
David Zelaya PSYC'12 has been selected as the 2022 Young Alumnus of the Year. This award honors one young alumnus who has given most generously of their time, talent, and philanthropy to their alma mater and community.
After graduating from Loyola with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Psychology, David pursued his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at Georgia State University.
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Photo by Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune
Congratulations to our Loyola Psychological Sciences alum Erika Rajo, '09 for being apart of the Gambit's 40 Under 40 class of 2022 list. She is currently the director of the University Medical Center Trauma Recovery Clinic and co-director of the Spirit of Charity Trauma Center Psychiatry Research Unit in New Orleans.
Dr. Silverstein and recent psychology graduate Angélica Pagán attended the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico in June 2022. Angélica presented three posters on COVID-19 safety guideline adherence, telemental health outcomes by race/ethnicity, and the impact of financial strain on mental health during the pandemic using her senior thesis data. Dr.

Congratulations to Gabriela Spizale, for winning a 2022 Student Achievement Award in Research from Division 53 of APA (Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology). This award was based on work she recently presented at the Anxiety and Depression Association of America conference held in Denver (“The Relation Among Parental Psychological Control, Intellectual Functioning, and Child Anxiety in an Ethnically Diverse Sample of Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder”).

Congratulations to Dr. Madison Silverstein for being awarded the Faculty Excellence in Research Award!

Gabriela Cornejo was accepted to the Irvine Summer Internship in Neuroscience Program, a neuroscience internship program at the University of California, Irvine. The program provides a $600 weekly stipend, paid housing and meal package, and travel to and from California. Through the program, Gabriela will conduct interdisciplinary neuroscience research on the neurobiological mechanisms of learning and memory and present her research at the Spring CNLM Annual Conference.

Raquel Zumaeta received the Access Path (AP) to Psychology and Law Award for her research project titled, " Community Based De-escalation and Crisis Intervention." The award includes a $3,600 stipend across two semesters, $100 to cover research expenses, and a reimbursement to attend the 2022 AP-LS conference. Raquel's project aims to examine what the Loyola community knows about mental health crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques.

Dr. Madison Silverstein has a new publication in Psychometric properties of the assessment of COVID-19 attitudes and behaviors, published in Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policies (Silverstein, Mekawi, Alonzi, & La Torre).

Congratulations to Dr. Madison Silverstein for receiving the Marquette Fellowship for the summer of 2021. The Marquette Fellowship is awarded as an opportunity for summer full-time research and/or creative work.

Madeline Janney (PSYC '16) was named 2020 Young Alumna of the Year for her service to the university and New Orleans community. After graduating from Loyola University, Madeline merited a master's degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Southeastern Louisiana University. Currently, she is a speech-pathologist working with adults recovering from stroke or traumatic brain injury and children with with developmental disabilities. Madeline has been serving on the Young Alumni Board for three years and currently holds the position as President of the Board.