SJC Student Receives Full Scholarship to Tufts University

March 06, 2012

PATCHOGUE, NY MARCH 7, 2012 St. Josephs College is pleased to announce that Mary Buckingham, a senior and psychology major on the Long Island Campus, has been offered a full-tuition scholarship to the doctoral program in Child Development at Tufts University in Medford, MA.

Starting this fall, Ms. Buckingham will be working with Richard Lerner, Ph.D., director of the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University. Dr. Lerner is a prominent figure in the field of applied developmental psychology known for his research and theories, as well as his 500 scholarly publications. The focus of her research at Tufts University will be positive youth development and studying the positive strengths of youth across adolescence.

"I would not be where I am today without the generous support of everyone at St. Josephs, Ms. Buckingham said. "I am incredibly appreciative of Dr. Treboux's [Dominique Treboux, Ph.D., associate professor of Psychology on the Long Island Campus] immense expertise, support and guidance. In my opinion, this has all been part of my overall success and love of psychological research. I cannot put into words how grateful I am for everyones support.

In addition to her research projects at St. Josephs College, Ms. Buckingham held an internship position this past summer at the Judge Baker Childrens Center, Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. As an intern, she was part of a study that examined participants in their midlife and explored the ways that aspects of relationships, mental health, and experiences with adversity influence physical health in midlife. Under the supervision of Judith Crowell, M.D., principal investigator, and Cynthia Davis, Ph.D., project director, Ms. Buckingham was involved with participant recruitment and screening, transcription of interviews, data entry and analysis, and phone interviewing.

Ms. Buckingham recently presented her own thesis, "Attachment or Socialization: Influences on Empathy and Prosocial Behaviors, at the Eastern Psychological Conference in Pittsburgh, PA.  Her thesis examines the role of parents in the development of community involvement, and more specifically, the relative contributions of attachment and parental socialization practices on empathy and prosocial behaviors.

"All of us at St. Josephs have enjoyed working with Mary and watching her grow as an individual, said Dr. Treboux. "We aim to cultivate the spirit of St. Josephs in all of our students and Mary has learned that research ultimately helps people. Dr. Lerner is devoted to improving the lives of adolescents and I am certain that with his guidance, Mary will do very well in her future endeavors.