macedo described his experiences and emphasized his belief in creating social, economic, and political change through passive non-violent approaches to aggression, force, and suppression.
In December 2006, he was reunited with his mother, who came to the United States in 2004 in the Refugee Resettlement Program. But the family remains scattered. His brother is currently in Morocco, and his sisters are in Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Benin.
Macedo holds an associate degree in agriculture education from the AHEAD/West Africa College for Sustainable Development in Accra, Ghana, and a higher national diploma in biblical studies from the International Bible Institute in Cape Town, South Africa.
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