Doctoral student receives $20,000 national fellowship

Counseling student LaTonya Summers is one of 22 doctoral scholars across the United States to be selected for the Minority Fellowship Program by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC).

As a result of this honor, Summers will receive $20,000 and training to support her education and facilitate her efforts with underserved minority populations.

Summers, who is pursuing a doctoral degree in counselor education and supervision, founded the LifeSkills Counseling and Consulting Group, where she oversees a free counseling program for people who are uninsured and unemployed. In Charlotte, 17 percent of the total population is uninsured and10 percent is unemployed. Since 2007, she has served more than 300 individuals and families. She also founded a professional counseling training institute, which provides monthly NBCC-approved workshops.

“Her practical clinical experience distinguishes her from many others,” said Pam Lassiter, an associate professor in the College of Education and Summers’ doctoral advisor. “She has a passion for creating access for underserved populations that often are not able to afford counseling or have other obstacles that keep them from seeking help.”

Summers’ current research interests include increasing self- and career-efficacy among African-American female welfare recipients while serving as an advocate to help them overcome systemic oppression; helping to increase mental health professionals’ awareness about identifying, assessing and treating racial conflict fatigue; providing evidenced-based approaches to treat financial anxiety, which affects 72 percent of Americans; and working to prevent suicide by jumping, a growing trend in North Carolina.

The NBCC Foundation is the nonprofit affiliate of the National Board for Certified Counselors based in Greensboro, N.C. NBCC is the nation’s premiere professional certification board devoted to credentialing counselors who meet standards for the general and specialty practices of professional counseling. Currently, there are more than 60,000 national certified counselors in the United States and 50-plus countries. The foundation’s mission is to leverage the power of counseling by strategically focusing resources for positive change.