Since 2017, DePaul psychology students have deepened their knowledge of clinical research through the Act and Adapt program.

Founded by DePaul’s Antonio Polo, a professor of psychology in the College of Science and Health, Act and Adapt is a school-based coping skills program that supports Chicago Public Schools and families in a strategic, evidence-based way. Polo and his student teams from the Culture and Evidence-Based Practice lab  have implemented it across more than 225 CPS schools, supporting over 690 therapy groups, and serving over 3800 elementary-aged students.  

“Over the years, we've established two arms of the program,” Polo says. “One is focused on having new staff learn the program and implement it for the first time, and the other supports return providers who tried the program, delivered it and want to come back and continue doing it at their schools; we call that the sustainability arm.” More than 500 school counselors, social workers, and psychologists from CPS have participated in the program.  

DePaul undergraduates are deeply involved in the project, developing research skills and experience in school‑based mental health work. They conduct interviews and assessments, travel to CPS schools to meet with students and parents, help manage and analyze data, and prepare reports that inform the program’s delivery. Polo describes this as a glimpse into “real-world” practice.

“Our DePaul students get real-life contact with the students who are at risk. They also get to see professionals who are working in schools with various roles,” Polo says. “And, of course, they’re also central to the research process in the more traditional sense — analyzing data, coming up with reports, and then providing those reports so that they have some meaning and can be acted upon.”

For some DePaul students, this opportunity offered a chance to discover their passions and truly connect with the project.  

“It really resonated with me because a lot of the schools that are being served are in the South Side of Chicago, which is where I grew up,” says Evelin Regalado, a senior psychology major. “It was the first introduction I got that showed academic research doesn't look one way. It can be very inclusive, and I sparked my initial interest in the project.”

Regalado says she didn’t expect to ever have this experience during her college years as a first-generation student, but Polo encouraged her to explore scholarship opportunities with the McNair Scholar Program.  

“I had heard about it on campus, but it felt like those scholarships were for other people, not people like me. It wasn't until he had a meeting with me and said I would make a good fit that I considered it. I applied, and we went from there.” Regalado says.  

For senior psychology student, Megan Rust, the program opened up several possibilities for her studies and career.  

“I've been given such a great opportunity of being able to actually explore what it'd be like to do this professionally,” Rust says, “Working in research studies as a professional definitely changed my perspective.”

As an undergraduate, Rust has also engaged in research while working at Rush University Medical Center. The Act and Adapt program brought her outside the lab to see how psychological research with human subjects looks in the real world.  

“When you work with multiple students, you may have one student who is completely quiet, and another student who is pretty talkative, and you have to learn how to balance both,” Rust says. “I've learned how to feel comfortable navigating those dynamics by being part of this long-term project. Otherwise, I would have only known about it in theory.”

For Regalado and Rust, diving into a major research program like this was rewarding in several ways. In addition to seeing growth in students’ behaviors or improvements in data, they’ve seen personal growth too.

“Having the opportunity to grow from an assistant to more of a coordinator leadership role has been exciting to be part of,” Regalado says.

Taking the leap and joining a research opportunity can be intimidating, but it’s an experience each DePaul student who's interested should try at least once.

"I definitely would recommend any freshman or undergraduate to take advantage of any research opportunity that they can.” Rust says, “I think a lot of people are scared of research. But I think what's rewarding about it is knowing that you're taking what you've learned in the classroom and using it in a way that's going to benefit the community and the people around you.”