story by Claire Miller
Chi Sigma Iota (CSI), the international counseling honor society, has recognized College of Education & Human Development doctoral students Mary Chase Mize and Ashlei Rabess with 2021 awards for their research and service.
Mize will receive the Outstanding Research Award and Rabess will receive the Outstanding Service to the Chapter Award at CSI Days, the honor society’s annual conference March 23-26, 2021.
The Outstanding Research Award recognizes doctoral research “that shows promise for outstanding contributions to the counseling profession,” according to the CSI website.
Mize is assistant director of the Department of Counseling and Psychological Services’ H.O.P.E. Lab, which focuses on suicide intervention research and training, research on religious/spiritual coping during disaster, and clinical outreach with disaster-impacted populations. In this role, she and her advisor, Assistant Professor Laura Shannonhouse, have trained more than 100 volunteers across the metro-Atlanta area who provide home-delivered meals to homebound older adults in Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST). Her research has been published in the Journal of Psychology and Theology, Teaching and Supervision in Counseling and the Journal of Counselor Education and Supervision. One of the manuscripts she co-authored received the 2018 Chi Sigma Iota Outstanding Research Award and she is currently a part-time staff clinician with Jewish Family and Career Services of Atlanta.
“Receiving this recognition from CSI for our research means more to me than I can say. Community-based research is tough but to me, it’s the most rewarding research we can do as counselors,” she said. “I am so honored to receive this recognition from Chi Sigma Iota and it would not have been possible without Dr. Laura Shannonhouse, Dr. Matthew Fullen, Dr. Casey Barrio Minton, Dr. Dennis Gilbride and the entire H.O.P.E. Lab. I am thrilled to share this achievement with each of them.”
The Outstanding Service to the Chapter Award recognizes an individual chapter member “who has excelled in scholarship, service to the chapter, extracurricular involvements and evidence of excellence and commitment,” according to the CSI website.
Rabess, who is pursuing her doctorate in counselor education and practice, has served in a number of leadership and advocacy roles throughout her career in the counseling profession, including a graduate student representative and fellow of the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development, president of the Chi Epsilon chapter of Chi Sigma Iota, a Chi Sigma Iota leadership intern, an editorial assistant for the Journal for Counselor Leadership and Advocacy, a Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision emerging leader and Fellow for the National Center for Civil and Human Rights LGBTQ Institute. Her research focuses on multiculturalism, social justice and advocacy efforts within counseling and counselor education for marginalized and underserved populations.
“Receiving this award means a great deal to me. As our chapter president, the executive council and I have spent countless hours ensuring a quality membership experience for our members despite the global pandemic,” Rabess said. “I am thankful for such a dedicated executive council and a supportive, engaged chapter.”
For more information about CSI’s awards, visit https://www.csi-net.org/page/Awards.