Pursuing A Master 's Degree Of Mental Health Counseling With Nova Southeastern University For The Fall 2016 Program

Growing up, school was not a major factor in my life. I come from a hard-working, middle-class military family. My mother, a Filipino immigrant, was a homemaker. My father was a 21-year United States Marine veteran. They were my first impression of what I thought my future would be. Being the youngest of four children, I was expected to fall in line behind my siblings when it came to education. I was never pushed to excel in my studies, so I did just enough to get by. As I watched friends escape the grasp of a military town and ascend to their respective colleges, I was left wondering what was next for me. I attended my local community college for a brief period of time. I treated college no different than high school. I

A doctoral degree combining both supervisory professional mental health counseling skills and counselor education has always been at the forefront of both my personal and professional goals. Being afforded the opportunity to pursue a doctoral degree in Counselor Education and Supervision will allow me the ability to enhance my professional competencies and achieve my set goals. My primary desire is to obtain a position as a college professor that will allow me to nurture the professional growth and maturity of future mental health professionals. Pursuing the doctoral degree will simultaneously assist in developing skillsets that will further prepare me for advanced opportunities in not only teaching but supervision and research. Additionally, I desire to devote time and research to small rural communities to establish prevention based programs that will bridge communities as it relates to mental health challenges. A PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from Capella University will afford me the opportunities to positively impact change in future professionals and the communities for which I serve.

My goal is to pursue a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. My dream is to provide counsel and guidance to individuals, families, couples or groups of people; who are dealing with issues that affect them physically, emotionally and mentally. I would like help clients determine why they are experiencing their life challenges, develop goals and actions to resolve their issues. I would like to provide life changing advice to support & help clients overcome outstanding life situations, collaborate assessment and maintain treatment. Family and friends has consulted with me about their problems. I enjoy giving them advice that allows them to think about the decisions resolving the circumstance. With this I’m inspired to work in the

From a very early age, I always assumed it was a part of my future to pursue an education. The American educational system engraves the importance of school at a very young age. Elementary school children are motivated through rewards when they try their hardest to reach their goals. Students are exposed to statistics and facts outlining the consequences of not getting a college degree as soon as they reach middle school. High school counselors and staff make it their priority to ensure that students apply to college. Students are conditioned to believe that education is the building block to a successful future. My cultural upbringing did not support my choice to pursue an education, however, I refused to conform to my family’s behavioral expectations because certain norms must be challenged due to progressive time periods and conflicting values.

My commitment to my goal of receiving a Master’s degree in counseling has been demonstrated throughout my studies at Rollins by maintaining a GPA of 4.0, my willingness to support my cohort, and by exhibiting an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Although I had retired on a fixed income from a business career due to a disability, I have confirmed my potential, stamina, and desire to counsel through my volunteer work as a guardian advocate, working with people who suffer from addiction, and by remaining an advocate for the LGBTQ community. I have thrived with my undergraduate internship at the Center for Drug Free Living and with my prepracticum at Centaur.

In 2013, I graduated from Mount Olive College with a Bachelor of Science is Clinical Psychology. As an undergraduate I did my internship with the state of North Carolina – Vocational Rehabilitation at WorkSource East in Goldsboro, NC. I am currently in a counseling training program at East Carolina University where I am working on obtaining my Master’s in Substance Abuse and Clinical Counseling.

I am a current Florida International University fourth year student with the goal of graduating this summer 2016 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. After graduating, I plan to continue studying in a Master’s Program at FIU named Counselor Education: Clinical Mental Health Counseling, to which I am currently applying. I am a volunteer at the Child Anxiety and Phobia Program in FIU’s Center for Children and Family, where I am a research assistant I am responsible for

When I was a freshman in high school, my parents sat me down in the living room and told me that if I wanted to go to college, I’d have to pay for it myself. Our financial difficulties were large enough to merit the statement. My step-dad was hardly able to work anymore because of health problems from a career in manufacturing. My mom also suffered in the over-saturated market for dental hygienists in Mesa—she was recently fired from a corporate office for refusing to sell unnecessary treatments to patients, and could only find a job in an office run by an abusive dentist who screamed at his employees and who even threw a computer at an assistant at one point. My mom needed to leave the office, but nobody knew if she would find work anywhere

Earning a Master’s in Guidance and Counseling would be the ideal next step to fulfill my goals becoming a youth counselor. The program offered at The College of New Rochelle is a perfect match or my career and educational aspirations. I hope to refine my knowledge counseling therapies and techniques, learn more about disorders and associated symptoms, develop effective interviewing skills, and sharpen my ability to work as a professional in youth counseling.

I was raised in a environment of Generations after Generations of parents grandparents and family members that had a disadvantage of attending College because lack of finical funds and knowledge of the importance of college. My fathers parents lived the American dream by coming to america from Mexico to have a surpassing life. By hard work and little education they became property owners and raised three kids. My mothers parents had children right out of high school and were considerd poor but with hard and dedication

Graduating the University of Texas with a Master’s in Counseling Psychology would be a dream come true. I strongly believe this program will give me the tools I need to become an excellent counselor and to launch me to the next level of my career and life. Counseling humans in trouble and curing my thirst for knowledge are my goals which I am sure this program will help me achieve. I can’t wait for my future to take off as I gain more knowledge and pave the way to becoming an excellent counselor for anyone that needs my help as I was helped when I was a young

This is a reflective essay concerning my READ 3423.01 with Dr. Reid in the fall of 2016. As I wrap up my first semester at Texas Women’s University I am awed and thankful. I am the first person in my family to attend University. Some find this surprising because I do come from a family that has done well professionally, but that was due to grit and personalities. The fact is, I was never even spoken to about attending college while I was growing up. I believe this is because no one before me had this experience to share or encourage. The truth is I tried my hardest to not be at school from middle school on, I just wasn’t engaged in the process. Of course, there were a few teachers I connected with, like the business and history teachers, but I hated the rules and structure of the environment. I amazedly graduated with my high school class, as my friends went away to Universities I took some classes at the community college. What I found was that when I got to pick my classes I flourished. Even the classes that others said were too hard to take during summer quarter, I excelled in those as well. As life unfolded I got married, moved out of state and had two daughters. When it was time for my daughters to attend school I was pretty apprehensive about the idea of it. I opened a preschool in a mother-in-law apartment we had on our property and decided they could learn there in a small community. That preschool led to homeschooling, and large educational co-ops. I lived in a

A career as a mental health counselor will still give me the ability to care and help others for a long time to come. I began the decision making process and planning for a fresh career years before the actual decision. To be a professional counselor further education is required. Once graduate school started last July I have enjoyed the process, have remained determined to stay balanced and have not allowed myself to feel an overload of stress. A career change at this phase of life, middle age, has been a positive experience as well as confidence building. It is a challenge I am willing to undertake. For the Master of Arts Degree In Professional Counseling program a practicum and two internships are required. This takes planning related to demographics, finding a site that accepts students, and for myself making the decision to leave NC and move to Panama City Florida. One

Young adults are now living on their own, having to balance money and to pay rent, and to have the discipline to get up for school with no one making you. The people at college were there because they wanted to be. I, unfortunately, did not want to be, so I made it apparent in other ways. Having that new found independence does not have to be a bad thing. For me, I would skip class because no one made me go. I would stay out to the late hours of the night because no one told me I had to be home. I would make poor choices because I would not listen to anyone. For me, my new found independence did not work out so well. I was young, naive, and careless. Now I am smarter. No one is paying for me to be in college. I am. No one is forcing me to go; I want to be there. I want to make something of myself and not have this guilt hang over my shoulders anymore. I want to say I have a degree and be the best role model that my children can have. I may not have “new” found independence, but I had the courage to finally forgive myself and try again. It took me many years to convince myself to go back to college. Am I too old now? Am I smart enough? I finally had to put all my doubts aside and give this college thing another try. I am different now. I am older and wiser, and this is my

The purpose of this professional development plan is to introduce my counselor identity, my plans for professional development, my clinical and academic training schedule and finally my plans for credentialing in the State of Maryland. I am currently seeking an MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with an anticipated graduation date of May, 2020. This professional development plan was written on September 27, 2017.