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Julianne Doyen to speak at Summer 2007 Commencement Aug. 11

Julianne Doyen, Student Commencement Speaker

July 2007—Graduate and undergraduate students in Liberal Arts will receive degrees during the College of Liberal Arts Commencement ceremony Saturday, Aug. 11, at 9:30 a.m. in Strahan Coliseum.  Julianne Doyen, Psychology major, will be the student Commencement speaker (see below). Fred Heldenfels, owner of Heldenfels Enterprises—a major manufacturer of precast and prestressed concrete—will give the main commencement address.  No tickets are required for admission to the ceremony. Seating is on a first come, first served basis.

Candidates for graduation in Liberal Arts are asked to arrive at Strahan Coliseum by 8:30 a.m. Aug. 11, in order to receive their candidate cards and to line up for the processional. Graduating students should report to Jowers Gym 102. The Commencement schedule, instructions for graduating students, and information on speakers, parking, handicapped accessibility, and more is available by visiting Texas State’s Commencement web site.

About Julianne Doyen: Ms. Doyen, a summa cum laude and Mitte Honors Graduate in Psychology, plans to pursue a career in neuroscience.  She credits her interest in neuroscience to encouragement she received from Texas State Psychology Professor Dr. Gus Lumia and to her long-term interest in brain function. An accomplished artist and a competitive boxer, Ms. Doyen became interested in brain function when she realized that, after some practice, her skills in both art and boxing had become automatic. 

"Over time, boxing became a function so ingrained that it no longer required me to consciously calculate and anticipate what the best route of action might be in order to win. Through training, my body and brain learned how to automatically react to my opponent's movements with such accuracy and speed that it required little conscious effort  on my part. This process absolutely fascinated me," she said.  Her artistic ability progressed in much the same way, she continued, explaining that her brain and hand learned to move with such synchronicity that she often felt as though the art piece was creating itself.

Ms. Doyen has held research assistantships in the Department of Psychology at Texas State and research internships in neuroscience, pharmacology, and physiology at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. She is co-author of a journal article and a bibliography of materials on psychology, as well as five papers presented at professional conferences.

At Texas State, Ms. Doyen has worked as a teaching assistant and tutor in the Department of Psychology and as a lab technician in the Department of Chemistry. She has been director of the Journal Club and the Undergraduate Research Symposium and co-director of the Three G's Workshop, all in the Department of Psychology. Among her academic honors, Ms. Doyen was named the Department of Psychology Outstanding Senior in Spring 2007 and was a finalist for the Across Campus LBJ Outstanding Graduating Senior Award in 2007. She received first place in the Texas State Undergraduate Research Conference in Fall 2007, the Liberal Arts Award for Academic Excellence Fall 2004-Spring 2006, the Psi Chi Certificate of Recognition for Scholarly Contributions Spring 2005, and she has been named repeatedly to the Dean's List.  An accomplished artist, Ms. Doyen exhibited in the Texas State All Juried Competition Exhibit in Fall 2004, was awarded "Best of Casting" in the Ellen Noel Art Museum State Metals Exhibit in 2004, and was named Across Campus Outstanding Writer at Sam Houston University, where she attended in 2002.  She is the recipient of 10 scholarship awards, including the prestigious Mitte Honors Thesis Grant and Mitte Honors Program Scholarship.

Ms. Doyen is a member of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, the Southwestern Psychological Association, the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, and three national academic honor societies—Psi Chi, Golden Key, and Phi Theta Kappa.