Alumni Spotlight

Carolyn Milkuka

Carolyn Milkuka

 "Stetson University's psychology department outstandingly prepared me for graduate level work. I not only feel academically prepared due to the rigor of Stetson's coursework and high expectations of professors, I also have foundational knowledge that has allowed me to dive deeper and make connections among counseling topics. Senior Project allowed me to take ownership of a project and gave me the knowledge to be a savvy consumer of research, which is essential in my graduate program."

Carrie Mikulka '17 Stetson Psychology, '21  MEd. Vanderbilt Peabody College, currently a contract mental health counselor in Nasville Tenn.

Mary Page Legett

Mary Page Legett (James) '17

"Stetson University was an integral part of my development as a student and as a person. Through the opportunities I was afforded – conducting multiple research projects, serving as the Women's Club Soccer President, participating as a research apprentice and becoming a teaching apprentice – I was able to discover what I am truly passionate about. In December 2018, I graduated with an MA in Psychology and became a Certified Sport Psychology Consultant. Combining my two passions – psychology and sports led me to pursue a youth soccer coach job and a fitness manager position at The MAX Challenge, which emphasizes sport psychology, helping members reach their fitness goals.” Mary's journey continues with her pursuit of a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology at Florida Atlantic University.

Trinity Johnson

Trinity Johnson '17

"While at Stetson University I was privileged to serve as Black Student Association president, adopted two minors in Africana Studies and Public Health, became a teaching assistant, conducted research, presented at Southeastern Psychological Association Meeting, and formed lasting connections with faculty, staff, students, alumni and the DeLand community. The faculty of the Psychology Department continuously inspired me to push past my comfort zone and challenge myself in my academics. If it were not for my time in this department, I would not have the essential skills I needed to complete my Master of Public Health degree or eventually get into my doctoral program. I am prepared for my next steps in the journey as I pursue a PhD in Integrative Anthropological Sciences specializing in Sociocultural and Medical Anthropology.” Trinity is also working as the Director of Annual Giving at Teach for America.

Samantha Warta

Samantha Warta '14

After her graduation from Stetson, Sam attended graduate school at the University of Central Florida’s Modeling and Simulation program. Throughout graduate school, she was a graduate research assistant in the Cognitive Sciences Lab at the University of Central Florida's Institute for Simulation and Training. She published papers in the areas of human-robot interaction, artificial social-cognitive architectures, decision-making under uncertainty, and more! For the past several years, Sam has been employed by Lockheed Martin, first as a Human Factors Design Engineer and currently as a Data Scientist in their Missiles and Fire Control, Logistics and Sustainment division. And, she has not stopped! This past year she has had some “pretty cool experiences” at a few data science and cybersecurity conferences. She has been and continues to be asked to serve as a guest speaker at a number of national conferences. About her journey, which she knows has taken her far from her psychology roots, “I feel like I have come a long way from my time at Stetson and definitely feel like that has been the place that most prepared me for my interesting career path.”

Shannon (Martin) Caramiello

Shannon (Martin) Caramiello, PhD '12

Shannon (Martin) Caramiello earned her Psy.D. from the Florida School of Professional Psychology in Tampa, FL. Shannon (Shay) completed a clinical psychology internship at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital, also in Tampa, FL. She completed one year of postdoctoral training in neuropsychology at Clinical Psychology Associates of North Central Florida in Gainesville, FL and a second year of postdoctoral training at Bay Area Neuropsychology in Tampa, FL. During her graduate and internship training, Shay specialized in working with LGBTQ clients. She has provided individual and group therapy to transgender teens, adults, and veterans. She completed a 10-month Specialty Care Access Network-Extension for Community Health Outcomes (SCAN-ECHO) training on serving transgender veterans. She has presented at multiple local, state, and national conferences, including the American Psychological Association (APA) Conventions in Hawaii, Washington, D.C., and Toronto, CA, the Florida Psychological Association, and the Florida School of Professional Psychology’s Annual Diversity Conference. She is currently serving as the Psychology Department Chair at Keiser University - New Port Richey. Regarding her time here, she states, “Stetson University was the foundation of my academic career. I will be forever grateful for mentorship and academic rigor offered there.”

Amanda Price

Amanda Price, PhD '10

Amanda began her research career conducting needs-assessment interviews with the homeless in Volusia County as part of Stetson's Community-Based Research program. For her senior research project she worked with Dr. Camille King to assess differences in behavior and brain activation associated with social memory formation in rats. She was also a Russian Language minor, did a semester abroad at Oxford, and graduated magna cum laude. Upon graduation she pursued her interest in neuroscience as a research associate at SUNY Stony Brook, working on projects that examined the relationship between early life adversity and the epigenome in resiliency to stress. She then enrolled in a doctoral program in Human Genetics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine where she examined the relationship between epigenomic remodeling during human neurodevelopment and genetic risk for schizophrenia. Amanda received her PhD in 2018 and completed her postdoctoral research fellow at the Lieber Institute for Brain Development in Baltimore, MD. She is now the Director of the Cognitive Development, Behavioral Neuroscience, and Psychobiology Program within the Child Development and Behavior Branch of the National Institute of Health.

Dave Glerum

Dave Glerum

"The transformative experiences I had in the psychology program at Stetson helped spark my interest in and enabled me to develop a passion for the psychological sciences. As a student, I was exposed to the foundational traditions of psychology and grew to value scientific inquiry and evidence-based decision-making firsthand, by becoming involved in research under the direction of the inspiring, supportive Stetson faculty. I often think back to the excellent, developmental experiences I had as a student in the program and am so thankful for how they fostered within me a lifelong love of learning and a passion for research." Dave currently works as a Research Psychologiist with the United States Department of the Army. 

Jessica Davis

Jessica Davis, MS '09

Jessica received a master's degree in Genetic Counseling from the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in 2013. She is a certified genetic counselor and clinical instructor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics at the University of Texas Medical School. Jessica coordinates the genetic consulting service at the children's hospital there and provides counseling regarding familial risks, genetic testing, and genetic information to physicians, patients, and families.