<picture class="lw_image"> <source type="image/webp" srcset="/live/image/gid/110/width/400/23514_IMG_5063.rev.1574788717.webp 1x"/> <source type="image/jpeg" srcset="/live/image/gid/110/width/400/23514_IMG_5063.rev.1574788717.jpg 1x"/> <img src="/live/image/gid/110/width/400/23514_IMG_5063.rev.1574788717.jpg" width="400" height="533" alt="Amanda Anzovino '19, Dr. Nava Silton, and Patrick Riley '20" data-max-w="480" data-max-h="640" loading="lazy"/></picture>
Amanda Anzovino '19, Dr. Nava Silton, and Patrick Riley '20
Patrick Riley ’20, Psychology and Public Health double major, and Amanda Anzovino ’19, a recent Psychology alumna, participated in the Greater New York Behavioral Conference hosted by Fordham University on November 24.
The annual conference highlights the research and presentations of undergraduate and graduate students and faculty in behavioral sciences (psychology, social work, urban studies, international studies, and related fields).
Riley and Anzovino received the Scarpetta Award (for best undergraduate research) for their latest Realabilities and Addy & Uno work conducted alongside faculty mentor and collaborator Nava Silton, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology.
In addition, Anzovino also received the Hanson Award (for best behavioral research on social justice) for her work on women in the police force. Her work was supported by mentors, Linda Solomon, Ph.D., and Cheryl Paradis, Ph.D., Professors of Psychology at MMC.
Professor Nava Silton has had a varied career in health and human development. She’s created graphic novels about the adventures of children with visible and invisible disabilities and produced an off-Broadway musical about disabilities and bullying. Levar Burton and The Jim Henson Company are developing two of her projects for the small screen.
But she wouldn’t have been able to envision it in her early days as a premed student; back then, she thought building a career in health meant following a narrow professional track. “I remember thinking, okay, maybe I’ll be a physician or teach in a medical school,” she said. “I’d always been creative, but I never thought it would relate to any professional goals I’d have in health.”
That changed when she took a developmental psychology class that showed her how rich and exciting the field could be and worked with a professor who helped her realize that creativity could be an asset in health—and not just a passion she pursued on the side.
Now, as the director of MMC’s new Center for Health, Human Development, and Creativity, Dr. Silton is helping Marymount Manhattan students reach that same understanding from the moment they step foot on campus.