Adéla Vavřinová, B.A.

Adéla Vavřinová is a former competitive swimmer and aspiring sport psychologist. After earning her bachelor’s degree in Psychology, she is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the University of Arkansas. She is interested in sport psychology and aspires to work with athletes to help them navigate daily stressors and maximize their potential in the sport.

In the swimming pool, Adéla has represented the Czech Republic in many international competitions. She competed for Arkansas Razorbacks at SEC Championships, and NCAA Championships. She is 10x Czech national champion and 12x Czech junior national champion. For her academic successes, she received the SEC Academic Honor Roll along with being inducted into the National Honor Society for Counseling.

While studying in the United States, Adéla has presented her first research work at the 2022 Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in San Diego. Along with her colleagues from Stanford University, her work was part of the nano symposium entitled “Deploying reliable neuroimaging measures of reward circuit structure and function to forecast adolescent development and drug addiction”. Additionally, she gained valuable experience in the crisis intervention, working in the Arkansas Crisis Center.

Education

• University of Arkansas, Candidate for Master of Science in Counseling (2026)
• University of Arkansas, Bachelor of Art in Psychology and German
• The National Child Traumatic Stress Network, Psychological First Aid certificate

Work & Leadership Experience

• Department of World Languages, Literature and Cultures, University of Arkansas, Graduate Teaching Instructor (German)
• Arkansas Crisis Center, Arkansas, Crisis Hotline Specialist
• Full stack Affective Neuroscience Lab, University of Arkansas, Research Assistant
• University of Arkansas Swimming Team, Team Captain

Nanosymposium Presentation

• Vavrinova, A., Ellis E., & Leong, J. K. (2022). Stimulant medications increase nucleus accumbens activity during reward anticipation in early adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.