Established to honor the memory of Nancy L. Oyler who best exemplified an enduring commitment to excellence of the Rehabilitation Counseling profession in service to persons with disabilities, the Nancy L. Oyler Student Award is designed to support and encourage graduate-level training and clinical excellence in Rehabilitation Counseling.
Three scholarships of $10,000 are awarded each year. All those who apply to the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program are eligible and encouraged to apply for this award. Current counseling students may reapply for the award for a second year of support.
Learn more about the amazing awardees of 2024!
Grace Dakwar
Grace Dakwar graduated from The Ohio State University (OSU), magna cum laude, with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in music. She worked at Nationwide Children’s Hospital as an undergraduate research assistant studying congenital heart disease among adolescents and young adults. Dakwar’s research experience taught her the importance of evidence-based therapy. She was awarded OSU’s Morrill Excellence Scholarship, an academic scholarship for those actively engaged in diversity-based leadership, service and social justice activities.
Dakwar was a student volunteer for the Ohio State Family Engagement Center, which builds relationships between families and schools to create positive relationships for K-12 students’ educational success. She learned American Sign Language (ASL) and looks forward to working with children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. As a leader in the OSU Mount Leadership Society Scholars, Dakwar led a team of her peers volunteering for the Ronald McDonald House and North Community Counseling Center. Giving back to the community showed her the significant impact that can be made on people’s lives who are in need. She plans on learning more about the Pittsburgh community and the specific needs of children and adolescents by gaining work experience at programs that serve children and adolescents.
Grace has also played violin since she was four years old and has taught violin to children for eight years. She played in the OSU symphony orchestra, professional events and her church worship team. She has always loved working with children which led to her studies in psychology and pursuit of a career in clinical mental health counseling.
Lily Bistline
Lily Bistline is a recent 2024 graduate from Loyola University Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. During her time at Loyola, Lily conducted research under the mentorship of Amy Wolfson, PhD focusing on analyzing sleep within the Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) to improve sleep conditions/knowledge and, consequently, the cognitive and behavioral conditions of both the adolescents and workers within the facilities. Lily and her collaborators’ study, “A descriptive study of sleep patterns and knowledge among Department of Juvenile Services staff,” was published in the Sleep Advances Journal in May 2024. This research has sparked Lily’s interest in helping vulnerable communities within the psychology field, particularly as a future counselor.
Bistline is a former Research for Intelligence & Security Challenges (RISC) intern for the University of Maryland’s Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security, where she learned how psychology plays a pertinent role in the intelligence community.
She balanced her undergraduate studies with Division I athletics as a diver on Loyola’s Swimming and Diving team. She was awarded the Mary O’Meara Scholar-Athlete Award (graduating student-athlete with the highest academic average), the Grindall Psychology Medal (graduating psychology major with the highest academic average) and the Whelan Medal (graduating senior with the highest academic average in all classes).
Bistline is very excited to begin her graduate education and her counseling career, as she hopes to become a vessel of positive change and intersectional advocacy within the mental health community.