Dr. Kimberly Howard's Team 

Dr. Chong Myung Park is a research scientist in the Counseling Psychology & Applied Human Development Department at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. Her research focuses on the examination of career development in K–12 and post-secondary settings and as a lifelong learning process. Specific areas of research include college and career readiness, workplace skills, financial literacy skills, career pathways to STEM occupations, and Personalized Career and Academic Plans. Dr. Park has been coordinating an international collaborative research study on social and emotional learning since 2018 where she works with career development researchers from 20 countries to examine educators’ perspectives on SEL in developing youth future readiness. She also conducts evaluations of career development programs and activities, career identity development, and social and emotional learning skills. Dr. Park completed her internship at the Office of Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz where she conducted research on dropout interventions and preventions.

Zhouyan Bu is a doctoral student in applied human development at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. His research focuses on promoting early career development in children and shaping their career outlooks. Zhouyan aims to develop strategies that foster early social-emotional experiences to support career development and readiness in youth. At the Center for Future Readiness at BU Wheelock, Zhouyan contributes to research and initiatives that support children and adolescents in pursuing future educational and career success by exploring the intersections of career development and other societal factors. With prior experience in human resources and career services in higher education, Zhouyan brings a practical, informed approach to his research, bridging theory and practice to create meaningful impact.

Marina is a second-year graduate student in Wheelock College of Education and Human Development studying Counseling Psychology. She currently sits on two research teams, Dr. Kimberly Howard's Lab studying Elementary Career Readiness and Dr. Maria Teresa Coutinho's lab studying Health Equity. She is hoping to pursue a career in reproductive behavioral health and is interested in researching how trauma-informed care can be better implemented into reproductive healthcare spaces. As a California native, she likes spending her days in the ocean and tries to enjoy the sun as much as possible here on the East coast.

Deyja is currently a Counseling Psychology doctoral student specializing in sport and performance psychology. Prior to BU, Deyja completed her undergraduate career in her hometown of Boulder, CO, at the University of Colorado where she majored in psychology and sociology with a minor in business. She went on to earn her Master’s degree in Sport & Performance Psychology with a specialization in Latinx Psychology from the University of Denver. At both CU and DU, she has worked in labs surrounding microaggressions, race and ethnicity, and stereotyping. Deyja’s research interests include the investigation of racial and ethnic identity in athletes and how it may coexist with athletic identity. Her applied work has been within community juvenile justice services, an inpatient eating disorder center, coaching, and mental performance. Deyja aims to use her bilingualism and biculturalism to increase accessibility to mental health resources. As a member of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology,, Deyja also aims to increase accessibility to culturally competent services within collegiate and professional sport. In her free time, Deyja can be found running, catching up with friends, watching a sport documentary, or at a coffee shop drinking matcha.

Philip Villano is an undergraduate studying psychology, sociology, and public policy at BU. In addition to serving as a research assistant under Dr. Howard, Philip also works as a Youth Program Coordinator at the Allston-Brighton CDC. He provides after school care to elementary school students at various Boston Public Schools. He is passionate about creating equitable education for all students. Philip hopes to one day work in Washington D.C. to create equitable education legislation and inform lawmakers on how to best aid the coming generations of students in public schools across the country.

Chelsea is a senior studying psychology and applied human development at Boston University. She is originally from Taipei, Taiwan. She is passionate about developmental psychology and the holistic wellbeing of young students. Over the summer, she is working as an orientation assistant for Student Wellbeing at BU where she promotes on-campus resources for student wellbeing to incoming first-year students. She is interested in pursuing a master’s degree in mental health counseling. In the future, she hopes to work with children as a school counselor or a therapist. During her free time, she enjoys crocheting, baking, and visiting the MFA.

Walker Turley is a 2nd year at Boston University currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in Data Science. In addition to working with Doctor Howard's team, He is a tutor at the Data Science Tutoring Center and a teacher at the No Limtis debate camp. He hopes to continue to use his data science skills to contribute to research in the future, particularly climate change-related research.