说出来

Growing up 卡罗琳·艾伯特 ‘21 felt the impacts of watching family members cope with 精神疾病. She quickly realized she wanted to help those living with 精神疾病; 让心理学专业成为一个容易的选择. 我以前从未上过心理学课， 卡洛琳 thoroughly researched the programs of her potential colleges, when Washington 大学对她来说很重要.

 

“The three concentration tracks at WC drew me in, 我想要的 to go into social work or therapy after graduation, so a concentration in clinical counseling really set the 心理学课程. I love all the hands-on opportunities available; even if you aren't in a lab class you have the opportunity to engage with the material.”

As a psychology major with minors in Hispanic Studies and Public Health, 卡洛琳 says she is gaining a new perspective on the world and learning the best practices 帮助他人. She found the perfect opportunity to utilize her new skills beyond WC as an inclusion director at Rec-PAC (Pretty Awesome Children) through Fairfax County 公园管理局. 

“I worked with kids with various disabilities who needed a campsite that had more 员工协助满足不同的需求. 这个夏令营是为低收入家庭准备的，所以 我看到了来自不同背景的孩子. 我每天都用西班牙语交流 有父母和孩子. 这是一个非常有益的经历，能够看到如何 much of a difference you can make in kids lives just by being a good person and role model; it really rubs off on them.”

“There was one day where I had to call 911 and deal with the emergency situation. Afterwards, I had to carry on with the day and show the kids how its okay to be nervous, 然后展示如何从中恢复. 那一天给了我信心 to know that I can go into social work handling serious situations and do well.”  

卡洛琳’s journey learning Spanish began in high school, but grew exponentially after her freshman year at WC; as someone who wants to work with specialized populations in her future, she finds that speaking multiple languages will go a long way. 

“The professors here have helped me to see that speaking Spanish is something I can do and that it is truly helpful speaking another language, even if it is only just 足以应付和别人的谈话. 帮助特殊人群 aren’t always able to access all the assistance they could benefit from, especially 当语言成为障碍时，对我来说真的很重要.”

卡洛琳 found her home away from home in the 马术的团队 and working as a George’s General for 招生, where she welcomes prospective students to campus. 

“WC帮助我找到了自我，帮助我成长为一个独立的人. 每个不同的组织 I’ve been exposed to help me feel like I've come out of my shell; I am much more confident 以及我如何向别人展示自己.”

卡洛琳 finds that her experience as a George’s General is providing a strong repertoire of communication skills that will be invaluable moving forward in her career. 

“我喜欢当乔治将军. 这确实帮助我增强了自信 and knowledge of how to speak with people; particularly being able to meet with people from so many different backgrounds and learning how to approach a student versus a 全家. I’m confident articulating about WC and showing off a school that I’m very happy to be going to, and in turn using that to 帮助别人 as they decide whether 或者不要来这里，”她说. “As someone who wants to go into social work or counseling, being a George’s General is great practice 对我来说 to develop not only being comfortable with talking, but also listening and learning where someone comes from and how best 和他们联系起来.” 

Through her public health minor 卡洛琳 feels she is able to tie together all of 她的研究.

“I didn’t know that the public health minor existed until Dr. 吉姆·温德伯恩，我的初恋 导师鼓励我试一试. 我认为公共卫生领域包括指南针 so much of psychology, as well as the Spansih speaking population; there's so much 重叠使我的兴趣达到顶点.”

卡洛琳 is looking forward to using the skills she’s developed at 九州娱乐官网 to make a difference in the lives of others through social work or counseling. 

“I think that what 我想要的 to do with my life came from a personal spot of having family 成员们与心理健康作斗争. 我希望能够运用我的天赋 to relate to others, in addition to my formal education of these subjects to really 帮助别人. It comes from a place of wanting to 帮助别人 being affected by mental 我认为人们对健康的讨论还不够多.”