ASU psychology graduate students win big at the Pitchfork Awards

The Arizona State University Department of Psychology won big at the 2018 Pitchfork Awards, netting the ASU Changemaker Entrepreneurship Team of the Year and Outstanding Graduate Student Organization awards.

The ASU Pitchfork Awards recognize exceptional talent across ASU and include awards for service, performance and entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneur of the Year

Ryan Stoll, a clinical psychology graduate student, took home the ASU Changemaker Entrepreneurship Team of the Year. 

Stoll leads COMPASS for Courage and previously won the ASU Changemaker Challenge, the Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative and the Pakis Social Entrepreneurship Challenge at ASU’s Demo Day for his innovative work merging education and the startup world. 

“The Pitchfork Awards are like an ASU version of the Oscars,” Stoll said. “The whole experience was overwhelmingly amazing. They rolled out the red carpet, the performances were extraordinary and the student nominees were all exceptionally accomplished. It was humbling to be included, let alone to win.”

COMPASS for Courage is an evidence-based social-emotional learning solution for anxiety in school children that uses collaborative, game-based learning curricula to solve stress-related problems.

“We’re not just teaching how to do something in a session with kids,” Stoll said. “We are having them learn and practice these skills in a real-world setting.”

Stoll credits his graduate mentors, Armando Pina and Nancy Gonzales, the supportive faculty in the psychology department and the Venture Devils program for encouraging and validating his idea.

COMPASS for Courage is currently used in over 26 schools in the Phoenix area. The goal is to surpass 100 schools by the end of 2018.

Outstanding Graduate Student Organization

Stephanie Koebele, a doctoral student in the psychology department, is the secretary of internal affairs for the Graduate Women’s Association (GWA), which provides support to female graduate students and women in the ASU community. The GWA won Outstanding Graduate Student Organization at the 2018 Pitchfork Awards.

“The GWA aims to support graduate students through all phases of their graduate programs and in their future careers,” Koebele said.

This year, the GWA hosted a panel on “Women and Gender Equality in Academia and Industry.” The panel addressed the difficulties and unique challenges that women face when pursuing academic careers and careers in business.

Another way the association supports the community is by hosting a “Celebrating Women” event during the month of March, in honor of Women’s History Month. The fundraising from that event supports the Sojourner Center, a domestic violence shelter in Phoenix.

This year during March the GWA collected gently-used bras. They collected 200 used bras that will be used to help support women who are experiencing homelessness across the community.

“Doing drives like collecting bras really helps to support the graduate community by bringing us together to help make a really positive change,” Koebele said. “We’ve really ramped up our efforts this year to try to make a difference, and it has been such a great experience.”

Their efforts were recognized by Pitchfork Awards.

Koebele is approaching the end of her doctoral studies in behavioral neuroscience. She is conducting her dissertation research with Heather Bimonte-Nelson, professor of psychology, in the Neuroscience of Memory and Aging lab and a pre-doctoral National Research and Service award from the National Institute on Aging. Koebele’s research focuses on the effects of menopause on memory, normal aging and Alzheimer’s disease.