Pepperdine Students Awarded More Than $460,000 in Prestigious LA County Department of Mental Health Stipends

Twenty-five Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP) students have been selected to receive the 2024–2025 Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health stipend. Valued at $18,500 per recipient, this year’s awards total $462,500 in funding to support Pepperdine students preparing to serve in high-need mental health settings. Two additional students were named alternates.

Among the 25 recipients, 23 are from the Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology with an Emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy (MACLP) program and two are from the Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology (PsyD) program. These results reflect Pepperdine’s strong alignment with the county’s workforce priorities and its commitment to developing the next generation of compassionate, service-minded mental health professionals that will serve communities in Los Angeles County and beyond.

This year, 67 MFT students and 17 psychology students were selected across all participating institutions for this competitive countywide program. With 23 MFT stipend recipients, Pepperdine University had the highest number of awardees among all institutions. Pepperdine also submitted 53 MFT applications, the highest across the county, demonstrating the program’s depth of talent and commitment to public mental health. The University also represents more than 10% of all psychology stipend recipients.

The LAC DMH Stipend Program supports the development of the public mental health workforce by awarding stipends to graduate students in social work, marriage and family therapy, clinical psychology (PhD/PsyD), and psychiatric nursing. Awardees are required to attend an orientation and commit to working in a county-approved mental health setting following graduation.

Pepperdine GSEP congratulates the following students who have received the 2024–2025 LAC DMH stipend:

MFT Recipients

• Ekaterina Alyabyeva
• Melody Baker
• Yoo Jung Chang
• Marina Chaplin
• Christopher Flores
• Reena Han
• Sarin Hanneyan
• Maria Hezkial
• Alan Keo
• Kevin Lasting
• Emma Lee Archambeau
• Zhuxuan Li
• Sophia Nelson
• Ikechi Okpara
• Ariel Parker
• Carla Patraca-Montano
• Valeska Penate Munguia
• Karen Perez
• Madeline Perry
• Brianna Pham
• Maria Del Carmen Rosales
• Melinda Ruskin

PsyD Recipients

• Elizabeth Cabadas
• Tsahai Jenkins

Pepperdine University is honored to support these dedicated students in their journeys to becoming compassionate mental health professionals. Their selection is a testament to GSEP’s commitment to excellence, service, and community impact across Los Angeles County.