The American Association of University Women (AAUW) has awarded its 2020–21 Career Development Grant to Allison Huynh ’22. Huynh is a graduate student in our Marriage and Family Therapy program. Her area of interest is health psychology with a focus on providing counseling services to cancer survivors and caregivers.

“I am beyond grateful, excited, and honored that AAUW chose me as a 2020-2021 recipient for a Career Development Grant,” said Huynh. “As a mother of a newborn who also works and attends graduate school, their support and encouragement will play a vital role in helping me achieve my goal of becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist and working toward narrowing the disparities that occur far too often in mental health care.”

For more than 132 years, AAUW has provided more than $115 million in fellowships, grants, and awards to 13,000 women from 150 countries. AAUW is proud to be one of the nation’s largest educational funders for women of color.

AAUW Career Development Grants help women who are preparing to change or advance their careers, or to re-enter the workforce. This funding is especially important given that women are disproportionately burdened by student debt.  And their ability to pay off that debt is hampered by a lifelong pay gap that affects women in nearly every profession. The pay gap widens over time and has consequences on all aspect of a woman’s financial life, from paying for an education to saving for a comfortable retirement. AAUW’s awards help to alleviate the burden of student debt so women can focus on developing their skills and experience.

Congratulations, Allison!