Departmental Racialized Students Group
The APHD racialized student group are a group of students who come from diverse backgrounds. This group of students came about to support each other and to help build connections with fellow students in similar positions.
This group often plans a variety of events and get together throughout the year to support fellow racialized students within the department. Meet the team leaders for our 23/24 academic year!
Krystina Raymond (she/her)
Krystina Raymond is in her final year of the PhD in Developmental Psychology and Education under the supervision of Dr. Becky Xi Chen. Her doctoral research focuses on the development of language and literacy skills in bilingual speaking children, and their contributions to reading comprehension. Krystina is devoted to issues supporting bi/multilingual education and is passionate about helping students particularly through the lenses of antiracism, equity, diversity, and inclusion. She also is a TA at OISE, a French-English bilingual elementary school teacher and academic coach in Montréal, Québec.
Ask me about…bi/multilingual language and literacy research, living in Montréal, being Guyanese/ Québecoise, navigating academia with an EDI lens, joining the PhD DPE program as an out-of-province student, and joining APHD department committees.
Calpanaa Jegatheeswaran (she/her)
Calpanaa Jegatheeswaran is a doctoral student in the Developmental Psychology and Education program at the Â鶹´«Ã½¼¯ÍÅ (OISE). She studies how environmental risk factors and quality of parenting impact children's development during their formative years under the supervision of Dr. Michal Perlman.
Ask me about … Being Tamil-Canadian, dealing with intergenerational trauma, mental health struggles as a graduate student, work-life balance, and South Asian Art and Culture (including Bharatanatyam, Veena, and Carnatic music).
Anneesa Singh (she/her)
I am a fourth year PhD student in the School and Clinical Child Psychology Program. I'm also a TA at the University of Toronto, a psychometrist at the Chrysalis Centre, a member of the Better Behaviours Service team at CAMH, a practicum student at the Centre for Interpersonal Relationships, and the mother of an amazing 9-yearold girl. My research examines cognitive and emotional factors that underlie and maintain behavioural difficulties in children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and Conduct Disorder.
Ask me about…balancing work, family, and research while in graduate school!
Aliakbar Abbasi Garmroudi (he/him)
Ali is a doctoral student in Ed.D Counselling Psychology at OISE. He is also practicing as a registered psychotherapist in Toronto for over 15 years. Prior to immigrating to Canada, Ali was both a teacher and counsellor in his back home country. His research interests include experience and perception of intellectually delayed clients from receiving treatment in an inpatient or outpatient treatment setting, psychological experience, and challenges of immigration and relational conflicts in the practice of counselling and psychotherapy. Ali has actively participated in the Diversity Committee in his mental health agency at different times in his work as he believes in diversity and observes multiculturalism as a strength.
Ask me about…time management, balancing family life, study and work, clinical practice, race, ethnicity, and social inclusion.
Michelle Gibson (she/her)
Michelle is in her second year of the Master of Arts in Child Study and Education (MA-CSE). Michelle also works at the Office of the Registrar, UTM through U of T’s Work Study program. As a future classroom teacher, Michelle is most interested in decolonizing education, anti-oppressive education, and teacher education and professional development programs. Michelle also has a background in improvisation theatre and is passionate about arts-integrated curriculum.
Ask me about…the MA-CSE program, the Work Study program, and improvisation theatre.
Steve (Songtao) Wang (he/him)
Steve (Songtao) is a third-year doctoral student in the Developmental Psychology and Education program at the Â鶹´«Ã½¼¯ÍÅ (OISE). His research interests include quantitative methods in education, meta-analysis, experimental designs and analysis, structural equation modeling, and language assessment and testing. He is also an active member and proposal reviewer of AERA and NCME.
Ask me about ... studying and working as an international student in Canada, language as a discourse for English language learners, building strength and resilience, sense of belonging, the Asian diaspora.
Rya Buckley (she/her)
Rya is a first-year PhD student in the School and Clinical Child Psychology program, under the supervision of Dr. Chloe Hamza. She is broadly interested in school and postsecondary mental health, especially the experiences of marginalized students. Her master’s thesis work focused on the experiences of racialized university students accessing wellness and mental health supports on campus.
Ask me about…the MA in School and Clinical Child Psychology (SCCP), finding community as a Black graduate student, and student mental health research.
Angelie Ignacio (she/her)
Angelie Ignacio is a third-year PhD student in Developmental Psychology and Education program under the supervision of Dr. Eunice Jang. Her research interests are dynamic assessment of reading and writing, using technology in assessment, teaching, and learning contexts, and using mixed methods research.
Ask me about…first-generation graduate student, role-playing video games, fantasy and romance books, being Filipino-Canadian, mixed methods research.
