The Winthrop Counseling Services Internship Program was my first real experience with counseling at the university level. This was the most rewarding and comprehensive internship program I have ever been involved with. From the orientation until my last day at this site, I was made to feel like I was not just an intern, but also a key member of the treatment team. I was encouraged to stretch myself personally and professionally by not only maintaining a steady case-load, but also by participating in campus outreach efforts, putting together a comprehensive psychological evaluation, creating a formal presentation on an area of mental health of my choosing, and even serving on a panel discussion around dating across cultures. Most importantly, the supervision I took part in was key to the continued development of my clinical skills as a professional counselor. I really valued being able to sit with my supervisors and develop my case conceptualizations and treatment plans at a deeper level. I felt like I could go to them whenever I needed consultation as well. With the Winthrop Counseling Services Internship Program, everything I took part in felt intentional in my development as a professional and I am grateful for the time that I spent there.
I am a doctoral candidate in counselor education and supervision at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. I have finished up my entire program course work, clinical and teaching internships. I am currently working on my dissertation on the factors that impact professional identity development for clinicians-in-training and serving as a 2015-2016 Leadership Fellow for the international counseling honor society, Chi Sigma Iota.
I hope to be finished with my dissertation by December and hope to obtain a position as an assistant professor in counselor education at a university somewhere in the southeastern part of the United States.
