Cesar Torres Mulgado Educational/School Psychology PhD · Defiance, Iowa
Cesar is dedicated to making schools better for teachers and students.
As a fourth-year PhD student, he works in the UNL Empowerment Initiative Lab. Started by Dr. Susan Swearer, the lab works with Lincoln Public Schools students to address situations of bullying behavior.
The lab takes an altered approach to these behaviors. Instead of placing students who participate in bullying on suspension, the lab assesses their needs and provides them with healthy behaviors to model and mental health resources.
Bullying is a complex topic, and a multitude of models and factors can point to the micro and macro causes of the behavior. But rather than instituting punishment for bullying, Cesar looks to implement prevention tactics for future instances.
“As long as there's risk factors, we can also put protective factors and counterbalance that,” Cesar said.
When Cesar meets with students, he often sees a different side of them that doesn’t come through on their school referral reports. By showing unconditional support, he can connect with them on a new level and see a new side to their personality.
“When you meet with them, you meet such a wonderful student that's unlike anything you saw on the referral. Yeah, they have issues, but by giving them that one-on-one attention...it becomes a whole different conversation,” Cesar said.
In addition to working with students, Cesar also assists teachers through the Nebraska Department of Education. In his work there, he helps educators combat compassion fatigue — the feeling of caring so much for others that you forget to care for yourself. By showing them methods of self-care, Cesar is helping teachers so that teachers can help their students.
“I think it's like a holistic approach...if the teachers are educated and trained, they can provide good behaviors for the students and the students will engage a lot better,” Cesar said. “It's all about relationships.”
James Brunton, PhD Assistant Professor of Practice ·
Though James’s academic background is in English and poetry, he recently started pursuing a new passion: comic book writing.
As he put pen to paper toward his newest poems, the doodles that he made in the margins of his notes started to become key elements of his writing. His love for poetry bled into a new art medium of pencil-drawn comics and illustrations.
"All forms of art are interconnected, so whether you are writing or drawing or painting or sculpting or filmmaking," James said. "At the heart of it is this strive to create something in the world that wasn't there before."
James's comic book adventures started as scratches and doodles, but now they've become an art of their own. The project, titled "From the Neck Up," was recently featured at the Sheldon Museum of Art in the "Person of Interest" symposium.
The comics give a personal look at James's perspective as he transitioned genders. They capture raw feelings and real moments, all because James was using the artistic medium to decompress. He channeled the stress and anxiety he felt at the time into his work and found a space that allowed him to be honest and vulnerable.
James hopes to one day be able to publish "From the Neck Up," but he's not in any hurry. He's happy with what he's created and the community he's found. He doesn't need a published book to make this memory meaningful — because he's already found it.
"If this is something I enjoy, even if it never sees the light of day, even if I don't get great at it — it's still something that is meaningful to me, and it's something that's helping me have new thoughts and work through old thoughts," James said. "And I just decided to let that be enough."
Kylie Counseling and Psychological Services · Suzhou, China
Kylie works day in and day out to help international students feel at home in Nebraska. When international students arrive in Nebraska, they face more than just a language difference. They also encounter differences in culture, values, weather, and food — all while juggling their classes. This can cause stress in many students. As a counselor for Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Kylie is there to help. Kylie feels especially passionate about helping students adjust to living and studying in a new country after her own experience with acclimating to U.S. culture. She runs the International Student Discussion support group as well as Stress Management Consultation for International Students. Both opportunities are designed with the intention of making it easy for students to drop in and connect with a counselor without having to register or check-in at a front desk. She says that while international students are her focus, they're not the only students facing stressful situations in college. "Everyone has all different levels of stress," Kylie said. "You are not the only one. If you feel you're overwhelmed by stress, seek out help." By participating in a group or private counseling session through CAPS, students can learn about coping skills and stress management tactics. It also provides them with the opportunity to meet face-to-face with a care provider. "To know that we are not alone, we know that logically," Kylie said. "But to feel that you are not alone, that's the connection that works to help support you to get through things."
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