Health and Human Services News

A new effort to ensure student success

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In the last decade, some universities created online programs that offered course curricula but no student life or student affairs opportunities.

Online program students might benefit from lower fees but miss out on important aspects of college living and learning.

An interdisciplinary team of McQueary College of Health and Human Services (MCHHS) faculty members and student leaders saw the need to educate the whole learner, understood the fee/funding concern and took up the challenge.

What’s the MSSIP grant?

Thanks to a MCHHS Student Success Innovation Projects (MSSIP) grant worth about $8,000, team members launched a full-year pilot project in 2023. Called “More Than the Sum of Their Credits,” the project focused on integrating high-impact learning and social connection opportunities into two of Missouri State’s online academic programs – social work and psychology.

This project originated from the belief that the quality of education for students in online programs at Missouri State is enhanced by the traditional melding of academic affairs and student affairs.

MSSIP offers funds to implement real impact projects that improve undergraduate student success. Multi-year funding is available for up to four years and a maximum of $100,000.

“It allows teams to launch projects fast. We were able to pivot quickly from ‘someday we should’ to ‘let’s get started,’” said project leader Dr. Tim Daugherty. He is a psychology professor in the School of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences at Missouri State.

The other faculty members involved include:

  • Natalie Curry, clinical associate professor and coordinator of the Bachelor of Social Work program in the School of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences
  • Dr. Paul Deal, associate professor in the School of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences
  • Dr. Leslie Echols, associate professor in the School of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences
  • Dr. Dana Paliliunas, former faculty member
  • Dr. Tanya Whipple, senior instructor in the School of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences
  • Dr. David Zimmerman, associate professor and undergraduate coordinator of the forensic child psychology certificate program in the School of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences

More about the project

Through the university’s Learning Management System, the team experimented with delivering weekly club meetings, monthly events and plenty of accessible content. The content included links to career-related sites, news articles, videos to facilitate students’ understanding of their major curriculum and interviews with faculty members via Zimmerman’s “ZimTube.”

A year after the project began, Daugherty notes the team has been able to leverage lessons learned to continue offering the most effective project elements without additional funding.

Successful outcomes

“The team succeeded in reimagining high-impact practices to make them accessible and meaningful for online-program students,” Daugherty said.

The data the team collected and reflected on from this project resulted in a peer-reviewed scholarly paper that will soon be published in the Journal of College Orientation, Transition and Retention. This paper features a student co-author who worked closely with the team.

In addition, two online-program students seized the opportunity to collaborate with faculty members on clinical research during the pilot period. That opportunity was a first for the online program, and the successful students co-authored a paper presented at the APS (Association for Psychological Science) Global Psychological Science Summit in October.

“Working together, we can do great things,” Curry said. “We’re grateful that MSSIP funds helped launch these efforts.”

The team is available to consult with and support the efforts of teams in other programs wanting to take the next step.

Find out more about the MSSIP grant

Receiving a life-changing gift

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For two students from McQueary College of Health and Human Services (MCHHS), their financial burdens are now a little lighter thanks to the 2024 MarooNation Springfield student scholarships.

Riley Laub and Carlos Abrams received their scholarships at the MarooNation Ball Springfield on Oct. 8 at the Old Glass Place

Laub is in the first year of the physician assistant studies (PA) graduate program and Abrams is a junior majoring in psychology and minoring in human resource management at Missouri State University.

Deserving recipients

From Republic, Missouri, Laub completed her undergraduate degree at University of Missouri. She returned to Springfield to pursue the PA program at Missouri State.

Riley Laub
Riley Laub

“I chose the PA program here because Springfield is home. Once I toured the program and met the faculty, I realized what a supportive environment I would be in,” Laub said.

She added that her favorite part about Missouri State is the close relationships she has formed.

While she is keeping an open mind, Laub’s dream job is to work in a Level 1 trauma center.

“I love the fast pace and the unpredictability that environment brings. Just thinking about it excites me,” she said.

Born in Springfield, Abrams moved to Kansas City around the age of 5. He returned to Springfield during his freshman year of high school.

When he toured Missouri State, he felt drawn to the campus.

“When I took a tour here, something about Missouri State felt different than any other campus I’d toured before. I looked around and I realized I could call it home,” Abrams said.

His favorite thing about Missouri State is the opportunities for involvement. He is a research lab assistant for one of the university’s retention teams.

Carlos Abrams
Carlos Abrams

“We’re tasked with improving retention, especially among freshmen. One of the main factors we keep coming across is that involvement is key to everything,” Abrams said. “When people feel like a place is home and they’re emotionally attached to something, they’re a lot more likely to care about it and I think that’s true with the students at Missouri State.”

He is also a Theta Chi Fraternity member and former executive, Order of Omega Honor Society president, Society for Human Resource Management president, Student Government Association Chief Wyrick commissioner and Student Mobilization member.

As part of the talent and strategic operations team at Forvis Mazars in Springfield, Abrams is gaining valuable work experience.

“After graduation, I want to be an industrial and organizational psychologist and what I’m doing now is extremely relevant,” he said.

Giving changes students’ lives

The generosity of alumni, friends and community members opens doors and creates opportunities for Missouri State students like Laub and Abrams to chase their goals and ambitions.

For the first time ever, more than $4 million dollars in privately funded MSU Foundation scholarships have been awarded to students this academic year.

“It can sometimes be a thankless job to donate funds to students you may never get to see or meet. But behind the scenes in our lives as people who receive these donations and scholarships, it helps a lot,” Abrams said. It takes a lot of stress off to not have the financial burden constantly. So, I just want to say thank you.”

While she completes PA school, Laub is living with her dad to save money.

“I won’t be able to work for a while and thinking about the debt I already have from undergrad, it’s very stressful,” she said. “But I’ve gotten this awesome scholarship, which relieves a lot of stress. It allows me to focus on my bigger priorities right now.”

To find out more about how you can empower students’ dreams and shape their futures, visit the MSU Foundation website.

Donate to the MSU Foundation

Former student continues to find success

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Missouri State University alumna Jessica Rhodes was only 15 years old when she began her college career.

Now 20 years old, she will graduate with a master’s degree from Evangel University in spring 2024.

How her college journey started

Jessica Rhodes

Rhodes was born to parents Ron and Connie Rhodes in San Dimas, California, in 2003. She moved with her family to Ozark, Missouri, in 2009.

Her mother, Connie, homeschooled her through Classical Conversations in Nixa, Missouri. Rhodes believes her experience with Classical’s homeschool education helped set the tone for how she approaches education. It gives students the tools of how to learn and how to differentiate what is true with a foundation rooted in Christ. This prepared Rhodes for a college education at a much earlier age.

Her college journey began when she chose to take an English course through Ozarks Technical Community College’s (OTC) Richwood Valley campus when she was 15 years old. She excelled in the course and asked the dean’s office if she could enroll in more courses.

She wound up with 70 credits worth of dual enrollment courses by the time she graduated from OTC with her associate degree in 2021 at the age of 17.

“I never thought I was going to get anything more than an associate degree,” Rhodes said. “But after receiving it, I realized I could continue my studies without going into debt and do it before I turned 20-years-old. Everything just lined up.”

Joining Missouri State

Thanks to Missouri State’s transfer program with OTC, Rhodes came here in fall 2021 to complete her bachelor’s degree. She majored in psychology in with an emphasis in industrial and organizational psychology and minored in marketing.

MSU had the most opportunities through online classes, which ultimately swayed her toward attending.

“I was interested in taking classes online because of my learning style and I like to pace myself,” Rhodes said. “Additionally, since my goal was to graduate debt free and with a resume full of valuable experience, online courses made it so that I had the ability to simultaneously excel in multiple areas of life.”

Her biggest supporter at MSU was her former advisor, Dr. Jeffrey Foster. He is also an assistant professor in the industrial and organizational psychology program.

“He really encouraged me to think beyond a bachelor’s degree, made excellent recommendations for courses to enhance my expertise and overall learning experience as well as welcomed me onto his research team,” Rhodes said.

He also inspired her to apply for the organizational leadership master’s program at Evangel University. She got accepted within 12 hours of applying at the age of 18-years-old.

After graduating with her bachelor’s degree in fall 2022 at age 19, Rhodes moved on to pursue her master’s degree.

Staying strong through the struggles

Rhodes expressed there were many challenges that came with being a college student so young. A main one was the negative perception of her age.

Classmates “would completely pull away” when they found out her age because she was not at the spot everyone thought she should be at.

She notes society puts a lot of pressure on where you should be at a certain age. Despite this, she encourages young people to “pave their own way.”

“It’s important not to stay stagnant. It’s important to experience hardships and difficulties,” Rhodes said.

Words of inspiration

While she does not believe every child has to go to college to be successful in what they are passionate about, she does believe they should “continue to apply their minds” and be a “lifetime learner.”

She hopes to encourage kids to not “feel the pressure just because everyone else is going one specific direction in life.” And if they do join the college world, they “have the authority to say what is right.”

“You can gain respect at a young age by holding on to your truth,” Rhodes said.

The end goal

While attending college at a young age and earning degrees were not what Rhodes had planned for herself, she is grateful for the experience.

“I wouldn’t be the same person I am today without the college experience, without the education, because there’s a sense of knowledge and understanding that allows me to not go into something blindly,” she said.

She has dreams to go into motivational speaking and inspire people through writing books. In fact, she is currently writing a book about her educational journey. She also plans to write future stories about how she got through trials with faith.

Her end goal is to have a family and be a present mother for her future children.

“Family is going to be a priority over everything else,” Rhodes said.

Explore psychology at MSU

From survivor to advocate

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From her time as a Missouri State University student to her current role as the executive director for the Nebraska Tribes Addressing Violence Coalition (NETAV), Kirby Williams has raised awareness and promoted the prevention of intimate partner violence, particularly within Native communities. 

Williams graduated from MSU with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2015 and a master’s degree in clinical psychology in 2017. 

Lived-experience guiding action

Williams’ journey began during her time at MSU. During her senior year, she found herself in an abusive relationship, becoming a survivor of intimate partner violence and sexual assault. This traumatic experience ignited a passion within her to ensure others did not have to endure similar struggles in silence. 

“It took me about six months to really step forward and report what had happened,” Williams said. “I had a lot of difficulties trying to navigate that process and access healing, especially as a Native person.” 

Supporting Native communities 

From Grove, Oklahoma, and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Williams understands the challenges faced when seeking support for intimate partner violence. Drawing from her own experiences and background, she empowers support for Native communities and survivors.  

Her work with NETAV focuses on raising awareness and advocating for change within tribal communities, as well as larger systemic reform. In her role, she is responsible for overseeing the organization’s activities, which include policy advocacy, education, training and resource networking for survivors of intimate partner violence. These activities include developing programs, collaborating with partner organizations and raising awareness for these challenges. 

Reflecting on MSU 

Williams notes her time at MSU as formative in shaping her journey toward advocating for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.  

Her psychology education allowed her to grow and empathize with others in a deeper manner. This instilled a passion in her to be a supportive figure for those who did not have such a person and help them in any way she can.  

“Psychology gave me a foundation for understanding and processing trauma and the importance of getting culturally-relevant resources to address it,” Williams said. 

Educating and raising awareness 

Williams’ commitment to advocacy includes conducting presentations and trainings on topics like human trafficking and the impact of trauma on survivors. 

Through her presentations, Kirby challenges misconceptions and stereotypes surrounding intimate partner violence. She emphasizes the importance of survivor-centered and trauma-informed approaches. 

“It takes an average of seven to nine times for somebody to leave a domestic violence situation permanently and safely,” Williams said. 

Focusing on survivor rights 

A key message Williams shares with survivors is one of validation and support. Survivors are the experts of their own experiences, and she encourages respect for their choices. She advocates for a society that believes survivors and offers them the resources they need to achieve safety and healing. 

“We don’t have to continue with the status quo,” Williams said. “We must believe and support survivors and recognize that healing looks very different for everyone.” 

Williams’ journey from survivor to advocate serves as a symbol of hope and change in the fight against intimate partner violence. Through her dedication, she is making a lasting impact on the lives of survivors and communities, inspiring others to join her in creating a more supportive world for all. 

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