Erin Heltsley
Graduate Assistant

I am from Murray, Kentucky. I received a B.A. in Psychology from Murray State University. I plan to complete my M.A. in Clinical Psychology by May of 2008. My general research interests have to do with exercise, eating disorders, and parenting styles. After graduation, I would like to work in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility and then eventually in private practice or at a college counseling center. In my spare time I like to read, exercise, watch movies, and spend time outdoors.

Jessica Delaunay
Undergraduate Assistant

My name is Jessica Delaunay and I am from Claremont California. Currently I am on the track team at Western Kentucky University and plan to complete my Bachelor’s in psychology by May of 2008. I plan on going into the field of sport psychology. I am most interested studying motivation and mental imagery.

Diana Gieske
Graduate Assistant

I have been working in the Motivation & Emotion lab since August of 2005, and plan on graduating in May 2007. I am from Crestview Hills, KY, and completed my Bachelor's degree in Psychology at Northern Kentucky University. My general research interest is in Health Psychology. I enjoy learning about the mind-body connection and psychophysiological stress. I love conducting research and hope to find a job in a psychology research lab following graduation. My number one hobby is watching hockey games (go Preds!).

Melissa Abo
Graduate Assistant

I'm from Corning, New York. I received a B.A. in Experimental Psychology from Alfred University. After graduating from WKU, I'll be taking a year off to work, and then applying for PhD programs in language acquisition. Here's a link to my personal website.

Thomas Desena
Undergraduate Assistant

I was born in Brooklyn, New York. However, I moved when I was little and spent most of my life in Columbia, Tn (the self-proclaimed mule capital of the world). I came here in Fall of '03 and will graduate in May of '07 with a bachelor's in Psychology. I've helped Dr. Wininger with a few research studies, however; the main focus of my research with him is identifying components that correlate with exercise adherence such as the Self-Determination Theory and Self-Talk. My research interests are primarily within sport and exercise (I'm going to Florida State as a graduate student in Sports Psychology). In my spare time, I like to hike, read, and watch baseball. I'm an avid Braves' fan and my quality of life has improved since they went out and got a bullpen.

Andrew Caudill
Undergraduate Assistant

I have been working under Dr. Wininger in the area of Educational Psychology since August of 2006, and am going to graduate from Western Kentucky University in May 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. I am from Louisville, KY and have loved every minute of my college career here at Western. I attribute most of my enjoyment to doing research in the area of Educational Psychology with Dr. Wininger and being apart of the Outdoor Adventure Club that Dr. Wininger, Thomas Desena and myself created. I am interested in many research areas including course improvement perception and violence in public schools. When I am not doing research I enjoy playing guitar, harmonica and being a one man band.