I graduated with my undergraduate degree in Art Therapy and Psychology from Converse in 2007. My senior year was especially difficult because I was unsure what master’s degree program I was going to enroll in after graduation. Finally, I felt God leading me to the Marriage and Family Therapy program at Converse. This decision was a mile-marker in my journey of learning to trust God with the big decisions in my life. It was also the first decision that put me on the road to the ranch.
I was first told about the ranch in 2008 by my site supervisor during my first year in the MFT program. The ranch had only been operating for a year at that point. I loved the concept of using horses to bring hope to people and thought it was something I would love to be involved with, but the timing was not yet right. Over the next four years, there were several times when the ranch was brought to my attention, but the timing and the situation was never such that I could volunteer.
Then, three years ago, in 2012, I was finishing the last year of my LMFT- internship and was feeling pressure to decide what I would do once my internship was complete. I had thought that by this point in my training I would have a concrete plan for my future as a therapist. But I didn’t. I felt like I was being drawn to something specific, but I wasn’t sure what.
With this uncertainty, I finally asked for a meeting with my supervisor to see if he had any suggestions. We talked for a bit and then as we closed, almost as an afterthought, he handed me a brochure for HRYR and said that he thought they might be looking for a therapist, if I were interested in something like that. Instantly, I recognized the trail of preparation that God had been laying out for me and knew that this was where I was supposed to be. I left that meeting and felt such intense pressure that this was what I was supposed to do that it was all I could do to wait the 15 minutes it took me to get home to call Ms. Melanie and set up an interview. I started work here that next week and have been here ever since.
What do you do when you’re not working? I enjoy being home with my husband, Matt, and my Yorkshire Terrier, Griffin. I like to read books and do various types of artwork.
What is a random fact about you? My favorite type of art is “found object art”. Found object art has many different definitions, but to me it is the concept of taking something that has been discarded and turning it into something beautiful. For me it is an analogy of what God does with us. He takes broken and discarded people and uses our lives to create something beautiful. With Him, nothing is wasted.