Hometown: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
How long
have you been in the program? I have been in this program for a year and a
half.
How did
you hear about Art Therapy? I heard about Art Therapy in high school. My
friend’s mom, Lori Vance, was an art therapist. She knew I was into the arts in
high school, but I built a stronger relationship with her once I was in
college. Four or five summers ago, I emailed Lori to tell her I was looking for
a summer job in Milwaukee and if she knew of any to let me know. She hooked me
up with Our
Next Generation,
which is an after school non profit organization in Milwaukee that works with
under privledged youth. They hired me as the Art Camp Counselor for their
summer program. I worked with a classroom of eight and nine year olds for the
summer, making art, planning field trips and parades, having reading time, and
other fun summer activities. It was both terrifying and exciting. We took a few
field trips to Express Yourself Milwaukee, which is where we created a lot
of art. Seeing these students create and express themselves really inspired me
to, and essentially made me want to dedicate my life to art therapy with at
risk youth.
What
qualities do you think make a good therapist? Empathy is one of the most
important qualities of an art therapist. You must be able to understand the
situations and disabilities of a lot of the clients we serve. Flexibility is
also very important. Sometimes I forget that not every art directive will work
with every client. People are unique; their treatment should be as well. And of
course, in the spirit of still being in grad school, hard work is very
important. We cannot serve populations if we do not understand their disability
and symptoms. It is our responsibility as mental health providers to keep up to
date on clinical diagnoses and modern treatment techniques.
What
inspires you? As cheesy as this may be, a lot of my classmates inspire me.
Seeing some of the amazing things they are doing, and the dedication they have
to improving the field, makes me want to get more and more involved. They are
only graduate students, but I feel lie some of them are aiming to truly change
the field and improve the quality of art therapy we provide. Some people’s
passion is amazing.
Why did
you choose FSU for your program of study? The first thing that caught my eye
about the FSU art therapy program was their dedication to social justice. I was
first drawn to art therapy because it gave me an opportunity to help, in a way
that I knew how, those who needed help but probably wouldn’t receive it due to
socioeconomic status. That the FSU program highlighted social justice meant a
lot to me. The second thing that drew me to FSU was their personal touch. Even
before I was accepted, the staff was very helpful and receptive to me.
Any
Advice for future art therapy students? Dream big. Do not doubt the process.
Take on a lot and accomplish a lot. Yes, those are all clichés, but they are
important ones.
