Olga Mejía Assistant Professor (657) 278-7263 Office: EC-444 omejia@fullerton.edu

Personal Biography

I was born in Baja California, Mexico and lived there until I was 9 years old.  I came to California with my family and learned English quickly.  As a 1.5 generation Mexican woman, I have since then grown up integrating cultures.  This has not always been an easy task, but one that has enriched my life experiences and has given me a unique perspective into various worlds. 

After finishing High School in a predominately Chicano neighborhood, I attended Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Smith College is a small, private, liberal arts, women's college and is predominately upper-middle class Caucasian.  The culture shock was amazing, yet I very much enjoyed my undergraduate experience.  I was the first in my family to go to college in the U.S. and I embraced the challenge wholeheartedly, although I missed my family greatly.  I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics.  One of the most valuable lessons I learned at Smith College is that women's education is very important and that we can achieve anything we set our mind to. 

After taking a break from school for a few years, and much soul searching about my future career, I enrolled in the Counseling Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Texas at Austin.  In Austin I continuously sought to infuse issues of diversity in to my clinical, research, and teaching training.  I attained my Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology in August 2002. 

I came back to southern California to complete my internship at the University of California Irvine's Counseling Center.  I am enjoying reconnecting to southern California personally and professionally.  

Teaching

I believe one of the best ways to learn and teach is to make the material applicable and relevant to every day situations.  Therefore, getting outside of the classroom (literally or figuratively) is important.  Further, I believe teaching is a collaborative effort, which is much enhanced with diversity of students and experiences.

In addition to having lectured as a guest in numerous doctoral courses (including group counseling and minority mental health issues in schools) I also taught undergraduate students at the University of California Irvine.

One aspect I truly appreciate about teaching is the opportunity to advise and mentor students.  Graduate school can be an intense period of intellectual and personal pursuit that at times may be confusing and overwhelming.  As a teacher I see this as a unique opportunity to assist students to achieve their potential. 

Research

My research interests include immigration and psychology, acculturation, attachment, women's issues, and educational achievement of Latinos. The title of my dissertation is "Stress and coping among Mexican American migrant and non-migrant college students," and I examined stress levels, social support, and depressive and anxious symptoms in Mexican American college students from migrant farmwork families.

I have several publications and the topics include: examining individual and societal aspects of immigrating to the U.S., using groups as preventive coping with migrant college students, and promoting career happiness in immigrants. I have presented at numerous conferences, including the American Psychological Association Annual Convention, the National Multicultural Summit and Conference, Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Conference, and the National Counseling Psychology Conference.

Clinical

Most recently I worked as a clinician at a community mental health agency. I conducted individual, group, and family psychotherapy in both English and Spanish. The program is field-based and offers psychotherapy to Latina/o at risk youth and their families by providing comprehensive bilingual and bicultural clinical and case management services.

I have also conducted extensive individual and group psychotherapy, focusing on multicultural counseling, with college students in major universities in Texas and California.  Additionally, I have experience in crisis intervention, assessment, and supervision of therapists in training.