Born in rural central Virginia, Dr. Megan Paxton is the oldest of her five siblings and a first-generation college graduate. She graduated from the University of Virginia with High Honors in 2005, majoring in Psychology and Religious Studies. In August 2005, Dr. Paxton moved to Nasvhille to begin her graduate studies at Vanderbilt University in the highly competitive Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program (average admission rate of applicants is 1%). She graduated in 2016 with a 3.99 GPA and 11 publications, including three book chapters. She accepted a postdoctoral residency position with Centerstone of Kentucky in Louisville, KY.