Graduation: Community

It’s been nearly a month since graduation, and I have slowly been preparing for the next steps in my career (there’s a lot of waiting). I’m reminded of my supervisor, Dr. Keleigh Blount, and how she would start and end each supervision with checking in and reminding us the power of community and connection. With the counseling field, there can be a feeling of working in a silo with the amount of HIPAA codes and confidentiality practices. Minus your supervisor (when you get fully licensed, you won’t even have that), many of my days felt pretty lonely. It is in these moments that I remember Dr. B’s wisdom on community. 

Reflecting on all the people that made it possible to get through these last three years, not only the obvious classmates and Nike coworkers, but also people from my first job at B-Fit like Kyla, Lupei & Kasey, introducing me to Kiana, Ian, Nica, and Manny (and so much more), but also my roommate Chris who introduced me to another friend Ian. Along with my childhood friend Keean, we would all go on different trips around Oregon to Bend or Crater Lake. And of course my beautiful partner Jessie who continued to hold it down for me through my year of internship and beyond. I simply want to highlight the community I have been blessed to be surrounded by in Oregon. 

Oregon wouldn’t have been the same without you all. Thanks for holding it down and being my community prior, during, and moving along through to the next process. Here’s to more years, more life.