Alayha McNamara is a senior at Southern Oregon University, earning a Baccalaureate of Science degree with a concentration in psychology and a minor concentration in Sociology and Anthropology. Alayha anticipates graduating magna cum laude in March 2024. She has been recognized as a 2023 Ronald E. McNair Scholar and was awarded a Student Success Scholarship through Rogue Community College in 2022 and the Imani Scholarship for the Education and Empowerment of Black Learners in 2023 for the education of Black, African American, or African Heritage students. She is also a member of Alpha Zeta Pi through Rogue Community College.
Alayha has presented, in collaboration with Dr. Noriko Toyokawa, original research at the 2023 Western Psychological Association conference in Riverside, California. Alayha did a poster presentation on mindfulness meditation apps for the University of Oregon’s undergraduate research symposium in May 2023. She is an author on two professional publications including Courageous Connection: Changing Perceptions and Reducing Bias by Building Mindfulness Awareness and Compassionate Relationships Among Police and Black Community Members and Beyond Virtual Reality: Towards Screen-Free Interfaces for PTSD Interventions. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice. under review for the special issue “Trauma in the Modern Age of Technology. "
Alayha was selected to participate in the 2023 University of Arizona Summer research internship program on minimizing health disparities. Studying under Dr. Alicia Allen, Associate Professor, Clinical Translational Sciences at the University of Arizona. Minimizing health disparities fits Alayha’s area of interest in that marginalized communities experience exponentially higher trauma, anxiety, and stress rates than other communities. Alayha is interested in the intersection between stress, anxiety, trauma, and the body’s reactions to this harmful trio. Alayha aspires to contribute to the field of Psychology by furthering the research being done on combating stress, anxiety, and trauma through a culturally specific lens using physical action, somatic experiencing methods, and mindfulness meditation.
McNair Faculty Mentor: Dr. Paul Condon, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Psychology and an affiliated faculty in Healthcare Administration
