Finding Community with William Malone

Hello! My name is William Malone (he/him/his), and I am a Senior majoring in Psychology (B.A.) and minoring in Japanese. My Gil internship worksite is at the nonprofit, Durham Children’s Initiative. At the heart of my interest in Psychology is a dedication and love for community.

From the incredible people I met at home or abroad to the warm, welcoming spaces I’ve been invited into, community has been foundational to my undergraduate experience. I took this mindset with me when I studied abroad in Japan, where my passion for developmental psychology started. I studied intercultural communication and leadership in Kyoto, which offered a volunteer opportunity at a Japanese elementary school. We taught Japanese children about our hometowns in English and Japanese, bonding with the students and staff alike across language barriers. By the end of the day, we were all playing at recess, struggling to wrap our heads around Japanese schoolyard games—much to the dismay of the students, who couldn’t fathom our incomprehension to the games’ simplicity. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience; in Japanese, these are called 一期一会(Ichigo-Ichie), and should be cherished as such.

Upon my return, I joined The Winston Center as an undergraduate research assistant for their project FACES, which is examining how social media use during early adolescence relates to body image perceptions. Through my work, I further developed a passion for working with children while cultivating a love of research. Every appointment with a family left me smiling, and every new task I learned immersed me further into the study. By the end of the summer going into my senior year, I was eager to head to Davie Hall to continue our work.

Now, as a Gil Intern, I work for the nonprofit Durham Children’s Initiative, specifically for their research project, Pediatrics Supporting Parents (PSP). Under my mentor Tiffany Solomon, I have been introduced to the many ways community workers help and improve Durham County. PSP’s objective is to battle the impacts of systemic racism and community disinvestments BIPOC families experience within the healthcare system by utilizing a well-child visit as a universal point of access for pediatricians and parents to promote children’s social-emotional well-being, early relational health, and the parent-child relationship. This universal point of access is leveraged by PSP as a touchpoint for clinics to partner with families and offer them resources and support. PSP Durham achieves this by offering free parent resource fliers, parent education webinars, and free reading opportunities via a book vending machine in addition to the well-child visits. Additionally, PSP Durham completed a clinic beautification project, adding child-centered murals to cultivate a more welcoming environment for children. Furthermore, PSP centers parent and community voices at the heart of their work by having a parent advisory team to discuss and plan actionable items to better help the Durham community.

My daily tasks involve organizing the clinic library and overseeing the parent resources and book vending machine. Additionally, I engage in more behind the scenes research, helping the PSP team find research grant and dissemination opportunities through related organizations or conferences. I’ve also had the pleasure of bringing in my work at The Winston Center by presenting to the executive board about my position and facilitating webinars with affiliated faculty.

I am thrilled to continue my work with PSP, and I’d like to thank Dr. Buzinski, Richie Gray, and Tiffany Solomon for giving me this opportunity, and supporting me every step along the way as I continue my passion for Psychology.