Reminiscing
I was 24 years old when I received my Master’s Degree in Social Work in 1997, after being a straight A student for 18 years. I remember when I had decided to go on to get my Master’s Degree and was filled with both excitement and dread for what I was embarking on after just completing my undergraduate in Psychology and Gerontology. Yet I knew that the work I wanted to do required that I keep going and find the tenacity and grit to seek the degree and credential that would allow me to do the job I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
I was the first person in my family to obtain a college degree, let alone a Master’s Degree. It was the hardest and most grueling time in my life, filled with lots of late nights and a ton of sacrifice in order to ensure that I kept up with the work and all the assignments. In Grad school I had to work 24 hours/week for unpaid internships at Kaiser and the Veterans Administration, and attended class all day Monday and Friday over the course of my two-year graduate program. Weekends and evenings were dedicated to homework, papers, and studying for exams. When I was finally done, and I walked across that stage…I remember my eyes being filled with tears of joy for how far I had come… fighting with everything I had to make it to the finish line.
I wrote and published a Thesis, and felt the greatest sense of accomplishment I had ever felt in my life. Mostly, I was just relieved that my journey was coming to an end, I was never again going to have to pick up a text book, or write a paper for a class. I was finally going to earn the right to watch TV and embrace some of the relaxation that my family was able to enjoy. Only those who have walked in these shoes can understand the daily grind and the sense of delaying gratification for something that would be worth it in the end.
24 years later…I’ve been a Clinical Social Worker for almost a quarter of a century. In fact I was pregnant with Myles when I took my LCSW California Oral Licensing Exam. Over these past years, I’ve drawn on those experiences when I needed to push hard, dream big, and take risks to build a career that was meaningful and would impact others.
Mama Bear Pride
It is with the greatest pleasure and excitement that I announce that my son Myles obtained his Master of Social Work, MSW Degree this week. If you had asked him in high school whether he would ever have been a social worker like his mom, he would have said “Heck No!” Yet, 7 majors later…he found his way to the social work profession and this field was his calling. As someone who has not only been in the trenches and knows the effort and sacrifice it takes to get to this place, I am filled with so much pride, joy and gratitude for this incredible human I get to call my son.
A few months ago, I got the pleasure of taking a week-long training with him and being amongst his peers and professors. It was such an amazing moment to see how he not only showed up as a social worker, but how others responded to him and his clinical intuition. To say I was impressed with him was an understatement. He has taken on this profession with passion, courage, and has shown up authentically as himself. I guess maybe I taught him a few things…lol!
Seriously, he is truly a fantastic social worker already. He already passed his LMSW exam so when he receives his MSW diploma, he will already be licensed in the state of Idaho. The LMSW allows him to clinically see clients in different settings and be supervised by a LCSW while he collects his 3000+ clinical hours for his LCSW. He is currently working full-time with teens in a mental health treatment center running groups, performing play therapy, and using IFS and DBT to create lifelong change in these adolescents’ lives.
Authentic Gains Newest Therapist
Myles will be working in my practice one day a week to start seeing clients and helping me offer more groups for teens and parents. His specialty area will likely grow in working with kids and teens, however he will also be seeing adults. He’s so great with kids and teens. He relates to them so well, and they respond so well to his authentic presence.
Stay tuned for more updates on what Authentic Gains will be offering. We have so much in store for this powerful mother-and-son team to conquer together!
