Teaching With Compassion and Conviction
How Professor Katrina Ayres integrates faith, psychology, and real-world experience to prepare students for meaningful service
August 24, 2026 | 2-3 min read
When Professor Katrina Ayres (‘98) walks into a classroom at Florida College, she brings more than lecture notes and research articles. She brings two decades of hands-on experience, a deep faith, and on most occasions, a friendly therapy dog named Scout.
Her professional journey began long before she joined the faculty. After earning her Specialist in Education (Ed.S.) in School Psychology from Western Kentucky University in 2005, Ayres started working full-time as a school psychologist. Like many women balancing career and family, her path required flexibility and faith.
“My professional path reflects the balancing of family, career, and service that many women experience,” she shared.
When her three sons were young, she transitioned into multidistrict contract work.
“That season allowed me to remain active in the field while also balancing family, and I look back on it as a time where God provided both direction and growth.”
Her work didn’t go unnoticed. In 2013, she was named Caveland Region School Psychologist of the Year, an affirmation of her impact in the field. Later, she returned to full-time service and was entrusted with developing and coordinating a district-wide mental health program. Her focus included trauma, disabilities, crisis response, wellness, and resilience.
It was during this season that Scout entered the picture.
“Scout became an invaluable partner in teaching resilience and emotional regulation to both students and adults,” Ayres said.
On Florida College’s campus, Scout continues her quiet ministry of encouragement. “She simply has a way of reminding people that encouragement and kindness can brighten any day.”
Florida College is more than just her workplace — it’s home. Her grandfather, Glen Barnhart, once served as an English professor there, and Ayres herself attended from 1996 to 1998. It was during those years that psychology first captured her heart.
“I was inspired to pursue psychology, in part because of the influence of professors who demonstrated that intellectual rigor and faith do not need to be separate pursuits,” she explained.
That conviction now shapes her own teaching philosophy. In her classroom, psychology is never seperate from faith. Instead, it is examined thoughtfully and carefully through a biblical lens.
“One truth that guides my work is that all mankind, no matter what their circumstance, are made in God’s image,” she said. “God’s truth is the foundation, and the science of psychology is a set of supporting tools that can help us better understand the dynamics of human nature.”
She sees her role as more than academic instruction.
“My role is not simply to convey information but to allow my faith to shine within the academics,” she said. “To mentor students toward lives marked by integrity, empathy, and thoughtful discernment.”
Ayres believes the need for Christians in psychology is significant.
“If we can combine competence with compassion and allow our faith to inform our service, we have the opportunity to influence lives in ways that extend well beyond a single conversation or classroom.”
Her hope for her students is simple but profound — that they leave with “a Godcentered life as their spiritual compass along with the practical psychological tools” to serve families, workplaces, and communities with wisdom and patience.
