Research: Michigan State University Adolescent Project
Faculty: William Davidson
Ashton Talkovic is a junior pursuing a
Bachelors of Science in Psychology and Criminal Justice. She has a 3.78 GPA and
has aspiration of receiving a master’s degree in School Psychology. Because of
her thirst for knowledge and passion to support others, she is always searching
for learning opportunities outside of the classroom. Ashton is one the most impressive students I
have had to the pleasure to work with in the last ten years. She has
participated and volunteered in several community outreach project for
different youthful populations. She has worked with cognitively and emotionally
impaired youth, and juvenile delinquents.
For each population, she consistently devotes passion and effort to help
and inspire them to develop positive personal, social, communal and familial
personas that helps them become their ideal self. She is one of the few students
that I have worked with who operates from an altruistic perspective.
Ashton was a student in the MSU
Adolescent Program (Psychology 371/372) where she created and implemented an 18
week long, strengths based intervention for a youth in the juvenile justice
system. She focused on the youth’s
interests and addressed areas of unmet needs, and used her skills as an
advocate to connect this particular youth to resources in the community. After standing out to her instructor as an
incredible advocate, Ashton was brought on as a Teaching Assistant where she is
currently assisting with her third class section. Kate Scanlon, an Masters of Social Work
graduate student and lead Instructor for the MSU Adolescent Program stated “
Her knowledge on the juvenile justice system, her passion for youth, and her
contagiously high spirited personality make Ashton an irreplaceable addition to
the MSUAP staff”.
In addition to this, Ashton is one of
the program directors for STRIVE, a partnership program between MSU and the
Ingham County Circuit Court for juvenile sex offenders. This is a population that society often
overlooks or feels uncomfortable about, but Ashton aims to change the
perception that people have of these kids, and the perception that these kids
have of themselves. Ashton educates
undergraduate students in the program to become mentors for the youth with the
ultimate goal of reducing recidivism. Jenna
VanDeputte and Alex Watson, the other co-directors, stated: “Ashton is
extremely dedicated to educating this unique population of youth on pro-social
skills while also making their time together a fun learning experience. Her hard work and motivation shows in the
progress of the youth. Although this is
a huge responsibility, Ashton has shown exemplary time management skills and
demonstrates quick problem solving in times of crisis”. Her role as director also has her maintaining
close contact with the court, managing a staff of 16, and evaluating the
success of the program.
Ashton also interned with the Family
Division of the Ingham County Court assisting a Juvenile Court Officer with
case management tasks for youth that are on standard probation. Her field
supervisor Casey Kurth stated “Ashton always had a pleasant disposition when she attended her internship. She
was ready to work as soon as she arrived. She had a positive outlook on
everything and really wanted to help the kids with problem solving and crisis
resolution. She could handle multiple tasks given to her. She soaked up all the
information given to her and was able to apply the skills she learned with all
of her tasks. Ashton was involved in many different programs with the Court and
exceeded at everything she did. Ashton was reliable and always on time. I do
not believe she missed a single day during her internship”.
Ashton also conducts research through
the Ingham County Family Court’s Youth Level of Service/Case Management
Inventory/Juvenile Risk Assessment
Team to determine a youth’s risk of reoffending. She
recently completed a research project focused on identifying the criminogenic
risk profile of gang-involved youth. The results are promising and she plans to
present her work at a national conference in the fall. Ashlee Barnes, a doctoral graduate student of Community Psychology and co-project
manager of the Juvenile Risk Assessment Team stated “Ashton has never ceased to impress me with
her commitment to the project. She is always professional, punctual, and offers
valuable solutions to court administration when data management issues
arise”. As if all of that isn’t impressive
enough, Ashton does not receive payment or class credit for any of these
tasks. She does them because she is a
dedicated learner who wants to be able to make a genuine impact on people who
need it most. Ashton is more than
deserving of this recognition because of her leadership skills, her positivity,
and her enthusiasm for the profession.
Ashton’s journey has led her to discover
her goals, philosophy/perspective, mission and values:
Her
goals: To become a School Psychologist and develop pro-social programs that
will best serve and secure youth’s opportunities towards their success.
Mission:
to Inspire, and advocate as well as provide the necessary resources and
opportunities to youth in our school systems in order to reach their full
potential.
Psychological philosophy/perspective: In every aspect of her
life she follows the strength-based philosophy and ecological perspective. She
focuses on the strengths of others and not their limitations. She believes that
by focusing on positive characteristics, she identifies, motivates and develops
healthy sustainable relationships between people, communities, and society.
Values:
Foremost the value she champions is competence as demonstrated through her
double degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice and her increasing involvement
in different opportunities. Her belief centers on a continuous learning model
where every opportunity to learn increases her ability to impact another life.
Fun
Fact: She used to be a Dancer for the Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Team.
