“I chose mental health because it’s something I’ve struggled with in my own life. I was adopted by a family at age four, then sent to a boarding school as a teenager. Throughout my life, I’d encountered abuse and domestic violence. After escaping my last abusive relationship, I was alone with three small kids. I decided to move from Tennessee to Ohio and start over.
I chose Belmont because it was close to where I lived and it worked with my schedule…my youngest was three weeks old when I started classes. With everything I’d been through in my life, the Mental Health program was a natural fit. The classes were small, the instructors were so helpful, and I could definitely relate to the things they were teaching. They presented real-world problems that we may face as professionals, and made sure we were prepared to deal with them. They had faith in me, and inspired me to keep going.
When I graduated, I continued my schooling at Indiana Wesleyan University, where I recently earned my bachelor’s degree in psychology. I plan to return there in the fall for my master’s in clinical mental health. My goal is to open my own therapy center to help women and kids escape abuse and violence and be able to live independent, successful lives.”