Emily Mozena will graduate in spring 2025 with a PhD in learning sciences and educational psychology.
Story: Emily Nelson
Photography: Tim Schoon
Published: May 7, 2025
Emily Mozena was born in Iowa but grew up and lived in various places around the world thanks to her father’s job in the State Department. In fact, her family was preparing to move to England when she was deciding where she wanted to go to college. Her sister had already moved to Iowa City to go to the University of Iowa, so Mozena decided to follow her.
That was more than 25 years ago.
“I came here for undergrad and never left,” says Mozena, who will graduate this spring with a PhD in learning sciences and educational psychology. “I stayed for graduate school and got married and had a family. I love Iowa City and all the connections that I’ve been able to make here.”
Her journey at Iowa started with getting a BFA in art with an emphasis in painting. But Mozena says she quickly discovered that she wanted to work more with people. And partly through participating in the University of Iowa Dance Marathon and volunteering with Project Art at University of Iowa Health Care, she decided to get a master's degree in leisure studies with an emphasis in therapeutic recreation.
Mozena now works in the Department of Health and Human Physiology as a professor of instruction, director of graduate studies – MS child life, and director of undergraduate studies – BS therapeutic recreation. Before she started teaching, she was a senior child life specialist at University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital.
“I love being able to provide psychosocial care for children and families and reduce the stress of hospitalization through play and celebrating life events, as well as give kids coping skills to be able to deal with painful or invasive procedures and make a hospital stay a little bit easier,” Mozena says.
She started working on her PhD in 2014.
“I have been teaching full time and have students who are going into the child life field, but I knew that I wanted to continue to learn about research and contribute to the field of research, especially in child life,” Mozena says.
As for her family, Mozena isn’t the only one to still call Iowa home. Her sister continues to live in the Iowa City area, and her parents had returned, as well.
Emily Mozena
Hometown: Williamsburg, Iowa
Degree: PhD in learning sciences and educational psychology
What’s next: “I plan to stay in Iowa City, continuing to work in the health and human physiology department, and continuing to teach, but I’m excited to also grow our program and mentor research and clinical opportunities. We’ll also soon have a new building, which will be fantastic. We'll have a pediatric teaching play lab, which will allow for a lot of hands-on opportunities for future child life specialists. There will be even more collaborations and integration with the different departments that will be over in our new building, which will lead to more research opportunities as well.”
What was your most memorable experience or your best memory?
I got involved early on during undergrad with the University of Iowa Dance Marathon, and that actually guided me to child life and to my career. The 1998 Dance Marathon was the first one I participated in, and I’ve gone to every event since then and been involved with it in many ways. I ran the Chicago Marathon for it and I'm on the Faculty Liaison Committee now. I have a lot of students that do Dance Marathon and it’s just very close to my heart.
What did you get out of your Iowa experience that you don’t feel you would have gotten elsewhere?
Iowa City is a small community with big opportunities. There's always something to learn and do in Iowa City.
Also, Iowa City is an intimate community where you get to know a lot of people and students in different ways. There are so many opportunities to collaborate and connect with people. For example, my sister and I are in very different fields, but we both have the opportunity to be on the advisory board for Camp Kesem at the University of Iowa, which supports children of adult cancer patients in going to a summer camp. Being able to make connections and meet other professionals in this setting has been really amazing.
Who was your most important mentor here, and what role did they play in your experience?
Ken Mobily was my advisor and instructor in graduate school, continued to work with me as I was working at the hospital, and offered me that first position to teach a night class, Introduction to Child Life. So, he then became a colleague and a friend and always pushed me to do more and really encouraged me to pursue a PhD. I appreciate him for that.
Gwen Senio was the child life manager when I worked at the hospital and became a friend and colleague through the years. She is someone I can always go to for advice and inspiration. She always encourages me to go for that next big thing.
What advice would you give future Hawkeyes?
Try something new. Join a club or try a different activity. Making those connections and relationships are huge. They could lead to something you didn't know that you'd be interested in, and they may open doors to future opportunities.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank?
Thank you to my family. To my husband, Ben, and daughters Maya and Eleanor, to my mom and my sister, as well as my whole extended family. I want to thank my friends and my neighbors, and especially my running partners, who have heard about my doctoral classes and dissertation for the past 10 years. I want to thank my colleagues here at the university in my academic program as well as my clinical friends over at the hospital for all the support and inspiration throughout the years. And finally, thank you to the adolescents and families who participated in my research study that was integral in my growth and my PhD.