Asbury Seminary congratulates counseling students Olivia Hockett and Marjorie Price who designed, carried out and completed original research. These students worked under the direction of faculty advisor, Dr. Janet Dean, who will be the Professor of Pastoral Counseling Education at the Seminary as of July 1. Both Hockett and Price presented at professional conferences in March.

“Training in counseling research can often take a backseat to counseling practice at the master’s level, but not at Asbury Seminary,” Dr. Steve Stratton, Professor of Counseling and Pastoral Care, said. “Marjorie and Olivia are impressive representatives of a growing number of counseling students at the Seminary who are participating in original research programs that are presented at state, national, and international professional forums. To be accepted to present at these events is an acknowledgement of quality and rigor. To win a competitive research award, as Olivia has done, takes it to another level. The Counseling and Pastoral Care faculty are proud of the accomplishments of these two outstanding student-counselors.”

Olivia Hockett

Hockett investigated the mediating role of grit in the relationship between intrinsic motivation and personal life satisfaction. Grit is that tendency to successfully overcome many obstacles and challenges due to the combination of passion and persistence extended over a long period of time, and Hockett found that grit may explain how intrinsic motivation leads to life satisfaction. Competing against master- and doctoral-level psychology students across the state, Hockett earned the Paul Hager Graduate Research 2nd Place Award, plus a cash award, during the Kentucky Psychological Science Conference at Bellarmine University (Louisville).

Marjorie Price

Marjorie Price, working both with Dean and Dr. Eric Watterson of Greenville University, explored the experiences of students of color on Christian college campuses, comparing students at a more rural and less diverse university to those at a more urban and diverse institution. Among the findings, students’ personal spirituality appeared to be even more important in their perceptions of campus climate than are various institutional characteristics and students’ own race/ethnicity. Price presented her work at the annual conference of the Christian Association for Psychological Studies.

Both Hockett and Price are pursuing an M.A. in Mental Health Counseling and gaining an understanding of wholeness, boundaries, ethics and diversity through theory and practice. This degree is certified by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The mission of the Department of Counseling and Pastoral Care is to equip students to serve diverse communities by facilitating healing and growth through reflectively integrating Christian values, principles and resources with pastoral or professional counseling competencies and practices.