Graduate Students

Elysia Desgrosseilliers, BMus, MPH, BA (Honours), MSc

Elysia completed her honours and MSc theses with the SWell lab and is continuing her research as a Doctoral candidate in social psychology. She is studying women’s experiences in the Canadian Armed Forces.

“My first career was as a professional musician, playing for the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra and for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Discovering that I preferred music as a hobby rather than as a career, I returned to university to study public health. Although I was (and still am) passionate about the prevention of injury and illness, I couldn’t shake the idea of a full-time career in the military. I became a Personnel Selection Officer in the CAF and I returned to university to study psychology. During my undergraduate psychology degree, I became especially interested in social psychology and how an individual’s behaviours and thoughts are influenced by their surroundings. More specifically, I became interested in how a military woman’s experiences are influenced by working in the traditionally male work environment of the CAF. When I’m not studying or working, I can be found paddle boarding or enjoying a coffee and relaxing with a book.”

Erin Lowey, BA (Honours), MSc

Erin completed her BA and MSc degrees at the University of Victoria and is currently a Doctoral candidate in social psychology at UVic. She is studying whether self-expansion motivation can help to explain how friendships sometimes transition to romantic relationships.

“I have always been fascinated with how people choose romantic partners, as well as the underlying mechanisms of attraction, such as why people are drawn to certain others romantically while others remain as friendships. During my master’s, I explored how friendships transition to romance and compared their relationship initiation trajectories with couples who became romantic almost immediately. During my PhD, I became fascinated with self-expansion theory and the role it might play in relationship initiation. I am excited to investigate how emotional intimacy, passion, and self-expansion interact to facilitate relationship initiation, specifically in friendships transitioning to romance.”

Kelby Mullin, BA

Kelby is a Masters student in social psychology at UVic. Kelby is conducting  research seeking to understand how people with disabilities heal from internalized disability stigma.

“I’ve always been interested in examining the unique differences and challenges we face as individuals. I like pondering about what makes you ‘you’, and how different lived experiences create different connections, perceptions, and ideas of self. I began my studies as an engineering/computer science major, but ever since I took a first-year psychology course as an elective I’ve been hooked.  Over the last six years, I’ve worked for several grassroots disability-related non-profit organizations. During this time, I noticed that there is a general lack of awareness and research that involves/is inclusive of people with disabilities (especially within psychology). What is published tends to focus on rehabilitation and how to ‘fix’ disabilities and the people with them. As a person who was born with a permanent disability myself, I truly believe that my disabled experience is invaluable and has shaped my interactions and who I am.  I would like to examine how other disabled people interact with the world around them as well – currently focusing on the process of recovering from internalized disability stigma. In my spare time I like to chill with my cat, play Animal Crossing, cook, and lay in my hammock as much as possible.”

Honours and Directed Studies Students

Lilli Thomas-Brown

Lilli is completing her honours thesis under the supervision of Dr. Stinson. Her research examines experienced of internalized stigma and embodiment among young adults with chronic health conditions.