Two FSU doctoral students selected for competitive Philanthropic Educational Organization scholarships

Two Florida State University graduate students have earned scholarships from an international women’s organization recognizing academic excellence by high-achieving doctoral students.

Clinical psychology doctoral student Morgan Robison and history doctoral student Danielle Wirsansky, both from the College of Arts and Sciences, have received 2025-2026 Scholar Awards from the Philanthropic Educational Organization, or P.E.O., a nonprofit organization dedicated to uplifting women through education.

“Morgan and Danielle’s success reflects the caliber of their work and the strength of FSU’s graduate programs,” said Adrienne Stephenson, director of FSU’s Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards. “By investing in these women scholars, P.E.O. empowers individual success while driving meaningful progress in research, leadership and innovation across disciplines.”

Founded in 1869 by seven female university students, P.E.O. has helped more than 125,000 women worldwide pursue their goals by providing upwards of $435 million in educational assistance. First awarded in 1991, P.E.O. Scholar Awards are highly competitive merit-based scholarships providing up to $25,000 for one year of study and research by women who will make significant contributions in their fields. Of the 776 women nominated by local P.E.O. chapters this year, Robison and Wirsansky are among only 100 honorees nationwide.

Robison, a rising fifth-year doctoral student in the Department of Psychology, conducts research on suicide risk, intervention and prevention in the Laboratory for the Study and Prevention of Suicide-Related Conditions and Behaviors under the mentorship of Thomas Joiner, Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of Psychology and the director of FSU’s Psychology Clinic.

“The award brings valuable visibility to our work, which is an essential step in advancing suicide prevention research,” Robison said. “Receiving this generous scholarship is humbling and exciting. It will directly support my research and ease the financial transition into my clinical internship year.”

Robison’s work suggests that one’s perception of themselves — shaped by how they psychologically and neurobiologically interpret external, interpersonal experiences such as social exclusion — influences mental health outcomes more than the interactions themselves.

Suicide prevention research and identifying those most at risk is increasingly critical as suicide rates have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for minorities, with 2024 marking the highest rate of suicide in the U.S. since 1941, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“This work is deeply informed by philosophy, social psychology, history and neuroscience with each field offering a distinct lens on how we define and express our humanity as well as how that humanity can be diminished or denied,” Robison said. “I apply these perspectives in clinical psychology to better understand how we can foster belonging through our shared human experience, ultimately preventing serious mental health outcomes.”

“By investing in these women scholars, P.E.O. empowers individual success while driving meaningful progress in research, leadership and innovation across disciplines.”

– Adrienne Stephenson, director of FSU’s Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards

Also entering the fifth year of her program, Wirsansky is a doctoral student in the Department of History working under the mentorship of Nathan Stoltzfus, an FSU emeritus professor of history.

Wirsansky’s dissertation explores the experiences of World War II spies and focuses on women who served in the British Special Operations Executive and were captured by Nazis. By examining how gender shaped their recruitment, training, treatment in captivity and postwar memory, Wirsansky’s work illuminates how female spies navigated and challenged the gender norms of their time.

“Every time I uncover a letter, a photograph or a personal story, I feel like I am restoring part of their legacy,” Wirsansky said. “I want the public to recognize and honor the courage and contributions of these often-overlooked women, many of whom risked everything in service of freedom and resistance.”

Wirsansky also earned a 2024 Fulbright Study/Research Award from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, funding her present archival research on female World War II spies at the Yad Vashem Museum in Jerusalem, Israel. This work not only expands upon existing knowledge of the past, but it also informs current and future understanding of how gender plays into wartime dynamics.

“I was thrilled and honestly a little stunned when I found out I received the P.E.O. Scholar Award,” Wirsansky said. “Graduate school can be financially and emotionally demanding, especially in the final stages of dissertation writing. This award helps me begin my career on solid footing with fewer obstacles and greater momentum.”

For more information about graduate fellowship and award opportunities, visit the Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards at ogfa.fsu.edu.