Morgan Xenos
Bachelors of Science in Psychology
Old Dominion University, 2018
I graduated from Old Dominion University with my Bachelors of Science in Psychology and a minor in Human Services in May 2018.
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Through out my time as an undergraduate I gained vast experience in research, leadership, student teaching, and more. You can read about these experiences here!
Behavioral Alcohol and Related Studies Laboratory
Stamates, A. L., Xenos, M., Roberts, R., Lamp; Lau-Barraco, C. (2018, August). Initiation of alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco: A latent profile analysis of age of onset. Poster presented at the 2018 annual meeting for the American Psychological Association. Won 2nd place in student poster competition for APA Division 50.
Sheehan, B. E., Xenos, M., & Lau-Barraco, C. (2017, May). A daily diary investigation of alcohol-related aggression. Poster presented at the annual Society for Prevention Research, Washington D.C.
Conference Presentations
The Behavioral Alcohol and Related Studies Laboratory (BARS Lab) is directed by Dr. Cathy Lau-Barraco and is located in the Department of Psychology at Old Dominion University, in which I served as a Undergraduate Research Assistant.
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Broadly, the BARSLab research focuses on the determinants and consequences of alcohol and other substance use among emerging adults. Emerging adults are at elevated risk for heavy drinking and experiencing negative consequences from use. Thus, the research focuses on understanding and identifying psycho-social-cognitive factors that place someone at heightened risk for experiencing drinking-related harms and finding ways to decrease their risk. Our research includes ecological momentary assessment of alcohol and other health behaviors (physical activity, dietary habits); brief behavioral alcohol interventions; studies identifying mechanisms contributing to problematic substance use; and laboratory studies of alcohol use.
As Research Assistant I was in involved with participant recruitment, conducted literature searches for R01 grant application, survey development, participated in biweekly lab meetings, data management in SPSS and Excel, completed survey development in Qualtrics, conducted literature searches, collected survey data, and participated in the preparation of multiple conference presentations.
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ForKids Volunteer
I was given the opportunity for volunteer at ForKids as an Intake Specialist. ForKids is an organization with a mission of breaking the cycle of homelessness and poverty for families and children. ForKids offers a wide spectrum of services such as mental health counselors, crisis hotlines, job coaching, educational services and so much more.
As an Intake Specialist, I assist with the intake screening and resource referral process for callers in crisis. In this role, I would come in contact with people suffering from homelessness, depression, alcohol and drug abuse, and children and women
escaping abusive relationships. Being a volunteer for ForKids, has truly enlightened me on challenges and difficulties of life and how one person can truly impact another.
Student Peer Mentor
The Bridge Program was developed to help transition students into college. Students who are accepted to the program are considered to be at risk students. This means that the students accepted to the program are students who have a higher probability of failing academically. That could mean that a student has faced circumstances such as low income, domestic violence, low test scores, along with many other possible variables. The students accepted to the program start courses in the summer and are required to maintain a certain grade point average to become eligible for full admission to the University. My goal as a Peer Mentor was to help students transition successful to life as a college student, achieve academically, and to support the students. The summer I volunteered with the Bridge Program, I was assigned 24 students to be my peer mentees. I would attend Bridge Programs events along with the students and I would often pop into their classes so I could get an idea of what was going on in their classes. I would organize study rooms for the students to use to prepare for tests and complete assignments. They would often come to me with issues in their personal lives on top of academic difficulties. I would often provide information about the university such as student support services and student organizations that they had the potential to join. Below, you can view a few examples of information sheet in which I created and shared with the students.