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Education:
BS in Studio Arts with a minor in Psychology from Bradley University
in 2001.
Currently I am working on my Master's in Art Therapy (MAAT) at UIC
and will graduate in 2003.
Current Career Position:
Besides being a full-time student, I am a Research Assistant for
the Center for Research on Women and Gender at UIC. Last semester,
I had an internship at a hospital in North Chicago doing Art Therapy
on an out patient adult psychiatric unit. In the fall, I will have
an internship at an alternative day school where I will work with
children and adolescents with behavioral and emotional problems.
Previous Career positions:
I have held "odd" jobs to help pay for school such as
cashiering, waitressing, and working a campus job at my undergraduate
college. If you have the chance, I recommend waitressing for the
summer. This job teaches you humility, and patience. It has this
ability to help make you much more tolerant and understanding of
people.
Most exciting part of my career:
You have the opportunity to work with people in a broad range of
professions like teachers, psychologists, social workers, and other
forms of administration. You are constantly learning, the clients
have so much to offer and teach you, as well as your co-workers.
This is a field that requires strong amounts of compassion, empathy,
and tolerance. It really requires you to know yourself, your limits,
and your capabilities.
Barriers:
Unlike most of the mentors and moderators who are in SET fields,
I am in a field that is dominated by women. This has its pros and
cons. The pros are working and learning in a very understanding
and creative environment. A big con is that most service-oriented
fields do not receive the recognition that they deserve. Social
workers, teachers, and other therapists are often the first to get
cut in a budget or to be underpaid and under appreciated. However,
we do have the support of each other. Art Therapists have an added
stress of having to constantly justify their role and importance.
Not many people are aware of/or are open to how powerful art can
be. It is a challenging and incredibly rewarding field as I feel
any service-oriented profession is.
Detailed Biography:
I grew up in Springfield, Illinois. I lived in the same neighborhood
and in the same house until I left for college. None of my close
friends attended the same college as I did, so I had to start all
over. College was an amazing experience for me. It was where I learned
who I was and who I wanted to be. I met some of the most inspiring
and amazing women who have become my best friends. These women have
helped me through some of the toughest decisions of my life. I started
out in college as an advertising major, thinking how great the money
would be in that profession. I had loved art in high school, but
figured it was useless in the real world. I found out that I soon
became miserable when I put aside one of the things I enjoyed and
loved doing the most. I switched my major to studio arts my sophomore
year and have never regretted it. I also had incredibly supportive
parents. There are many people whose parents aren't very supportive
of their career choice in the art field. They figure their child
will never make any money and that it is a waste of time. I was
very blessed.
My aunt, a psychiatric nurse, was the one who suggested art therapy.
I had absolutely LOVED my psychology class in high school and wanted
to pursue that as my minor. From that point, I researched the field
and created goals to be able to get into a Masters program. Now
I am 1 year into my masters program and realizing how AMAZING this
field is. It brings with it many struggles, but it never ceases
to amaze me how powerful an image can be. I hope to become a school
counselor after I graduate in 2003, and hopefully help young women
and men find a career and life path that inspires them as much as
mine has inspired me. I would also like to eventually get my Masters
in Psychology and a Ph.D. as well, but I am 22 and have plenty of
time to reach those goals. I would also like more life experience
before I attain those goals. Someday I would love to be married
and have a family, but there is no rush for that. Right now I am
just enjoying all God has given me, and preparing myself for my
thesis work this coming school year.
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