Lydia Donaldson Tutt-Jones
Memorial Grant Recipient
and
2002 National Success Summit Research Presenter
Ms. Zena Mello
Presenting her study on
Tomorrow’s Forecast: Future Orientation As A Protective
Factor
Among Low-Income African American Adolescents
Ms. Mello is currently a doctoral candidate in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at The Pennsylvania State University, where she also received a Master’s of Science degree in 2000. She has a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and was honored with College Service Award upon graduation in 1994. In 2000, she was selected for an Educational Award from the Pennsylvania Psychological Foundation and a Volunteer Award from Stormbreak Runaway and Homeless Shelter in Pennsylvania, for her years of dedication and volunteer work with runaway and homeless adolescents. Ms. Mello is a member of Kappa Omicron Nu Honor Society, the Society for Research on Adolescence, and the Society for Research on Child Development. Her research focuses on the future orientation and identity formation of low-income and ethnic minority adolescents.