Growing up in South Korea, FSU College of Social Work doctoral student Jungup Lee witnessed a time of rapid economic growth, but she also noticed the severe competition, inequality and social discrimination that accompanied it. “I was curious why there were gaps in social status, gender, race, or political group,” Jungup reflected. “These inquiries made me interested in marginalized populations, especially vulnerable children and adolescents.” This led her to a career in social work to work with this population, and her interest in children and adolescents continued into her doctoral program at the FSU College of Social Work.

Starting with a broad interest in at-risk youth, Jungup refined her research agenda during her time in the doctoral program. Her focus became identifying the protective and risk factors as well as the negative behavioral and psychological outcomes associated with bullying and victimization. She began researching ways to facilitate the development of effective treatment plans for practitioners working with children and adolescents in school settings.  The area of bullying and cyberbullying became the focus of her doctoral dissertation. In June 2017, she successfully defended her dissertation, entitled “Traditional Bullying and Cyberbullying in Childhood and Young Adulthood: Prevalence, Relationship, and Psychological Distress Outcomes Among Young Adults.”

Jungup will also jump right into a tenure-track assistant professor position with the National University of Singapore Department of Social Work. “I am so excited to meet the new faculty and students!” She explained. “The National University of Singapore is one of the top universities in Asia and has a large body of diverse faculty, staff, and students coming from all over the world. I will have tremendous opportunities to work with experts in my field.”

In the first year in her new position, she will be mentoring students and teaching classes on advanced research and evaluation, social policy and planning, cyberbullying, and human development. Jungup will continue her research on the correlates of social media and cyberbullying, school violence and safety among children and adolescents, the effects of adverse childhood experiences on behavioral health and psychological/health factors, and behaviors health association with acculturation and discrimination factors in racial/ethnic minority groups.

Singapore is a good fit for Jungup’s research agenda because it is a unique city-state, as well as a hub for global commerce, finance, and transport making it home to a diverse array of ethnic groups, languages, and cultures. “I am so excited to have the chance to experience these diverse cultures. But I will miss the many opportunities for mentorship, collaborative research, and critical thinking with my fellow doctoral students, professors, and community stakeholders. I’ve been so inspired by their passion and dedication,” Jungup said.