It was December 2025, and Emma Chandler had a decision to make.
The year before, she had graduated from Trevecca with a degree in psychology and a minor in counseling. She was in the process of completing her master’s degree in marriage and family therapy at Auburn University. Because of her standing in the program, Chandler had been offered a spot in Auburn’s Ph.D. program.
She was torn. And the deadline for her decision was approaching. She had to decide quickly.
She knew exactly who to turn to.
“Hey, can we get coffee?” she texted Dr. Randy Carden, her former professor, advisor and mentor.
“Of course. Let’s meet tomorrow. Frothy Monkey in Franklin?” Carden replied.
He had helped her find her way before.
A Fresh Start
Their relationship began in 2022, when Chandler arrived at Trevecca after spending three semesters at another university. Leaving that school had not been part of her plan. But after struggling with anxiety, she stepped away.
“I want Trevecca to be different,” Chandler remembered thinking. “I want my experience here to be different.”
One of her first memories of Carden came during a psychology department open house. After the event, he stayed behind to talk with Chandler and her mother for nearly half an hour. They talked about her being from Franklin. They talked about art. Carden, an accomplished artist himself, invited Chandler and her mother to an art show he was presenting.
Some time later, on Chandler’s first day of classes, she saw Carden sitting in the cafeteria. She thought about walking over to him, even though it took courage. She had only met him once, but she remembered his kindness.
When she approached him, Carden remembered her. “You’re Emma. You’re from Franklin. You’re the artist. How are you? How’s your mom?” Chandler recalled him saying.
That moment mattered.
“To be met with such genuine kindness, such intentionality from a professor who was so well loved and well-established at Trevecca meant everything to me,” Chandler said.
That well-established professor helped Chandler discover her love for research.
A New Love of Research
As a Trevecca student, Chandler presented research at the University’s annual student research symposium both years she was on campus. Her first project focused on music preference, personality and resilience. She developed the project in one of Carden’s research courses, working alongside two other students. “We packed the room out when we gave it, which was so cool,” Chandler said.
The next year, Chandler became the first student in Trevecca’s psychology honors program. With Carden as her mentor, she began work on a much more complex research project focused on online disinhibition, moral disengagement, narcissism, empathy and time spent on social media.
The project was titled “When Jekylls Become Hydes: Unearthing the Alter Egos Masked by Social Media.” Online disinhibition, Chandler explained, explores the way people behave differently online than they might in person. Sometimes, that can allow people to be more open. Other times, it can lead to cruelty, including cyberbullying. Moral disengagement examines the ways people maintain a sense of moral identity even when their actions contradict it.
Chandler was fascinated by the ideas. Carden helped her shape them into a research project she could present professionally.
“To this day, it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever done,” Chandler said.
She presented the project at Trevecca’s symposium during her senior year. She also presented it at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Long Beach, California. Then, after graduation, she carried the same research with her to Auburn.
In April 2025, Chandler presented the project at the Auburn Student Research Symposium. This time, she was competing against graduate and doctoral students in her category. She said she entered because she was proud of the research she had completed with Carden and wanted to build her resume.
“I truly just did it for kicks and giggles,” Chandler said.
Then she won first place.
A Legacy of Mentorship
The moment surprised her, but it also confirmed something she had already begun to understand about her Trevecca experience. “I remember thinking, “Wow, Randy really, really knows how to prepare his students,” she said. “I knew the research I’d done was good, and I knew that if I did it with Carden, it was going to be quality research.”
This preparation has shaped her path at Auburn. Chandler recently completed her master’s degree in marriage and family therapy. Her long-term goal is to teach as a professor, while continuing her work as a therapist. She currently sees clients and hopes to one day maintain a private practice.
That future, too, carries Carden’s influence. If she can become even “one-tenth” of the professor and mentor Carden is, Chandler said, she will have accomplished what she wants.
“That is exactly the type of person I hope to be,” Chandler said. “And I hope that I can impact people the way that he has.”
Earlier this year, Trevecca renamed its annual student research symposium in Carden’s honor. The event is now known as the Carden Student Research Symposium, recognizing his decades of mentorship and his commitment to undergraduate research.
Chandler is one of many students shaped by Carden’s work, but her story offers a clear picture of the kind of legacy the symposium now honors. At Trevecca, she found a professor who helped her grow and prepared her for opportunities she had not yet imagined.
“It was my second chance,” Chandler said of Trevecca. “I felt so seen and valued and like I had a place there.”
Decision Day
Facing the major decision about her future on a tight timeline, Chandler knew exactly who to text.
The coffee shop conversation helped Chandler decide to continue at Auburn, where she is now pursuing her Ph.D. in human development and family science.
Carden helped her think through the opportunity. Part of his encouragement, Chandler said, was practical: Auburn’s Ph.D. program could theoretically be completed in three years, rather than the more typical five.
Carden’s mentorship, according to Chandler, is one good reason future students should choose Trevecca.
“The professors know you,” she said. “And not just from a name on your paper, but they know your family. They know what you care about. At what other school are you able to walk into a professor’s office and just talk?” Chandler said.
Chandler often wandered into Carden’s office during her time at Trevecca. It was a safe space for her when she was feeling anxious. Years later, two paintings from Carden hang on her wall. He gave them to her when she graduated. They’re understandably her favorite artistic works of Carden’s.
One painting represents the nervous system in a state of panic. The other represents settling back into a state of calm.
“That’s what Dr. Carden was and still is for me,” Chandler said.