Alexandra Klesin graduated from Mount Saint Mary College in December of 2018 with her BA in Psychology and a minor in Philosophy. She is currently the Project Development Coordinator for a new Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Program at The Mount. Along the way, Alexandra has found that her passions lie in helping adolescents who struggle with mental illness succeed both in their everyday lives and academically. After the ASEF fellowship, she desires to continue her education and pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology. This summer, Alexandra will assist Prof.Dr. Valentina Hlebec on an international research and innovation project called “Me-We” at The University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences. “Me-We” stands as an abbreviation for psychosocial support for promoting mental health and well-being amongst young carers in Europe (me-we.eu). Young carers are adolescents who become the primary caretakers for a parent or sibling with a mental/developmental disorder.
Alexandra sees this fellowship as an incredible opportunity to not only strengthen her research skills but to strengthen her ties to her Slovenian heritage, too. She is grateful to visit her grandparents’ home and walk through the streets of Ljubljana, immersing herself in all that Slovenia has to offer. In her downtime, Alexandra loves to write, especially poetry. She hopes to fill her journal this summer with riveting stories she can share with friends and family. When she is not writing, she is probably reading. Alexandra also enjoys working out, yoga, and playing volleyball. Typically, you can find her sitting somewhere scenic, eating a cupcake.