We are pleased to announce the graduate students selected as the 2026-2027 recipients for the Waldron, Chase, Trustee, Thurgood, and Atlantic awards. These individuals have been recognized for their academic excellence and the significant potential of their research within their respective disciplines.

Please join us in congratulating the following students and their departments:

Chase Distinguished Research Assistantship Awardees:

• Bushra Amil (Literacy Education)
• Krutika Rathod (Psychology (Clinical)
• Kalani Samarasekara (Chemistry)
• Sophie Craig (Biomedical Science)
• Leonardo Villacís (Ecology and Environmental Sciences)

He will be giving his talk “Flourishing After Leaving Religion” on Friday, September 26, 3:00pm – 4:00pm in room 115 DPC.

In his own words, “The religious landscape of the United States is changing. Increasingly more people are leaving religion, and many are searching for nonreligious spiritual answers to deep existential questions. For some, this process is liberating and exhilarating; for others, it is marked by grief, anxiety, and fear. This talk harnesses cutting-edge empirical research to explore why people leave religion, how this identity shift changes their life, and the various forms of post-religious flourishing may take. First, I first explore four primary reasons why people are leaving religion. Understanding that no religious deidentification process is the same, I discuss several unique challenges people may face when as they walk away from their faith, including the tendency for features of one’s religious past to linger and the challenges of social relationships. Next, I present recent work on how nonreligious individuals strive to satisfy their desire for existential comfort and security outside of traditional religious structures. Finally, I outline various pathways toward flourishing amid a changing religious identity.”

This event is free and open to the public

The project, titled Expanding the �������� Youth Behavioral Health Workforce: Integrating Evidence-Based Practice into Graduate Training, is a collaborative effort between Dr. Jennifer Blossom (PhD, Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology Lab, University of �������� Department of Psychology), Dr. Elizabeth Armstrong (PhD, MSW, University of �������� School of Social Work), and Liam Shaw (MBA, LCSW, Edmund N. Ervin Pediatric Center at ��������General).

The initiative will train graduate students and clinicians in MATCH (Modular Approach to Therapy for Children), a flexible, scientifically-supported mental health intervention for youth ages 6–17. MATCH is proven effective in treating anxiety, depression, PTSD, and behavioral issues, and its structured, caregiver-inclusive approach has been shown to improve outcomes and reduce provider burnout.

“Using a flexible and scientifically-supported program like MATCH is key to addressing our state’s youth mental health crisis,” said Blossom. “By using MATCH, youth and families can get connected to care that actually works – meaning they will see improvements much faster and as a result spend less time in treatment and more time doing the things they want to do. Consequently, mental health providers will be able to provide care to more youth and families.”

�������� faces significant challenges in youth mental health care. According to the 2023 �������� Integrated Youth Health Survey, 32.7% of adolescents report symptoms of depression, and 21.8% have seriously considered suicide. Despite this urgent need, access to treatment remains limited due to a shortage of trained providers, high turnover, and systemic barriers like lack of insurance and transportation.

This project addresses those challenges head-on by embedding evidence-based training into graduate social work curricula at the University of ��������. Up to 30 students will complete MATCH training and carry caseloads of 4–6 clients each during field placements, ensuring that nearly 100 �������� youth receive specialized treatment during the grant period. The project’s long-term impact is amplified by a sustainable “train-the-trainer” model: a U�������� faculty member will become a certified MATCH trainer, enabling ongoing training for future cohorts and faculty.

“The goal of this project is to give new graduates in the behavioral health field current, cutting-edge tools to directly address ��������’s children’s mental health needs immediately upon being hired into the workforce,” says Shaw, who serves as Manager of Outpatient Pediatric Behavioral Health at ��������General Medical Center. “Studies have shown that clinicians who are trained in evidence-based practices have higher job satisfaction, lower burnout and most importantly, they have overall better treatment outcomes than clinicians who have not been trained in evidence-based practice. To my knowledge, nothing like this has ever been done before in the state of ��������, I am excited and deeply honored to be able to participate in this game-changing initiative.”  

By partnering with the Baker Center for Children and Families, a Harvard Medical School affiliate, and ��������General Health, this initiative builds a foundation for lasting improvements in ��������’s behavioral health landscape – ensuring youth across the state receive the care they need, when and where they need it. The John T. Gorman Foundation is a private foundation based in Portland with a goal of ensuring that all �������� children are resilient and ready to succeed.

“With rising concerns for the mental health of �������� children and youth, it’s critical that we boost our state’s capacity to deliver the effective treatments they need to thrive,” said John T. Gorman Foundation Program Associate Jean Cousins, MSW. “In bringing MATCH to ��������, this partnership provides an important opportunity to connect young ��������rs to proven supports while strengthening the state’s mental health workforce for years to come.”

Contact: Jennifer Blossom – jennifer.blossom@maine.edu

Dorien Baudewyns is a master’s student in Psychological Sciences at the University of ��������, Orono. She was born in Brussels and grew up in Bruges, Belgium, until she moved to Bangor, �������� in 2016 where she pursued undergraduate and graduate studies in psychology. During her studies, she developed an interest in researching rural and indigenous mental health. Her current research project focuses on adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s) among Indigenous Peoples in ��������.  

Dorien’s master’s thesis research will be supported by the Kent and Billie Anger Graduate Student Research Fund. Her research aims to support and help understand multicultural perspectives. The funding will enable Dorien to retrieve and analyze data to determine disparities between non-tribal and tribal populations. With this information she will try to address the gaps in surveys and current literature that address childhood experiences within an Indigenous framework.  

Originally from Perry, ��������, Alex joined Dr. LaBouff’s research lab in her first semester at U�������� and has excelled in research across her four years in both his lab and Dr. Blossom’s.  Alex conducted research investigating the role of Christian Nationalism on racial prejudice for her honors thesis. That work was supported by the College of Arts and Sciences and the Center for Undergraduate Research, won the Social Sciences and Humanities category at the U�������� Student Symposium, and was presented at international-level conferences in Atlanta, GA and Groningen, The Netherlands.  After completing her honors thesis, she developed a second program of research, supported by the McGillicuddy Humanities Center, investigating the experiences of belonging among second generation Iranian immigrants. Her writing has been published in U��������’s literary magazine The Open Field and The Bangor Daily News, and she has been recognized with the Levinson Award for philosophical writing and was a finalist for the John M. Rezendes Annual Ethics Essay Competition in the Honors College.

Beyond thriving in research, Alex has been very active on and outside of campus – She has been a leader in the Sophomore Eagles and All �������� Women.  She served as a co-instructor for multiple Honors courses and is the College of Arts & Sciences Undergraduate Representative for the Student Symposium Committee.  She has even taken on mentoring herself – supervising two 9th graders from Dexter High School in their work for the �������� Science Fair.  She has hundreds of hours of community service from the Special Olympics to knitting for her community’s giving tree and hospital donation box.  Alex is a model Black Bear, and the Psychology Department is very proud of her successes!