Morgan Crawley came from a very close-knit family in rural eastern Tennessee – Luttrell, Tennessee to be exact, just east of Knoxville – and found her way to FIU because she wanted to play Division I beach volleyball, and according to her, there was no better place to play beach volleyball than in Miami. But what Crawley didn't realize is that in addition to finding her way to the Modesto A. Maidique Campus on SW 8^th Street to pursue her athletic passion, her greatest accomplishment may have been finding her way into the hearts of some very unaware young people and their families during her four years at FIU, while also making her mark academically.
 
Crawley, a psychology major, who graduated in May with a 3.960 grade point average, and a perfect 4.0 grade point average in her major, was honored on April 26 by FIU's College of Arts, Sciences, and Education with its Outstanding Academic Achievement Award for her academic accomplishments, but also for her extensive work and research with the School R.E.A.D.Y Lab, a summer treatment program for pre-kindergarteners.
 
"I was extremely excited to receive the award and was very much honored," said Crawley. "I have been working in that lab for a while and it's a very serious commitment because you work almost every single day and have certain hours in the lab. I did a lot of clinical work and collected a lot of data, and then took that information and turned it into something that could be used in the future. There were things I had to work through and there were times I didn't meet my goals, but I kept working hard and I was persistent in what I wanted to do. So receiving this award was pretty emotional for me because it's a huge honor. I didn't realize how important it was until it was happening."
 
The School R.E.A.D.Y Lab is part of the nationally acclaimed Summer Treatment Program within FIU's Center for Children and Families. It is a comprehensive summer camp program for children ages 5-12 with ADHD and related behavioral, emotional and learning challenges. The program is composed of evidence-based intensive treatments incorporated into an eight-week therapeutic summer camp setting. Group and tailored-individual treatment plans are focused on improving problem-solving, academic functioning and social skills—while also incorporating recreational, age-appropriate games and group activities.
 
The Summer Treatment Program for Pre-Kindergarteners (STP-PreK), the program that Crawley was so involved in, is a comprehensive school readiness program for children entering kindergarten with behavior problems. The STP-PreK is a summer program based on the award-winning research-based Summer Treatment Program (STP) for elementary-aged children, under the supervision of co-Directors, Dr. Katie Hart and Dr. Paulo Graziano.
 
The STP also encourages parent involvement with weekly parent training sessions to develop the skills needed to change their child's behavior at home and assist in their progress.
 
"Morgan has been outstanding from the beginning," said Dr. Hart. "When she came to interview for the position she was really excited about it. She had worked in a preschool previously and in a summer camp, where her mother is an early childhood educator, so from the minute I met Morgan she was really excited and wanted to learn and wanted to transfer what she was learning in her classes to applied work with kids."
 
"Morgan is really eager to learn," said Bridget Poznanski a doctoral student serving as a mentor for Crawley. "She asks a lot of questions from us and is always looking for feedback on what she's been doing. But she's really quick to incorporate that feedback and she picks up on little subtleties really quickly."
 
Prior to attending FIU, Crawley had worked various summer camps and volunteered at an inner-city school and had her eyes opened by some of the things that she saw, but still wasn't quite sure what her exact career path would be. But she knew that she wanted to make a difference.
 
"When I was 16 (years old) I started working at a summer camp and I did that for three summers and I loved it," said Crawley. "I loved the kids, I loved the interacting, but I knew that there was something more. I also volunteered at an inner-city school and I saw that there was a lot of need there. They had this backpack program where every Friday they would stuff backpacks with food because those kids weren't eating. That was the first time that I was exposed to an environment where kids aren't given what they should be given, basic needs like food and tender loving care, things like that. That setting really moved me and that's what kind of sparked my interest."
 
Crawley went on to say, "I went to college for a psychology degree, and I wanted to help those kids, so at first I was thinking social work but then I decided that I wanted to do more research. While I was in the research lab I was also taking research methods, and that professor, Professor (Brian) Cahill, really instilled in me that that is what validates psychology as a science, was researching these different theories. In the spring of my junior year, I started working with these kids that we were giving services to, so I would do a lot of intakes and certain assessments, IQ testing, school readiness testing, and I just really enjoyed being able to help them in a way that was also educational, because education is the one thing that equalizes everyone. If you are given a good education, then your opportunities should be almost equal no matter what race, color or gender you are."
 
Considering the field that Crawley has chosen, she is well aware that challenges are part of the norm when dealing with children with behavior issues, and that frequently the children that receive services and take part in the summer treatment program at FIU have a negative label bestowed upon them by teachers in their classrooms during the school year. But through positive reinforcement and behavior management, positive strides can be made.
 
"You go to school for years and years and years, and there are always those one-or-two kids in the classroom that make things difficult, and those kids may not be bad kids, they may just be unable to sit still, or they are not interested in what we're talking about and they act out. It could be home issues, school issues, any number of things," said Crawley. "So in the summer treatment program, it's all of those kids in one classroom and each day they are being given stickers, they are being rewarded and we're managing this behavior and shaping it to where they are can sit in the classroom."
 
And through it all, the results have been quite impressive.
 
"In the 10 weeks that I did this, I was astonished in the improvement that all of these kids had – it was day-and-night – along with the relationships that they had with their parents," said Crawley. "I think that was the real turning point that took all of the research and everything that I've learned into play with real families, real situations and real kids that can excel. Last summer was probably my defining moment where I realized that this is what I want to do."
 
Clearly, the main component in the summer treatment program is interacting with the children on a day-to-day basis, but one aspect that is no less important is the regular consultations with the families of the children. Families that at times can feel overwhelmed and frustrated while also trying to do what's best for their children.
 
"It's so sad, because some of the stories we hear are heartbreaking," said Dr. Hart. "We've had kids that have been removed from multiple preschools and their teachers have already given up on them and their parents feel hopeless and helpless too because they are saying to us, "What are we doing wrong and how can we help our kids?" So our program ends up being a respite for them because it is finally a positive experience, not matter what. Even if your child hits us or bites us, is in time-out all day and is really negative attention seeking, it really doesn't matter, we are going to care as much, or more. We're not going to lose our cool and send them away. This is a program where we believe in every single kid and that's what we instill in our counselors, like Morgan – we believe in this kid no matter what."
 
"Now that I am going to be a lead counselor at the camp this summer, I will be dealing with them (families) quite a bit more, but as a counselor we engage with the families pretty often and a lot of the feedback that we get is that they are just very thankful," said Crawley. "There were some questions, sometimes, about some behavior, but most of the time it's the parents telling stories from their children about how much they love the program and counselors, and how much it is benefitting all of them."
 
"It's important for the parents to understand that we have to use a little bit of tough love," said Crawley. "They (the children) are on a point system. When they start breaking the rules it can start to spiral downhill really fast. Something that has been important to me in learning how to manage these kids, is when you see them starting to spiral, you have to take a deep breath and model what their emotion should be. Very calm, very neutral, you say to them listen this is frustrating, but these are the next things that are going to happen. Once they get into the point system they know that if they do something that they may be sent to time-out or they might not get the treasure box. It's important for them to know that yes, this is the consequence, but to also establish the positive relationship right when they get out, like 'great job sitting there, I'm so proud of you,' and the praise part is really where the connection happens."
 
With all of the countless hours of research and studying, sometimes Crawley's success has come down to leadership and old fashion silliness in order to engage the children.
 
"What Morgan brought to the (volleyball) team, and it is obvious that it has carried over into her academics, is that she demanded respect by her actions, she led by example," said FIU beach volleyball Head Coach Rita Buck-Crockett. "She was always on time and making sure that everyone was doing their thing and was always helping. She's the type of leader that people gravitate to because she is always doing the right thing. And quite frankly, she's that cool chick that everybody wants to be around. She's always got it together and is never going to steer people in the wrong direction."
 
"I love working with the kids," said Crawley. "I don't purposely try to make them smile, but I enjoy their company and I think that they enjoy mine. So I like to be goofy, I like to play games that five-year olds like to play. I like to play tag, and things like that, because it's a very strenuous day. It's a set schedule, it changes every 15-20 minutes, and they are constantly on the move. So those little moments you have, those little inside jokes, that personal relationship that you have to build with them is so important. You have to be personable with these kids, and goofy, and enjoy their company and enjoy what you are doing."
 
As for Crawley and what the future holds for her, she plans on continuing her research for the next few years and then eventually beginning her work on her master's degree and her PhD. But for the immediate time being, she is just looking forward to impacting lives.
 
"Everything I'm doing is for my future career, but more importantly, for who I am going to impact in the future," said Crawley. "All of my hard work is also to honor my mom and dad because they let me come here and took a risk letting me come here to FIU, and I just wanted to make sure that they knew that I did everything I could to make them proud, and make my family proud."