Student Profile: Deon Mowatt

Grateful for Faculty Mentorship, Professional Development, and Scholarship

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Deon Mowatt has dedicated his career to giving back to his community, working with children and families through school systems, in-home therapy, and community health clinics. It was in his position at the Home for Little Wanderers where he was inspired to pursue further education in counseling and psychology.

Since then, Mowatt has continued to provide behavioral health services in a variety of Boston-based organizations including the Commonwealth Mental Health and Wellness Center and the Lighthouse Behavioral Health and Wellness Center.

His most rewarding work so far, he said, was at the Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center in Dorchester, where he helped facilitate testing for clients spanning a wide range of ages, backgrounds, and needs.

“That was definitely an eye opener,” he explained.

“Working in a community health clinic, you pretty much see everything. It wakes you up to the needs of a community and how critical therapists and psychologists really are.”

–Deon Mowatt, Student, PsyD in Clinical Psychology; STAR Fellow

Mowatt’s dedication to serving underserved populations earned him a spot in the inaugural cohort of the HRSA-funded Specialized Training and Academic Retention (STAR) Fellowship Program. Providing students from underrepresented backgrounds with scholarships, mentorship, and culturally focused training opportunities in clinical psychology, the STAR Fellowship aims to address disparities in communities and increase diversity
in the behavioral health workforce.

“I’ve been grateful for that program,” said Mowatt. “Not just the financial part of it—though that really helped a lot—but any kind of additional training, education, or professional development you can receive goes a long way in this field. Learning how to network and build partnerships really helps to expand your view of what the needs are in the community and makes you think about how you can be helpful.”

Mowatt has especially appreciated the support he has received from Dr. Natalie Cort, co-director of the Center for Multicultural and Global Mental Health and director of the Black Mental Health Graduate Academy, and Gemima St. Louis, vice president for workforce initiatives and specialty training. Cort and St. Louis spearheaded the STAR Fellowship program, one of many College initiatives designed to meet the needs of underserved communities.

“I can’t tell you how much I admire their work,” Mowatt said. “What they have done at William James College: bringing in students of color, really expanding the Black Mental Health Graduate Academy, and also bringing in the money to support these students.”

As a student of color himself, Mowatt noted that engaging with the Black Mental Health Graduate Academy made him “really feel at home,” adding that seeing the work and success of the other Scholars inspires him to keep going. At the end of this year, Mowatt will graduate with his PsyD in Clinical Psychology and the ability to make an even greater impact in the community.

“My hope is to go into private practice, partner with community agencies, and continue to work with the Black and brown community—the community that I grew up in since I was 16 years old,” he said. “Just seeing how unsupported young men like myself were, I hope to go back to that community I came out of and provide that support.”

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