The Edwin H. Olson Award in Human Services

Established by students, friends, and colleagues to honor Professor Edwin H. Olson upon his 1989 retirement from Lawrence University, this award recognizes the top senior psychology major intending to pursue a career in a psychology-related helping profession. Sophia Shultz, a psychology major, is highly engaged in the department through serving as the Secretary of the Lawrence United Psychology Association and contributing to multiple research laboratories, where she has taken on novel projects like creating inclusive questionnaires for health research and evaluating storybooks for teaching children about Autism. She is also involved in community outreach such as helping to implement mindfulness training in classrooms and providing neurodiversity support and training for children and educators. Sophia plans to pursue a PhD in School Psychology to promote the mental health and emotional well-being of neurodivergent youth.