Blogs

Chen Receives AAFCS Graduate Fellowship

By Sara Tantillo posted 08-27-2018 09:27 AM

  

AAFCS 2017-18 President Jacqueline Holland, CFCS-HDFS, (right) presents Shanting Chen, (left) with the AAFCS Jewell L. Taylor Graduate Fellowship during the AAFCS 109th Annual Conference in Atlanta, Ga.



Alexandria, Va. – August 27, 2018 –
The American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) honored its graduate fellowship recipient at a ceremony during the recent 109th Annual Conference & Expo in Atlanta, Georgia.  Shanting Chen, University of Texas at Austin, Texas, received the Jewell L. Taylor Graduate Fellowship, which supports one graduate student pursuing a degree in family and consumer sciences.

The American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) awards graduate fellowships to individuals who have exhibited the potential to make contributions to the family and consumer sciences (FCS) field. Individuals who receive a graduate fellowship receive financial support for the study of family and consumer sciences and special recognition during the AAFCS Annual Conference & Expo.  Also, recipients of some fellowships receive support toward one year of AAFCS membership and participation in the AAFCS Annual Conference & Expo.

Chen’s desire to become a family scientist stemmed from her interactions in her home country, China, with left-behind children, or children who were left in their rural Chinese hometowns while their parents migrated to urban cities for work. Currently, her research focuses on the impact of discrimination upon marginalized adolescents’ wellbeing with a specific focus on Mexican-American children’s academic outcomes and psychosocial and behavioral development. Throughout her time at the University of Texas at Austin, Chen has also been an involved member in AAFCS, the Society for Research in Child Development, the Society for Research on Adolescence, and the National Council on Family Relations. Upon completing her doctoral degree, Chen plans to return to China to obtain a faculty position in family science. It is her desire to apply her knowledge and research skills to promote family science studies in China while focusing on improving the wellbeing of marginalized children, such as the left-behind children and their families.

 

About the American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (AAFCS)

Based in the Washington, D.C., area, AAFCS is the only association for family and consumer sciences students and professionals across multiple practice settings and content areas. For more than 100 years, AAFCS has focused its mission on providing leadership and support for professionals whose work assists individuals, families, and communities in making more informed decisions about their well-being, relationships, and resources to achieve optimal quality of life. AAFCS members provide research-based knowledge about the topics of everyday life to help create healthy and sustainable families. These topics include human development, personal and family finance, housing and interior design, food science, nutrition and wellness, textiles and apparel, and consumer issues. AAFCS members are located nationwide, and include educators, administrators and managers, human service and business professionals, researchers, community volunteers, and consultants who develop research-based information and deliver programs on essential skills to help individuals and families be better prepared to live, work, and succeed in today’s complex and diverse world.

Field of Family & Consumer Sciences

Family and consumer sciences (FCS) draws from broad and diverse disciplines to develop and provide content and programs that help individuals become more effective critical thinkers and problem solvers.  Through discovery and delivery of research-based knowledge, FCS professionals help individuals and families develop essential skills to successfully live and work in a complex world. Professionals in the field are uniquely qualified to speak on many critical issues affecting individuals and families, such as maintaining a healthy lifestyle, wisely managing personal and family finances, and creating supportive relationships with family members, friends, and co-workers.  They are located nationwide in a variety of practice settings, including secondary schools, universities, government agencies, and businesses.

 

For more information, please contact:

Gwynn Mason
Sr. Director, Communications & Marketing, AAFCS
703-706-4613
gmason@aafcs.org

 

###

0 comments
3 views

Permalink