Innovative and Enthusiastic Designer Looking for the Next Challenge

I graduated from the University of Cincinnati in three years with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Criminal Justice. During my undergraduate education, I spent three years volunteering with the Girl Scouts creating curriculum and teaching a variety of different four-month long programs. Preparing and teaching these courses taught me how to plan age-appropriate curriculum and design engaging lessons. I learned how to be a leader and picked up various skills necessary to educate and work with young kids. During my undergraduate coursework, I also spent time interning at the Department of Youth Services. Here I was tasked with analyzing data collected from current incarcerated youths to determine the effectiveness of various therapy techniques to determine which therapies the participants enjoyed most.

After graduating, I joined AmeriCorps and was assigned to the EDGE Teen Center. This is where I learned of the necessity and importance of mental health education. I worked for a year as the Community Service Coordinator helping close to 700 kids get out into the community to work on various service-oriented projects. I helped connect EDGE to new service sites such as Habitat for Humanity and Gorman Farms while also maintaining their previous partnerships with numerous other non-profit organizations. I not only worked at improving, growing and running the community service program, I also created new life skills programs at the Center. After my year of service with AmeriCorps ended, I had the opportunity to stay on the EDGE staff. With this new position, I was able to foster close relationships with students and run fun educational programs each week. I stayed on for another year until March 2020 when the center closed due to COVID. AmeriCorps was a life changing experience that I’d recommend to anyone considering it.

Originally I entered the Masters of Mental Health Counseling program which was an enlightening experience. The theories and techniques behind counseling were incredible and I really enjoyed learning about the entire process. However, after two semesters I realized despite loving the topic, counseling individuals was not what I wanted to do; I wanted to share what I had learned and become an educator. In the end I switched to the Instructional Design and Technology program. With my psychology degree, combined with my IDT Masters, I believe I’ll be able to educate and advocate for a population of learners that are often overlooked, neurodivergent individuals. Even if I am not directly counseling individuals or groups, I believe I can still make a difference. Through this program, I have learned to make education more accessible. I have learned the tools and skills that I will need to improve education for all types of learners.

I currently work at Mount Saint Joseph University. I work with the tech department/CITE to improve online experiences and develop educational tools for students.

I also pick up the occasional freelance job designing shirts, graphics and websites.