Two graduate students of Purdue University Calumet’s counseling and development program have been awarded $5,000 Minority Masters Fellowships by the National Board for Certified Counselors Foundation (NBCC).
Recipients Rae Lopez of Griffith and Francesca Cooley of East Chicago are pursuing Master of Science in Education degrees. Lopez is specializing in school counseling; Cooley in mental health counseling.
As enrollees in a Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Program (CACREP), Lopez and Cooley earned their fellowships by demonstrating knowledge of and experience with racially and ethnically diverse populations, plus commitment to providing mental health services to underserved minority transition age young people (ages 16-25).
Lopez plans to use her fellowship in support of preparation to serve lower socioeconomic Hispanic and African-American populations. Cooley’s fellowship will help support her preparatory efforts to work with families involved in Child Protective Services.
The fellowships also will enable the recipients to attend the 2015 Symposium on Bridging the Gap in Mental Health Disparities, May 28-30 in Raleigh, NC.
Purdue Calumet’s College of Education, fully accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), includes master’s degree programs in school and mental health counseling that also have been accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Program (CACREP).