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Kremen School of Education and Human Development

Gitima Sharma

Associate Professor

Counselor Education and Rehabilitation | Office: ED 463

gsharma@csufresno.edu

Education

The Pennsylvania State University - Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision, 2015

Michigan State University - M.A. in Counseling, 2009

The University of Delhi, India - M.S. in Child Development, 2007

Courses Taught

Field Practice in School Counseling

Practicum in Counseling

Seminar in Counseling Techniques

Seminar in Group Counseling

Multicultural Foundations of Counseling

Counseling Theory and Practice

Career Counseling

Dr. Gitima Sharma, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Counselor Education and Rehabilitation at California State University, Fresno. She was born in New Delhi, India and moved to America in the year 2007 to pursue her Masters degree in Counseling from Michigan State University and then Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from Pennsylvania State University. She has PPS credential and more than 10 years of counseling experience in diverse settings including K-12 schools, university, rehabilitation center, career center, and community agencies. She now enjoys integrating her clinical experience and knowledge to support counseling students in developing their identity as leaders, advocates, and change-agents especially within the K-12 and postsecondary education settings. 

Dr. Sharma has 12 publications in peer-reviewed journals and more than 30 national, state, and local presentations. She is an active member of various professional organizations such as AERA, ACA, and ACES. She is a recipient of AERA seed grant award to pursue her research on global citizenship. At university level, she has received RSCA, Service-Learning, and Graduate Intiative 2025 awards. 

Dr. Sharma is also a member of Soka Gakkai International (SGI), an international organization that strives for peace, culture, and education in 192 countries in affiliation with United Nations. Dr. Sharma has led workshops and dialogues on human dignity, empowerment, humanism, and global peace. She has also hosted peace exhibitions such as "Victory over Violence", "Creating a Culture of Peace", and "Gandhi, King, Ikeda Peace Exhibition" at Fresno State. Dr. Sharma values and enjoys such peace-oriented activities as well as her self-reflective practices rooted in the philosophy of Buddhism. Her favorite book is "Wisdom for creating happiness and peace" by Daisaku Ikeda. As a mother of two kids, member of SGI, and Counselor Educator at Fresno State, Dr. Sharma feels committed to continue to use her teaching, research, and service to support all youth to believe in the dignity, vast potential, and profound purpose of their own life. 
Dr. Sharma’s research interests include:
1. Sense of purpose among people from diverse age groups and backgrounds.
2. Nature, role, and development of purpose among school and college students.
3. College persistence.
4. Positive identity development.
5. Counselor wellness.
6. Career development and passion for work.
7. Global citizenship as conceptualized by Ikeda (1996): (a) The wisdom to perceive the interconnectedness of all life and living; (b) The courage to not fear or deny difference; but to respect and strive to understand people of different cultures, and to grow from such encounters; (c) The compassion to maintain an imaginative empathy that reaches beyond their immediate surroundings and extends to those suffering in distant places.

Select Publications: 

Sharma, G., Kim, J., & Bernal, K. (2020). The Relationship between the High School Sophomores’ Purpose Orientations and their Post-Secondary Education Completion a Decade Later. Professional School Counseling Journal, 23, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X20981051  

Yukhymenko-Lescroart, M. A., & Sharma, G. (2020). Sense of purpose and progress towards degree among freshman college students. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice. https://doi.org/10.1177/1521025120975134   

Yukhymenko-Lescroart, M. A., & Sharma, G. (2020). Passion for Work and Well-Being of Working Adults. Journal of Career Development. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845320946398

Yukhymenko-Lescroart, M.A. & Sharma, G. (2019). Examining the factor structure of the Revised Sense of Purpose Scale (SOPS-2) with adults. Applied Research in Quality of Life. doi:10.1007/s11482-019-09729-w 

Sharma, G. & Yukhymenko-Lescroart, M.A. (2019). Validation of the Revised Sense of Purpose Scale (SOPS-2) with emerging adults. Journal of Character Education, 15, 39-52.

Sharma, G. & Yukhymenko-Lescroart, M.A. (2018). The Relationship between College Students’ Sense of Purpose and Degree Commitment. Journal of College Student and Development, 59, 486-491. doi: 10.1353/csd.2018.0045

Yukhymenko-Lescroart, M.A. & Sharma, G. (2018). The relationship between faculty members’ passion for work and well‑being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-018-9977-z

Sharma, G. & de Alba, E. (2018). Sense of Purpose among Female Students belonging to Minority Ethnic and Buddhist Backgrounds. Journal of College and Character, 19, 137-151. doi: 10.1080/2194587X.2018.1445644

Sharma, G., Yukhymenko-Lescroart, M.A., & Kang, Z. (2017). Sense of Purpose Scale: Development and initial validation. Applied Developmental Science, 28, 1-12. DOI: 10.1080/10888691.2016.1262262

Sharma, G., Kim, J., & Bryan, J.A. (2017). The effects of purpose orientations on high school graduates’ college application decisions. Journal of College Access, 3, 98-117. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jca/vol3/iss2/8