This year we made like tortoises, and steadily built capacity for future programming & connection!

This year we streamlined the research grant Requests for Proposals to give more students equitable access to writing strong applications. Students also formed a committee of six grant reviewers to support review of applications.

Ultimately, we were able to support seven (7) creative projects using theoretical frameworks of liberation psychology, critical theory, and anti-oppression. 2024 student research grantees will be working with populations including Black fast-food restaurant workers in Ferguson, MO; Salvadorean state-violence survivors; college students of colour; abolitionist activists; and midwestern immigrant communities.

Students will find being a SCRA Student Representative is more accessible than ever!

Our innovative representative, Annalise, created a comprehensive SOP to make information easy to access and find for future SCRA student reps. The SOP binder includes important deadlines, step-by-step task instructions, and templates for general actions. We also streamlined the process for adding students to the listserv, and sharing updates with the SCRA Administrative team. These processes will enable future student reps to accomplish goals more effectively!

We continue to offer students ways to expand their publishing experience! The authorship of six (6) students was supported this year through the Student Issues Column of The Community Psychologist (TCP) – edited by student representatives. Our themes for 2024 included:

To further support scholarship, Emmanuel started a public Zotero library to allow students to share titles and notes on literature meaningful to their work. A Community Psychology wiki is also under construction to be a central resource for students to find and share information that supports their scholarship!

Student representatives were active in SCRA’s strategic planning efforts, serving on the Strategic Planning Committee and connecting students to interviews, focus groups, and the IOTA survey. We also established a place on the SCRA Executive Committee meeting agenda for updates from student reps. At the end of 2024, we shared a survey to student members to gather information for an intersectional analysis of student goals and priorities. We were able to offer incentives to student participants (four students will win a $25 gift card).

We are enhancing the way students can network with each other and professionals in the field! We began a monthly newsletter of Student Updates to make communication with students fun and accessible. We also reignited the Community Psychology Student Discord!

Raquel co-organized the social at the APA conference this year, connecting with ~30 attendees.

To continue to build capacity for networking we shared a survey to SCRA membership at the end of the year to help us develop a directory of professionals willing to mentor or support students in the field. This directory will be useful when looking for committee members, networking opportunities, and informal mentorship based on interest or identity.

Your Student Representatives want to know how we can better support students! Follow the link below to take a 7-minute confidential survey to help us tailor efforts to student members. As a thank you, students who enter their student email will be entered into a raffle for a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card (up to 4 winners – only one entry per student).

Stay in touch with your Student Representatives:

Emmanuel-Sathya Gray (he/they) & Annalise Tolley (she/her)

Student Representatives

Society for Community Research and Action

Division 27 of the American Psychological Association

studentreps@scra27.org