Ryon McDermott’s winding path started with meteorology at the University of Kansas, took a brief detour through the world of professional skateboarding, but ultimately he graduated from the University of Houston, College of Education (UH COE) with a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology.

McDermott’s exposure to psychology began with his mother, a counseling psychology professor at the University of Kansas. “Looking back,” says McDermott, “I always knew I wanted to be some kind of scientist and have the ability to help people on a massive scale. I started out at the University of Kansas majoring in meteorology, however, I began to understand that psychology was something I was passionate about.”

McDermott initially came to UH COE for the Masters in Counseling program, but became attached to the city of Houston and the doctoral faculty at COE, which led to him to pursue his Ph.D.  He focused on his area of research while working closely with Department of Psychological, Health, and Learning Sciences (PHLS) professor Frederick Lopez and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, Jon Schwartz.  “I am incredibly grateful to Jon for introducing me to the psychology of men and masculinity, which is one of my main areas of research. Additionally, I was originally drawn to the doctoral program because of Fred’s research on adult attachment, and working with him was a dream come true,” said McDermott.

The respect between advisor and advisee was mutual. “I enjoyed serving as Ryon’s advisor, mentor, and dissertation director during his time in our doctoral program,” says Lopez. “I am especially proud that his dissertation – a study of how college men’s adult attachment orientations and gender role stress predicted their attitudes toward intimate partner violence – was the first dissertation study by any UH counseling psychology student to be published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology, our discipline’s premier research journal.”

McDermott is currently starting his third year as an assistant professor in the Department of Professional Studies at the University of South Alabama (USA).  He was recently appointed the Associate Director of clinical training at USA where he will supervise practicum students. He has also published numerous manuscripts in professional journals, and obtained an $875,000 National Science Foundation grant.

When asked for advice for current doctoral students, McDermott said, “The ability to use the scientific method and derive evidenced-based decisions is the hallmark of a Ph.D. Every doctoral student should publish at least once or twice before finishing the program.”