THE TEAM | seallab

Meet the SEAL Lab Team

Emily Coyle, Ph.D.

I am a born-and-raised Pacific Northwesterner. I have also lived in Virginia (for college), Pennsylvania (for grad school), and Wisconsin (for work). I’ve been back in the Pacific Northwest since 2016.

Check out some of my recent research projects here. I'm broadly interested in how social group membership shapes personal cognition, intergroup cognition, and ultimately outcomes like achievement, aspiration, and interest.

I am an avid equestrian. I compete my horse, Discotheque, all over the region. I live in Olympia with my spouse, my daughter, and my stepson. I have a cat, Kiki, and a dog, Linden, both of whom enjoy road trips as much as I do. I also love experimenting in the kitchen and cheering on the Seahawks.

Ph.D. Pennsylvania State University; M.S. ibid.; B.S. Washington & Lee University

For more information, check out my professional website.

Konner Baker

I was born in Olympia but raised in San Antonio, Texas. I moved to Washington in 2018 to reconnect with family and finish my degree. I earned my BA in Psychology from SMU in 2020 and my Associate of Science, Concentration in Engineering from San Antonio College in 2017. My goal is to earn a Ph.D. in child clinical psychology to conduct research, counseling, and psychotherapy for children and youth.

I love working with children – I love inspiring young minds to accomplish more than they thought possible and to be the hero of their own story. My research interests include youth psychological development, personality, assessment, and data science in psychology.

In my free time, I enjoy reading and discussing psychology, politics, and philosophy, as well as playing video games with friends and family. I like to stay fit by running and weightlifting, and I like to relax by spending quality time with family and good company. I am not exactly a workaholic, but I am proud to say that I accomplish anything I put my mind to.

James Watson

I was born in Washington, and have lived here all of my life. I’m a junior pursuing a psychology degree with a minor in biology. After graduation, I plan to study medicine.

I decided to participate in the SEAL lab because it will give me invaluable research experience. In addition, I’m thrilled to be able to help in the acquisition of knowledge.

Outside of academia, you can usually find me exploring the great indoors. I love a good book, a great movie, and the occasional RPG.

Raphaela A. Cady

Hello! I am Sister Raphaela Cady. I am a Benedictine sister of St. Placid Priory and a native to the Pacific Northwest, having lived most of my life in Washington State. I am a post-baccalaureate research assistant in Dr. Coyle’s SEAL lab. I graduated from St. Martin’s University in 2022 with a B.A. in Psychology with a concentration in empirical research and a minor in religious studies. Although my interests in psychology are quite interdisciplinary, it is my hope to go on to graduate studies in social and developmental psychology. I am particularly passionate about inquiring into how sense of agency, self-regulation, and self-reflectiveness in individuals interact with contemplative or mindfulness practices to influence and build healthy interdependent communities and collaborative leadership.

When I am not working with Dr. Coyle’s SEAL lab, I enjoy creating contemplative retreat experiences and building interactive systems that benefit the health and life of a monastic community. I experience my own interconnectedness and interdependence with nature and humankind through the contemplative practices of hiking, videography, and photography. I am grateful for the opportunity to continue participating in and contributing to the empirical research in the SEAL lab.

Megan Convery

Hello! My name is Megan Convery and I am currently a senior at Saint Martin’s University. I am originally from Portland, Oregon and I am a psychology major with an early childhood education minor. With my degree, I am hoping to work as some kind of a psychologist for children, but I’m not really sure on anything more specific than that at this time. I am also an athlete at SMU. I have played softball for the school for the past two years and I can’t wait for the upcoming season!

I joined the SEAL Lab because I thought it was a perfect opportunity to explore the subject area that I am truly interested in. I was very interested in gaining research experience and I am also very excited that I get to start at a pretty young age in this activity! I’m very passionate about understanding child development and how developmental problems come back to haunt people later in life. This lab studies all kinds of topics that fit my interests so I can’t wait to get started. I am now happy and proud to say I am in my second year of being able to explore these topics.

Holly McGrath

I was born in eastern Washington but moved to western Washington at a young age, and that is where I have lived ever since. I earned my B.A. in psychology from Saint Martin’s University summa cum laude in May 2022, and I am currently taking a gap year to build my professional experience and prepare for a graduate program. I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology so I can conduct research and provide psychotherapy to a variety of populations.

I am interested in an array of topics in the field of psychology, particularly those in the realm of abnormal psychology. I am especially passionate about issues like depression, self-harm, and suicide. I am also interested in OCD and related disorders, such as excoriation disorder. I hope to draw more attention to disorders and challenges that are underrepresented in empirical literature, and to become an empathetic and effective professional so I can help individuals facing these challenges.

I was drawn to the SEAL Lab because of the invaluable experience it provides in terms of conducting, analyzing, and writing about research. I have been a research assistant in the lab since August 2021, and I look forward to continuing my work in the lab during the 2022-2023 academic year as Publications Manager.

Outside of academics I enjoy weightlifting, reading, drawing, and spending time with my cats. I also love music, and I thoroughly enjoy attending concerts.

Nicole Huang

Hi my name is Tzu Ting, Huang, you can call me Nicole. I'm an exchange student from Taiwan and I'm currently a sophomore majoring in psychology.

I wanted to join the SEAL lab because I've never been in a lab before in my home country. I'm curious about how the lab works and all the processes. I'm so excited to work on projects with everyone in SEAL and looking forward to gaining a lot of new knowledge about psychology research. I want to be a music therapist in the future, joining the lab can help me learn how to communicate with children. I'm looking forward to the projects and I can't wait to start them!

Scott Judkins

Hi! My name is Scott Judkins, and I am a Senior at Saint Martins University. I graduate with my B.A. in psychology this upcoming December, and I am extremely excited to be apart of the SEAL lab as part of my last semester. After I graduate I will be joining a teacher preparation program in order to receive my teaching certificate and my current end goal is being a high school Psychology teacher.

Right now I do substitute teaching under an emergency teaching certificate, and that's generally what I am doing if I'm not at the college, though in the little bit of free time I have I love to bake, crochet, play with my adorable cat, play video games, and spend time with my loved ones.

I have loved the topic of psychology since 8th grade, and though I do plan to teach it at a high school level I hope to later further my education and become a therapist specializing in childhood trauma, abnormal psychology and PTSD. My dream in later life is to be able to help young adults and veterans who are struggling with an internal battle of their own. Especially since my dad is a veteran it's a close topic to my heart. And though I am a military brat, Washington will forever be home to me.

Mark Doornik

I was born and raised in Port Orchard, Washington, and have lived in the pacific northwest my entire life. I am currently a senior attending Saint Martin’s university, majoring in psychology and criminal justice. I do not have any set plans after graduation yet, but I love the research component of psychology and plan to develop my future career goals in that field.

I joined the SEAL Lab because it is an excellent opportunity to gain some practical experience in the field. In addition, I found a lot of the research that the SEAL lab conducted very interesting, which led me to apply! Most of my education in my academic career has been out of a textbook, so I’m excited to apply these skills to the real thing.

In my free time, I enjoy participating in clubs! I have especially enjoyed my time learning how to play volleyball. I also spend my free time hanging out with friends and playing games.

Katherine Jamerson

I am native to Washington State and have lived here my entire life. I have also spent some time in Oklahoma where my parents live. I am a senior at Saint Martin’s pursuing a B.A in Psychology with a concentration in research and a minor in education. After graduation, I plan to get a teaching certificate and work with elementary-level students.

I joined the SEAL lab for a few reasons. First and foremost, throughout my experience in the empirical research thesis group, I truly grew to love the research lens of psychology. Being a part of this group allowed me to participate in the Western Psychological Association’s convention last April, where I really got an insight into how important research is. I also joined the SEAL lab because its focus on learning and children fits perfectly with my teaching and psychology interests. I am very excited to be a research assistant this year and I look forward to taking on a variety of projects!

Ky Cuthburt

Hi! My name is Ky Cuthbert and I am in my senior year at Saint Martin’s University. I will be graduating this Spring with my B.A. in Psychology with a Research Concentration and a minor in Criminal Justice. I have spent the last year working as a volunteer crisis counselor with Crisis Text Line, which is a texting hotline for those who are experiencing crisis’s. I will be taking the next year to work and prepare for grad school, where I will be going for a Psy. D. in Forensic Psychology. I grew up in Bothell, Washington and have spent my whole life in love with psychology. From my very first psychology course I knew that I wanted to be a psychologist. I joined the SEAL Lab because it is an amazing opportunity to work with Dr. Coyle and gain experience in the field of psychology.

In my free time I enjoy watching movies, playing the Wii and hanging out with friends. I enjoy traveling a lot but am currently living the college student lifestyle. My favorite place I’ve ever visited was Havana, Cuba, although Montezuma, Costa Rica comes in as a close second. Once I am out of grad school I would love to devote more of my time to traveling and multiculturalism. I enjoy learning new things and documentaries are my favorite kind of movies to watch. I drink way too much coffee and have recently spent more time learning to cook for me and roommates.