Dr. Kai Zhuang Shum, 2026 SPRCC Planning Committee Member
Starting your research career can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to navigate it alone. Building strong professional connections early on is crucial for long-term success, and opportunities to collaborate with peers and receive guidance from experienced mentors can make all the difference. The School Psychology Research Collaboration Conference (SPRCC) offers early career scholars a unique space to engage with like-minded researchers, develop meaningful partnerships, and gain insights from advanced scholars who have walked this path. By surrounding yourself with a supportive academic network, you not only enhance your research but also open doors to new opportunities that can shape your career for years to come.
Sponsored by the Society for the Study of School Psychology (SSSP), SPRCC is a mechanism to actively support the efforts of early career researchers who conduct psychological research relevant to education and the practice of psychology in schools. In 2022 and 2024, SPRCC was revisioned and transformed to better support early career scholars in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the persistent, systemic, and relational inequities for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) scholars.
The SPRCC planning committee is currently accepting applications for the 2026 conference, which will maintain its emphasis on promoting equity and social justice and creating an inclusive space for participants with marginalized identities. To showcase the impacts of SPRCC, members of the planning committee, who are all past participants of SPRCC, share their experiences.
Dr. Michelle Demaray is a professor at Northern Illinois University. Her research interests focus on social support and bullying and victimization in schools. She participated in the 2003 SPRCC, one of the earliest conferences!
Dr. Tai Collins is a professor and associate dean of the Graduate College at the University of Cincinnati. He is primarily interested in developing time—and resource-efficient behavioral interventions to support Black students in urban schools with limited resources. He participated in the 2015 SPRCC as an early career scholar and as a catalyst scholar in 2022.
Dr. Chunyan Yang is an associate professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her research interests focus on understanding how school members interact with their ecological contexts to find their resilience individually and collectively when facing risks and adversities, such as bullying, teacher-targeted violence, and mental health challenges. She participated in SPRCC in 2017 as an early career scholar.
Dr. Stephaine D’Costa is an assistant professor at St. Mary’s College. She is passionate about community-based research that empowers culturally and linguistically minoritized children and families. She participated in the 2022 SPRCC.
Dr. Lora Henderson Smith is an assistant professor at the University of Virginia. Her work focuses on making schools more equitable, supportive, and culturally responsive for students from minoritized and marginalized backgrounds. She participated in the 2024 SPRCC, the most recent SPRCC!
Why did you decide to join SPRCC?
MD: I thought SPRCC would really benefit my research program by meeting other early career scholars that had similar research interests as mine. I also looked forward to learning from advanced scholars. I also wanted to learn more about SSSP – the organization that funds SPRCC.
TC: Mentors encouraged me to apply to SPRCC early in my career. I was excited to connect with other scholars and find opportunities to collaborate on research. I benefited greatly as an early career scholar, so I was excited to participate as a catalyst scholar later on in my career.
CY: My mentors all highly recommended this opportunity. Their enthusiasm for SPRCC and its positive impact on early career scholars made me realize the immense value of joining such a dynamic and supportive community. What further drew me to SPRCC was its emphasis on meaningful collaboration. Engaging in research that has both theoretical depth and applied impact requires strong partnerships, and SPRCC provides the perfect platform for building those connections.
SD: It sounded like a good opportunity to get additional mentorship as an early career faculty member. I didn’t have a strong advisor and so many of the things I had learned about being a faculty member came from my peers. As a woman of color it was particularly hard to navigate higher education as there were many aspects I didn’t understand.
LHS: I participated in 2024 at the recommendation of a colleague in my department. He had not participated in SPRCC, but he shared how he had heard very positive things about it. As a faculty member in a combined Clinical & School Psychology program, I was excited to join to make more intentional connections on the school psychology side of things.
How have you benefited from joining SPRCC (short and long-term)?
MD: I benefited significantly from SPRCC. In the short term, my group all went to visit our catalyst’s scholar’s university and continued our work. We published two papers quite early on from these collaborations. Over the years, I continued to collaborate with several members of my SPRCC group. I just co-authored a book with one of the members of my group who I haven’t collaborated with in a while.
TC: Beth Doll served as the catalyst scholar for my group of three early career scholars (including myself, Evan Dart, and Prerna Arora). Beth has continued to be an amazing mentor a decade later, as she provides opportunities and advocates for my career development. My group met regularly after SRCC 2015. We published multiple papers together, co-edited a special issue on school mental health, and were awarded grants to support our work.
CY: SPRCC played an important role in shaping my research and professional trajectory. The mentoring and collaborations of our 2017 SPRCC group led to a series of studies on teacher-targeted violence, which became a core focus of my research agenda. These projects laid the groundwork for other early career mentoring and training grant opportunities that further expanded my mentorship network within and beyond school psychology. My involvement continued through SPRCC’s planning committee to help foster opportunities for new early career scholars.
SD: I was matched with a phenomenal mentor (Dr. Janine Jones) who modeled a different way of engaging in mentorship that resonated with my cultural background. She met with our team monthly for almost three years and supported not only a project (qualitative paper) but offered space to be humans and discussed the hidden curriculum of academia. I also gained colleagues that I am excited to collaborate with in the future. I also learned so much from the different presentations at the conference (grant funding, starting a research team, etc.) I left feeling inspired that even though I was at a teaching institution, I had the tools to engage in meaningful research.
LHS: I have made strong professional connections including collaborating on an article with one of the members of my SPRCC group. I have other papers and projects in the pipeline with my SPRCC group. I truly appreciate how SPRCC builds professional connections while also helping to advance your productivity as an early career scholar.
What are some meaningful memories you had about SPRCC?
MD: My best memories are traveling to visit my catalyst scholar’s university. We all got to know each other really well and worked on developing some projects together. We became good colleagues and friends from this trip.
TC: I enjoyed attending SPRCC in Orlando in 2015. I remember having a couple days of working time with my group, as well as panels of other scholars. I also enjoyed serving as a catalyst scholar, as supporting a group of early career scholars has been a great experience. My group has continued to work together following SPRCC, as they have co-edited a special issue in the Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation.
CY: There are many memorable moments from SPRCC, but one that stands out is the mentorship and support received from our catalyst scholar and mentor Dr. Amanda Nickerson. She has always been so invested in us as a group—not just as a researcher but as a mentor who genuinely cared about our growth, both professionally and personally. To this day, we continue to collaborate, and I have frequently sought her guidance and support throughout my academic journey.
SD: I enjoyed the space/time of the actual conference. It was nice to put up an away message and focus specifically on the work that I love doing. I enjoyed informal time with other early career scholars and now have a face behind the names I read on publications. I also enjoyed the small group work I did with my group– we explored racially minoritized early career experiences of faculty in the field of psychology. It was great to present and publish with that team.
LHS: Some of my most memorable experiences include the discussion in the affinity group and individual and small group mentoring conversations with the catalyst scholars.
Why should other early career folks consider applying for SPRCC?
MD: SPRCC is an excellent way to connect with other early career scholars and helps foster collaboration in the immediate future and long-term future. I highly recommend the experience!
TC: Early career scholars should absolutely consider applying for SPRCC. SPRCC can truly catalyze research agendas and provide opportunities to grow your professional network. The SPRCC planning committee has been intentional about centering social justice in our research and ensuring that the conference is both welcoming and beneficial for minoritized scholars.
CY: SPRCC is a unique opportunity to connect with both mentors and peers who are deeply invested in supporting your research and professional growth. The structured mentorship, collaborative projects, and networking opportunities are invaluable in establishing a strong foundation for an academic career. Beyond the research aspect, it also cultivates a supportive community. Academia can sometimes feel isolating, especially in the early career stage, but SPRCC fosters a sense of belonging and encourages long-term professional relationships. It is particularly impactful for scholars from marginalized backgrounds, as it creates a space where diverse voices are heard, valued, and uplifted.
SD: It’s an amazing opportunity to continue to grow as a scholar in our field. You also have opportunities to network and connect with new people. As someone from a teaching college it also allows you opportunities to collaborate with folks in R1s and put out strong research. Lastly, the ever deepening social justice focus can help you build an authentic community with scholars who are asking the hard but necessary questions of how to push our field forward towards equity.
LHS: Other early career folks should apply to make connections in the field, receive strong mentorship, and advance their scholarship in a collaborative and social justice-informed way!
Thank you to Drs. Demaray, Collins, Yang, D’Costa, and Henderson Smith for sharing their experiences and providing insights into what SPRCC is all about! If you are interested in applying for the 2026 SPRCC, please submit the application by completing the Google Form (available at this link: 2026 SPRCC Application Form) and attaching your most recent curriculum vitae and a cover letter (< 3 pages). You can preview the full list of questions in the 2026 SPRCC Application Form at this link: Application Form Questions. The deadline for application is 5PM PST on Monday, March 17, 2025. Late submissions cannot be accepted due to planning timelines.
Please direct questions regarding the conference, eligibility, or application to the 2026 SPRCC Planning Committee at sssp.sprcc@gmail.com.