“I have always had a heart for underserved people,” says Youselene Beauplan ’22. “I started volunteering with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County the summer after eighth grade, and I’ve been invested in working with youth ever since. They tug at my heart. It feels like this is what I’m supposed to be doing.”
A course on Adverse Child Experiences (ACEs) and a graduate school bootcamp afforded by the McNair Scholars Program as part of her undergraduate work at the University of Florida set Beauplan on a path to a UNCG doctorate degree in Human Development and Family Studies.
“A PhD will provide me the flexibility to serve in different capacities,” Beauplan says. “I want to work directly with youth, their families, and communities. I want to conduct research and do program evaluation and policy work. I see myself finding a place at the intersection of scholar, practitioner, and advocate because having a social justice lens is important.”
Enrolled in UNCG’s five-year combined program, Beauplan earned her master’s degree in May 2022 and is working toward her PhD, which she anticipates completing in 2025.