One of the incoming students to Spalding University’s doctorate program in clinical psychology received a prestigious honor this spring in the run-up to her graduation last weekend from Louisiana State University.
Bailey Broussard, set to enroll in the Spalding PsyD program in the fall, was named one of the Tiger Twelve by the LSU Office of the Dean of Students. The recognition goes to 12 outstanding seniors – out of thousands from that university who graduated this month, this summer or next December – who contribute positively to the life of the campus and surrounding community.
According to the LSU Dean of Students, the Tiger Twelve students “hold themselves to the highest standards of academic, personal and social integrity; practice justice, equality and compassion in human relations; respect the dignity of all persons and accept individual differences.”
Broussard, a psychology major and sociology minor from Lafayette, La., said that Spalding embraces those same virtues. In the PsyD program, she plans to have a hybrid focus in adult and child and family studies. Broussard, who had a 3.799 cumulative grade-point average at LSU, plans on working with marginalized and underserved populations throughout her professional career.
“The mission (of Spalding) being about equality and how we serve the community and the diversity and having multicultural competence specifically within the PsyD program (were appealing),” Broussard said. “The faculty seemed really supportive, and they really seemed engage with their students and their success. That was something I felt like I really wanted in my education going forward.
“The majority, if not all of the professors (at Spalding) have a component of their research going with multicultural competence and being aware and serving marginalized communities.”
After her Spalding PsyD training, Broussard said, she hopes to one day work in the community as a mental health provider “and helping out, giving low-cost services to underserved populations.”
At LSU, Broussard was a tutor of French, math and psychology all four years of her undergraduate career. She was a member and worship leader of Sigma Phi Lambda sorority and worked as a research assistant studying the effects of hatha yoga on smoking cessation in LSU’s Anxiety and Addictive Behaviors Lab. She also volunteered in a variety of campus and community organizations.
“I’m definitely proud of myself (to be in the Tiger Twelve),” she said. “It symbolizes self-growth I experienced during my college career and being selfless and being able to impact others.”
Read more about the doctoral and undergraduate programs within the Spalding School of Professional Psychology at Psychology page.