Industrial-organizational graduate student Christina Sia received the 2026 CHSS Dean’s Challenge Scholarship, which recognizes exceptional students who have demonstrated academic excellence, a commitment to education as a powerful tool for change, and commitment to leadership and community engagement. It is among the most competitive and prestigious scholarships that the college offers and is open to all CHSS students.
George Mason alumna Christina Sia, MPS Applied Industrial-Organizational Psychology ’26, believed she was on the path to becoming a doctor.
But during her undergraduate studies as a biology and psychology double major at Johns Hopkins University, she learned more about workplace and patient discrimination and the stressors medical professionals often face. Discovering industrial-organizational psychology during her final semester at Johns Hopkins, Sia decided on a “whole pivot” to a career where she could help address workplace discrimination and inclusion issues.
“I got really upset by systematic issues in terms of how workers are treated and their level of stress,” Sia said. “The ecosystem of a workplace can play a big influence on how an organization impacts the communities they serve, which was why I thought I-O psychology was incredibly effective in making the large systematic change I was hoping to make. The U.S. is so unique in the fact that it’s so diverse. I was so curious to see how we can kind of all work together and what that looks like and what the barriers are. But also the strengths of that and how we can enhance it.”
A first-generation immigrant, Sia moved to the United States from the Philippines when she was 12 years old. She recalls living in Tampa, Florida, as a shy middle school student and being ridiculed for the different Filipino food she would bring from home.
Reflecting on those childhood moments has allowed her to view industrial-organization psychology through a personal lens, especially with diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace.
“It is something that is still prevalent and something people still experience,” she said. “I wanted to find a way to tackle those issues, and concerns and how do I make our communities and our workspaces a lot more welcoming?”
Sia graduated this past spring with a Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in applied industrial and organizational psychology after two years of gaining valuable research experience.
The program—completely online—allowed her to plunge into a variety of research topics, including workplace discrimination, linguistic justice, identity inclusion, AI regulation, intersectional adverse impact, barriers in job placement for first-generation professionals, and equity-focused workplace theories.
She collaborated on a practicum research project that examined if and how informal gathering spaces at workplaces promote well-being. She also served as a graduate researcher for labs for George Mason psychology professors Yijue Liang and Deborah Rupp. With Rupp, she developed a bipartisan model of employee fairness with the hope of assisting policymakers to “work across party lines in order to best protect the rights and dignity of working adults.”
“Christina has been an amazing collaborator on this project,” Rupp said. “We have a number of studies that explore the current political divide in attitudes about diversity, equity, and inclusion, and seek to understand each view from a psychological perspective.”
She also competed at several consulting competitions, finishing first with her three-member team at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) competition and taking third at the Personnel Testing Council Metropolitan Washington (PTCMW) competition.
This past summer, Sia started a job at the American Institutes for Research as an industrial/organizational psychology research associate where she helps to advance evidence-based practices and improve lives and access to opportunities. In her role, she contributes to business development, job analysis, and is even using item response theory she learned in class when reviewing psychometrics for test items.
She said the networking and the competitions along with the freedom and trust she received from faculty and doctoral students built up her confidence to be able to step into a full-time position and make an impact right away.
“I didn’t expect the level of independence I'd be able to have with certain projects (at George Mason) or the level of impact I’d have with them,” Sia said. “Even PhD students would be asking for support to look through their writing. I was like, ‘What do I know? I'm just a master’s student.’ But they really believed in our potential and really made sure that we had a space to contribute even more than we even expected to. I'm really grateful for Mason.”