Alisa Houseknecht, a doctoral candidate in our Counseling and Counselor Education program, was recently notified that she was awarded a Research & Best Practice Grant from the Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (SACES) for her dissertation research titled, “Motivation, Belonging, and Support: Examining Factors that Affect Persistence in Counselor Preparation Programs.”
SACES works to empower and support diverse counselor educators and supervisors in scholarship, advocacy, community, education and supervision. Since 2009 the association has awarded the grants with the purpose of funding innovative best practices and research studies related to counselor education and supervision. According to Jacqueline Swank, associate professor of counselor education and Houseknecht’s faculty mentor, only 15 percent of submissions were awarded grants. The competition is open to both professionals and students.

“Getting this award affirms the importance of the research that I am doing,” said Houseknecht, “and reiterates that my study has the potential to contribute something significant to the profession.”

Houseknecht and the other award recipients will be recognized at the SACES conference in Myrtle Beach in October.