Jonique Childs, assistant professor in the College of Education student development program, was awarded a 2020-21 Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) scholarship from the National Board for Certification Counselors (NBCC) Foundation, an affiliate of the National Board for Certification Counselors.
The goal of the scholarship is to increase the number of available counselors providing quality guidance and facilitation. Childs will receive up to $1,000 towards the cost of an approved GCDF training. Childs has previous experiences as an at-risk school counselor, college career counselor and recruiter, and clinical mental health counselor on the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.
She has served adolescents, high school students, undergraduates, graduate students and older adults from different ethnic backgrounds. Her research investigates the psychosocial needs of students of color that also identify as first-generation in K-12 and postsecondary education. In addition, her research seeks to examine the personal, social, emotional, academic and career attainment of postsecondary education first-generation college students of color and the interconnectedness of mental well-being with an emphasis in help-seeking behaviors and attitudes for personal counseling and career services.
Childs’s research seeks to advance the knowledge about this vulnerable and marginalized population by contributing needed knowledge to promote student success and mental well-being. Other areas of interest include first-generation college students’ career development and decision-making, multicultural education, cultural competence, social justice advocacy practices, leadership characteristics and mental health awareness.