Current literature indicates a considerable amount of research has been conducted about acculturation factors that can intensify conditions like anxiety or depression among international students with preexisting mental health conditions studying in the United States. However, at present there is limited discussion regarding the reverse, the mental health and well-being among U.S. college students abroad. More specifically, there is a critical gap in research on the probability that U.S. students with preexisting mental health conditions will suffer increased acculturation challenges or hardships while abroad in comparison to their peers without presenting conditions.

Through Merritt's future dissertation work, she hopes to contribute research to the U.S. study abroad community that might fill the gap in understanding of necessary mental health support so more students with mental health conditions, and especially those from communities that continue to stigmatize poor mental health, feel empowered to study abroad.

Merritt is employed full-time as a program manager for intensive, critical-need language study abroad programs. She gained experience in nonprofit program management and international education initiatives while working in Beijing between 2006-2012. While pursuing her master’s degree in Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development, she became well-versed in the mental health challenges facing college students today; her thesis focused on the effects culture and acculturation have on the mental health of students studying abroad. She holds professional certification in Education Abroad and has advanced fluency in written and spoken Chinese. Originally from Wisconsin, Merritt is appreciative every day for the warmer climate of Washington, D.C. In her free time, she enjoys reading, trying new coffees, and spending time with her husband and three-legged dog, Mochi.

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