Andrew Choi, doctoral student at the Gevirtz School at UC Santa Barbara, has received both the Division 17 (Society of Counseling Psychology) Section on Ethnic and Racial Diversity (SERD) Outstanding Student Award and the Asian American Psychological Association (AAPA) Division of Students (DoS) Clinical Practice Award.
The SERD Outstanding Student Award honors the scholarly contributions of a student in Counseling Psychology based on degree-related work (e.g., dissertations) or other projects with significant implications of findings for research in counseling psychology concerning racially and/or ethnically diverse groups. The Section on Ethnic and Racial Diversity is dedicated to actively encouraging, promoting, and facilitating participation by Division members, student affiliates, and other professionals in the field of counseling psychology, particularly as the involvement pertains to issues of ethnic and racial diversity. SERD is also committed to representing the interests of ethnically and racially diverse individuals within APA and to external constituencies.
The AAPA DoS Clinical Practice Award is for the student who demonstrates notable experience and commitment in clinical work with clients from marginalized and underserved minority backgrounds/communities (e.g., Asian American, LGBTQIA, etc.). The Asian American Psychological Association aims to advance the mental health and well-being of Asian American communities through research, professional practice, education, and policy.
Choi is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology with an emphasis in Quantitative Methods in Social Sciences. He is a UC Regents Special Fellow, a Pacific Athletic Conference (PAC-12) Postgraduate Scholar, a recipient of the Certificate in College and University Teaching, and recently earned an MA in Applied Quantitative Methods under the tutelage of Dr. Karen Nylund-Gibson. Before entering UCSB, he graduated magna cum laude from the University of Utah with honors in Psychology and Sociology. His professional interests involve applying advanced latent variable models to understand culture-bound constructs, within-group variation, and mental and behavioral health disparities among diverse populations, including ethnic, racial, and sexual minorities. His research has been recognized by the Asian American Psychological Association and the APA Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs and published in outlets such as the Journal of Counseling Psychology and Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity. He will complete an APA-accredited predoctoral internship at the University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa Counseling and Student Development Center in the 2018-19 year. Earlier this summer he was elected to be a 2018 APA Minority Fellowship Program Psychology Summer Institute Fellow and was selected for the 2018 Distinguished Student Research Award from the Society for the Psychological Studies of Culture, Ethnicity and Race (APA Division 45).