The hats I wear

A few days I ago I was chatting with my friend Jamie, who is living in another state and reads this blog, and she asked me what I was up to in life. Oooops! Realization: I write entries for the blog more often than I do a lot of other things, but apparently I don't write much about what I do on a daily basis. Here is how my shoes get their wear'n tear, and here are some of the hats I wear...

I am a...

Wife. Marcos and I have been married one year, nine months, and twenty-five days (yes, of course I had to sit there and count!). I have been taking a class on therapy with couples, and research on marriage demonstrates that marriage satisfaction generally declines for the first three years and then levels out. Our favorite family motto is, "We are not a statistic!", and we're not. Our marriage is almost two years in, and better now than it's ever been.

Full-time graduate student. I will graduate in May from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with my Masters degree in Social Work. My passion? Parenting. What will I do after May? No idea.

Therapist. I work at an agency three days a week in Durham, as a paid intern. I have a small list of client families whom I work with weekly, using an evidence-based model called Parent Child Interaction Therapy. Basically, I visit low-income families in their home, coach parents through building a strong relationship with their kiddos (by teaching them specific positive play skills), and I teach parents how to discipline their kids in a very calm, consistent, safe way.

Ambassador. I am one of 10 Student Ambassadors at the UNC School of Social Work. I work on recruitment and admissions events, and support new students at the school. Any questions about social work or the UNC School of Social Work? Ask away...

Chair. Not the type you sit on. I am the chair of the Self-Care Caucus at the UNC School of Social Work, which means that I generate conversation around self-care for social work students, and think up activities that will keep students learning how to take care of themselves mentally/physically/emotionally/spiritually so that they can prevent burn-out later in their careers. Most popular caucus ever last semester? Self-care caucus, all the way! Why? The "come learn massage" activity... *grin*

Research Assistant. I work for a professor who is a guru in school success. I am currently researching student's perception of "mattering" in schools, and how that affects their comittment to learning. Best case scenario? We may get the paper published!

Volunteer. I volunteer at a free health clinic in Carrboro, Chapel Hill's neighboring hippie town. It is called the Student Health Action Coalition (SHAC), and is the longest student-run, free clinic in the nation (about forty years and counting). It is an incredible inter-disciplinary experience, as there are always teams of other grad students from the schools of public health, nursing, medicine, etc., and we meet with all of the patients that come through the doors. Okay, secret: most of the med students are really stuck up. It's getting old.

Counselor. At church, I am a counselor in the Primary (children's organization) Presidency. It is busy, and hilarious, and educational, and challenges me, and sometimes scares me, but that's where God thinks I should be... and I love it.