Auburn College of Education students land prestigious pre-doctoral internships

Fatmah AlQadfan, Gabrielle Brown, Courtney Williams, LaKaylyn Washington and Stephanie Gonzalez-Galvan (not pictured) are students in the Counseling Psychology doctoral program of Auburn’s College of Education and recently landed prestigious pre-doctoral internships at leading peer institutions.

Stephanie Gonzalez-Galvan landed a prestigious predoctoral internship with the University of Florida - Counseling and Wellness Center (Gainesville, Fla.).

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Five students in the Counseling Psychology doctoral program of Auburn’s College of Education recently landed prestigious pre-doctoral internships at leading peer institutions.

“I am proud of each student who successfully matched to a predoctoral internship site this year,” said Jeff Reese, head of the Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, and Counseling in Auburn’s College of Education. “It is a nationally competitive process, and their success is a tribute to their talent and work ethic. Their success is also reflective of the excellent training they receive by our stellar faculty and great community partners in the Counseling Psychology Ph.D. program.” 

The 2025 pre-doctoral interns and their training site placements are as follows:

Fatmah AlQadfan: Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburg, Pa.)

Gabrielle Brown: University of South Carolina - Counseling and Psychiatry (Columbia, S.C.)

Stephanie Gonzalez-Galvan: University of Florida - Counseling and Wellness Center (Gainesville, Fla.)

LaKaylyn Washington: UNC-Charlotte CAPS (Charlotte, N.C.)

Courtney Williams: Florida State University - Counseling and Psychological Services (Tallahassee, Fla.)

Reese said the process of matching with an internship site is similar to that of medical students matching for their residency. Reese added that his department has a 100% streak of matching students with top placements. Auburn College of Education Professor and Director of Training, Counseling Psychology Marilyn Cornish said the latest internship placements speak to each student’s hard work. 

“These students have already put several years into their training and education, each providing hundreds of hours of clinical services to clients in our local Alabama and west Georgia communities,” she said. “They are now taking their talents to communities throughout the U.S. for their full-time one-year pre-doctoral internship. This internship, along with their dissertation research project, is their last Ph.D. training requirement on their way to becoming counseling psychologists. I am proud of their accomplishments so far, and I'm excited to see the impact they make moving forward.”

Cornish said the counseling psychologist role is such an important one, noting that professionals in that field “play a critical role in the health service psychology profession. As licensed psychologists, our graduates provide counseling, psychological assessment, outreach, professional consultation, and systems-level interventions to clients in a variety of settings. They are also trained to conduct research on topics such as mental health, wellbeing, and psychological interventions. Some graduates may also become educators and supervisors to the next generation of mental health professionals.” 

AlQadfan said she is excited about her placement at Carnegie Mellon and credits her experience with Auburn’s College of Education for setting her on the path to success.

“The Counseling Psychology program at Auburn has provided invaluable training in the classroom and through practicum clinical experiences,” she said. “However, what stood out to me the most has been the unwavering mentorship and support of my faculty. They have been there through every high and low, celebrating my wins and guiding me through challenges. The opportunity to teach in the counseling minor has also been instrumental in my growth as a clinician and scholar, significantly contributing to my competitiveness as a pre-doctoral applicant. While it feels bittersweet to be leaving Auburn, I am grateful for everything I've learned and look forward to carrying these lessons with me into this next chapter.”

Washington—a fifth-year doctoral candidate—shared a similar sentiment.

“In preparation for predoctoral internship, our program takes on a developmental approach to support students through different clinical, research-based, and teaching (if interested) training opportunities,” she said. “Within the program, students are given the chance to tailor their training experience to fit their long-term career goals. This personalized training experience is often reflected in the type(s) of internship sites students choose to apply to.

“Personally, this is reflected in my appeal to university counseling centers and working within this setting during my internship year.  Moreover, the support I've received during my time here at Auburn has pushed me to step outside of my comfort zone, take on leadership roles, build life-long connections, and now, match at an amazing internship site for the last phase of my training! I am immensely grateful for my colleagues, advisors, professors, and friends who have all played an integral role in my time here!”