Student Spotlight
2024 Outstanding Contributions to Developmental Science Award
Congratulations to Emily Kinkade on winning this year’s Mark T. Suffolk Award for Outstanding Contributions to Developmental Science. Emily is deserving of this award because she excels as a developmental scientist and gerontologist. She is enthusiastic about learning, sharing knowledge with others, and improving the lives of older adults and families through her work.
This award is named in honor of doctoral student Mark Suffolk who passed away in 2016 before he could complete his degree and is given annually to the advanced DS student who exemplifies traits such as intellectual curiosity, enthusiasm, compassion, and dedication to the field, similar to and in honor of the award’s namesake Mark.
Emily is in her final year of the developmental science doctoral program. Emily exemplifies qualities such as strong sense of inquiry, leadership, collaboration, motivation to contribute, generosity of spirit, and compassion that make for a successful developmental scientist. Her research focuses on applied developmental concepts that are impactful for the well-being of aging individuals, and she has designed a dissertation that addresses an issue with important implications for the health and well-being of not only older adults, but their caregivers as well. Emily is a natural mentor to students and her peers, and she excels at collaboration and demonstrates empathy for her colleagues in all stages of their academic journeys. Emily’s excellent contributions to and leadership within the HDFS department and field of Developmental Science demonstrate her dedication and passion for the field.
Sarah Paul receives Outstanding Undergraduate Student award
Sarah Paul is the recipient of our award for Outstanding Undergraduate Student in Human Development in Family Science. Sarah will graduate in May with a remarkable 3.9 GPA with a bachelors degree in HDFS and a minor in Women and Gender Studies from NDSU and a bachelors of social work from Minot State University. Sarah is also a facilitator for the We Take a Stand program, which involves helping to lead sessions for new NDSU students about preventing power-based violence. She has also volunteered with the YWCA Emergency Shelter to help children process the trauma they have experienced and with their food pantry.
HDFS Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award
Each year, faculty have the opportunity to nominating graduating seniors for the HDFS Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award. The award recognizes students who go above-and-beyond expectations by demonstrating excellence in the major as well as being a good citizen and positive representative of the HDFS department.
Congratulations to Ann Reinke, recipient of the HDFS Outstanding Undergraduate Award for 2022-2023! Throughout her time at NDSU, Ann demonstrated excellence in academic achievement, departmental and university citizenship, and community service.
Ann graduated in May 2023 with a dual degree in HDFS and Social Work. She is currently living and working in her hometown of Williston, ND. During the summer of 2023, she passed her licensure exam and received her North Dakota license of social work. In August, Ann started working at Wilmac Special Education Unit, which serves all of the schools in Williams and Mackenzie counties. She works as a social worker for the Behavioral Health Unit supporting kids with behavioral struggles. Ann shared that “I miss the community at NDSU and I’m thankful for all of the notes I took in classes, because I’ve already reviewed some of them! I appreciated my time at NDSU and all of the wonderful faculty in the HDFS department.”
Outstanding Undergraduate Student Awards
Each year, faculty have the opportunity to nominating graduating seniors for the HDFS Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award. The award recognizes students who go above-and-beyond expectations by demonstrating excellence in the major as well as being a good citizen and positive representative of the HDFS department.
Congratulations to Mackenzie Weinberger and Christina Gillingham, recipients of the HDFS Outstanding Undergraduate Award for 2021-2022! Both of these individuals demonstrated excellence in academic achievement, departmental and university citizenship, and community service.
Mackenzie graduated in December, 2021 with a concentration in Child and Adolescent Development. She is currently a physical therapy aide at Sanford Health. She volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House and in mulitple inpatient and outpatient rehab settings. Mackenzie plans to attend Marquette University in Milwaukee for occupational therapy.
Christina graduated in May, 2022 with a concentration in Social Work. Dr. Melissa O'Connor says that Christina is an "outstanding representative of the HDFS program. She is active on campus in the Native American Student Association where she serves as vice president." Christina is currently interning as a child welfare intern at Buffalo Bridges Human Service in Jamestown. O'Connor added that Christina is an "intelligent, critical thinker and that she is committed to improving the lives of others and advocating for social justice."
Honorable Mention
These students were also nominated
- Anna Charboneau
- Rita Nimpaye
- Rachel Bolar
Carlson Presents Poster at AERA
Shawn Carlson, Developmental Science student and Dr. Joel Hektner presented a paper titled “Using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System in a Statewide Evaluation of 21st CCLC Afterschool Programs” at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in San Diego. Vimbayi Chinopfukutwa, recent DS alum, was also a co-author.
Student Research Day and the Red River Psychology Conference
Ballard Presents Poster
Paige Ballard, HDFS senior with a concentration in elementary education, presented her poster on Teachers and LGBQ Parents in the Classroom: Implications for an Inclusive Environment.
More than 130 students from disciplines across campus came together in the Memorial Union recently to present their research and creative work at Student Research Day. Student Research Day is a collaborative event that combines the annual programs of NDSU EXPLORE, the Graduate Student Council, and Gamma Sigma Delta.
The event included presentations and poster sessions, learning about the incredible work our students are doing, and to celebrate the student participants and award winners at the afternoon reception.
Recruitment at Conference
Developmental Science graduate students recently attended the Red River Psychology conference to provide information for the program.
Melisa Hajdar, Emily Kinkade and Jordan Bentz
Social Work Students
