CHDS doctoral student awarded $20,000 counseling fellowship from NBCC MFP
The National Board for Certified Counselors Foundation, recently selected UGA Gwinnett Campus student, Tameka Oliphant, for the National Board for Certified Counselors Minority Fellowship Program (NBCC MFP). As an NBCC MFP Fellow, Oliphant will receive funding and training to support her education and facilitate her service to underserved minority populations.
The NBCC MFP is made possible by a grant first awarded to NBCC by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in August 2012. The Foundation is contracted by NBCC to administer the NBCC MFP, as well as training and collaboration activities, such as webinars, that are open to all National Certified Counselors (NCCs). The goal of the program is to strengthen the infrastructure that engages diverse individuals in counseling and increases the number of professional counselors providing effective, culturally competent services to underserved populations.
The NBCC MFP will distribute $20,000 to Oliphant and the 22 other doctoral counseling students selected to receive the fellowship award. Oliphant is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and is currently a doctoral student in the counseling and student personnel services program at the University of Georgia in Athens. Her research area is counselor preparation in regard to working with students with disabilities. She is also interested in studying the postsecondary options for students with disabilities, specifically students with emotional and behavioral disorders. She is currently practicing in a therapeutic school setting, supporting students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Oliphant hopes to continue working with this population upon graduating. This fellowship will provide leadership training and access to conference opportunities for developing her research and presentation skills. Furthermore, the MFP will allow her to access mentors and peers in the field who can provide guidance on her research and support her development as a counselor and educator.
The Foundation plans to open the next NBCC MFP application period in September 2015. To learn more about the NBCC MFP and its fellows, please visit www.nbccf.org.
ABOUT THE NBCC FOUNDATION
The NBCC Foundation is the nonprofit affiliate of the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), based in Greensboro, North Carolina. NBCC is the nation's premier professional certification board devoted to credentialing counselors who meet standards for the general and specialty practices of professional counseling. Currently, there are more than 55,000 National Certified Counselors in the United States and more than 50 countries. The Foundation's mission is to leverage the power of counseling by strategically focusing resources for positive change.