Chi Sigma Iota
NEWSLETTER
Fall 2015
SIGMA UPSILON CHAPTER - Cleveland State University Counseling Students
Welcome to CHI SIGMA! Please visit our website at
www.csuohio.edu/cehs/casal/counselor-education-chi-sigma-upsilon
THIS IS WHO WE ARE. WE ARE AN HONORS ORGANIZATION THAT PROMOTE STUDENT
SUCCESS AND HELPS STUDENTS TO FEEL MORE CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER, TO THE
1
COMMUNITY AND ALLOWS FOR STUDENTS TO FEEL SUPPORTED WHILE NAVIGATING
THROUGH THIS CRAZY JOURNEY WE CALL SCHOOL. See attached application
Our Student Leaders
President -­‐ Lauren Davis (l.a.davis66@csuohio.edu): This is Lauren’s second year in the program on the Community Mental Health Counseling track and this is her first year in Chi Sigma. Lauren is working on her second master’s degree. Her first master’s degree is in Higher Education Administration and Student Personnel where she currently works at CSU in the Mandel Honors College. Lauren absolutely loves training to be a counselor and getting to know her peers in the program. Lauren’s wealth of knowledge and education, along with her kind spirit and her great leadership skills, give her the ability to be a wonderful and fearless leader which we are all lucky to have..
*President Elect -­‐ Open Position: This is a great leadership opportunity. The position provides a year-­‐long mentorship and preparation for the 2016/2017 Chi Sigma presidency.
Vice President -­‐ Kelli Coleman (kellicoleman24@gmail.com): This is Kelli’s 2nd year in Chi Sigma and first year as a student leader. This is her last year on the school counseling track and she is currently completing her internship at Avon Heritage Elementary school. Being in Chi Sigma has not only allowed her to grow both personally and professionally but it has given her the leadership skills that she has always strived to gain. It has also provided her with a sense of connection to the school, the program, the professors and to other students. Chi Sigma has provided Kelli with the opportunity to develop life-­‐long friendships.
Secretary -­‐ Chelsee Smith (belknap.chelsee1989@gmail.com): This is Chelsee’s last year in the program and her anticipated graduation date is May 2016 as a Community Mental Counselor and she is a first generation college student. She is very excited to accomplish this goal of receiving her master’s degree and becoming a counselor. This is Chelsee’s second year in Chi Sigma and her first year as a student leader. Chelsee’s organizational skills, genuine and light hearted personality make her a phenomenal leader, counselor and friend.
Treasurer/Membership -­‐ Brianna Russ (b.j.russ@vikes.csuohio.edu): This is Brianna’s second year in Chi Sigma and her second year as Treasurer/Membership. This is Brianna’s last year on the Community Mental Health Counseling track and she is currently completing her internship at Beacon in Mentor, Ohio, where she works primarily with client populations who experience 2
incarceration. Brianna’s Chi Sigma knowledge, along with her friendly and welcoming personality make her a fantastic treasure, leader and counselor.
Student Leader/Past President -­‐ Brie Miller (brie@briennemiller.com): This is Brie’s third year in Chi Sigma and her 4th year in the counseling program. Although Brie is taking a break from classes this semester to take care of her new baby and her 3 year old daughter, Harper, she is not taking a break from Chi Sigma. We are all extremely grateful for her help, guidance and leadership skills this year and we feel very blessed that she is choosing to continue to be a part of this program and to be with us. Brie did a tremendous job as president last year and she continues to do a fabulous job as a Chi Sigma leader. Her positive personality makes her someone that we all want to be around.
Student Leader -­‐ Sage Johnson (i.i.johnson@vikes.csuohio.edu): Sage is currently completing her internship at the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center and is excited to welcome her first child during the winter months. Sage has served in a variety of capacities in Chi Sig over the past couple of years, including Vice President in 2014-­‐2015. Student Leader -­‐ Dale Lewis (dale.lewis.ohio@gmail.com): This is Dale’s first year in Chi Sigma and his first year in the Community Mental Health Counseling program. Dale recently graduated from CSU with his undergraduate degree in Psychology as a Radiance Scholar. Dale has a very caring and passionate personality and is a wonderful addition to Chi Sigma and the counseling program.
Student Leader -­‐ Alexandra Moulagiannis (a.g.moulagiannis@vikes.csuohio.edu): Alexia is currently completing her internship at the Centers for Families and Children in Cleveland, Ohio. Student Leader -­‐ John Blunk (j.blunk@vikes.csuohio.edu): John is currently completing his CMHC internship at CATS, a treatment and recovery center located in Cleveland, Ohio. He plans to graduate in May 2016.
Faculty Advisor -­‐ Dr. Logan Lamprecht (l.lamprecht@csuohio.edu): This is Dr. Lamprecht’s 3rd year as the Chi Sigma faculty advisor and this is his 5th year as a CSU professor. Dr. Lamprecht’s support, guidance, understanding and wealth of counseling and community knowledge makes him an outstanding advisor. We have all learned a great deal from Dr. Lamprecht thus far and we can not wait to see what the next 7 months holds. We feel extremely blessed that he chooses us and this organization to donate his time to. 3
Our Spotlight Students...
Dale Lewis
This is Dale’s first year in the CMHC program. He graduated from CSU with his bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in Statistics and he did this with honors. He completed his honors project/thesis with Dr. Poreh studying memory and learning. Dale moved to Cleveland from Nebraska after he ended a 15 year career in Information Technology. He moved to Cleveland for economics and more opportunities. What he enjoyed most about IT was helping individuals and groups accept and adapt to necessary change (in the IT infrastructure). Dale was not able to attend college traditionally, right after high school, even though he really wanted to. He created an opportunity later in life when he had the means available to pay for school himself. He is extremely humble that his life eventually presented a path to pursue his passion. After Dale made the decision to pursue a new career and a new life, he initially researched Cleveland because of the Cleveland Clinic. After his research began, the thing that sold him the most on CSU was the significant amount of opportunity at this school. In undergrad he worked in 4 research labs, received several significant scholarships, had on-­‐campus employment every semester and opportunities in leadership roles within student organizations. Dale is working towards his PhD in Counseling. He loves the life that he has right now. He feels so lucky to be able to follow his heart and his dreams. He wasn’t happy before. He woke up one day, after he turned 30, and realized that he wasn’t happy. This life can be personally, professionally 4
and academically challenging at times but that is why he loves it. Dales stated that he, “can’t wait to get out of bed in the morning”. He told me that he is, “humbled that this has worked out so well for me and I am extremely thankful that I woke up”.
Eileen Mullen
Eileen is a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) and is a British Association of Play Therapist (BAPT). She is a professional member of BAPT, the Association for Play Therapist (APT), and is a member of the Child Life Council (CCL). After training to be a child life specialist and realizing that job opportunities were scarce in the United States, Eileen moved to Wales in the UK to fulfill a lifelong dream of living abroad, while earning a MSc in Play Therapy from the University of South Wales. She studied in Cardiff, Wales for two years learning to decipher the local accents and land and working with children with learning difficulties. She also worked in Paris teaching English to young French children. Upon returning to Cleveland after 20 years away, she enrolled in CSU’s CMHC program to become licensed to practice play therapy in the United States, and plans to earn a certificate in Early Childhood Mental Health Counseling as well. Upon graduation Eileen would like to work in the hospital environment with play therapy to support children with prior hospital trauma, children with chronic illness and with their siblings and families. In Eileen’s free time she helps with the family pinball repair business by painting and restoring pinball playfields. She also enjoys relaxing with her cat, visiting local artist friends, kayaking, cooking, traveling, photography, and playing as often as possible.
5
Kevin Staller
Kevin’s undergraduate degree is in accounting. He chose this career because it was, “practical and would lead to a career”. He bought into the belief of becoming a Certified Public Accountant and serving the business model. Through career counseling Kevin became a public school treasurer. He served as Treasurer/CFO for 5 different school districts in Northeast Ohio. Somewhere along the way he realized that what was most important in the organization was the people. Kevin told me that, “at the end of the day what matters is people and relationships”. He noticed that, more and more, he began helping people to solve their problems and communication. While doing this Kevin began pursuing continuing education courses targeted more towards people and less on financial/compliance. At this time in his life, someone suggested the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland. Kevin began taking courses and workshops their where he learned about human behavior. Kevin believes that, “Gestalt Theory and Therapy makes sense and can be applied to most situations”. After completing the Gestalt training and many seminars, Kevin realized that working directly with people is what he wanted to do. The timing could not have been better as he was at the age to retire. This was a perfect opportunity to start a new career and a new life by pursuing a master's degree in counseling. As one door closed for Kevin, another door opened. In October Kevin will turn 62 and he will graduate in May. He is currently completing his internship at the Cleveland Clinic where they are providing him tremendous value and insight. Kevin does not know where he will end up after graduation. All that he hopes for is to be is an effective counselor in a good organization. 6
Upcoming Events
*Donut Passing. As a student organization we wanted to take the time to (hopefully) brighten up some students day by bringing in donuts to share with the early morning and afternoon Saturday classes. We hope that this helped lessen the blow of having to come to campus on a Saturday. Thank you to all of the professors that allowed us to come into their classrooms to speak and to dirty up the classroom :) *All Ohio Counselors Conference (AOCC) November 4th-­‐6th in Columbus Ohio. Our very own Chi Sig president Lauren Davis, along with Dr. Lamprecht, will be conducting a workshop on Integrating Transgender Competencies into Schools and Clinical Agencies. We hope that you are able to join them, along with many other students. This will be an educational and wonderful experience to be a part of. Email Lauren Davis or Dr. Lamprecht for car-­‐ pooling possibilities. Visit www.allohiocc.org for more details and registration. Student rates are given to all students. *Chi Sigma Welcome Meeting and Open Student Meeting November 9th in Julka Hall Atrium at 7:30pm. This is your chance to learn more about Chi Sig and to become a member. It is also an opportunity for students to complain (or praise) the counseling department. Dinner will be provided. See attached Chi Sigma Application.
*LGBT Community Center of Cleveland Training and Winter Social Event. We hope you will want to be a part of our developing partnership with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center located at 6600 Detroit Ave. in Cleveland. This is a unique opportunity for counseling students to use their knowledge in competence and advocacy skills in a participatory way to enhance the lives of sexual gender identity minorities. 7
We are currently working on a volunteer group training date for counseling students that would enable you to volunteer at the Center. Our hope is to expand our involvement at the Center in order to take on a bigger role as the Center expands to serve a broader client population, including providing mental health services. As we get more information about the dates for this training, we will let you know. *Spring Professional Development Workshop. These workshops will cater to the learning needs of students. We want your input to provide educational opportunities. Please complete the survey on the next page for your topic of interest related to school or clinical practice. *Peer Mentorship. We want to help connect students to other students for support, guidance, friendship and apprenticeship. For information on linking students (both mentor or mentee) please contact Dr. Lamprecht at l.lamprecht@csuohio.edu.
*Upcoming Chi Sigma Meeting will be November 18th at 8pm in Main Classroom Room 215J
*Chi Sigma Iota E-­‐News: 11/15 -­‐ Research Grant Application, 11/15 -­‐ Leadership Essay Contest Entries, 12/1 -­‐ HERR Fellowship Applications, 12/1 -­‐ Leadership Fellow/Intern Applications, 12/1 -­‐ Voting by Chapters, CSI Elections. Keep an eye out for free CSI Free Webinars as well. For more information and details please visit www.csi-­‐net.org.
*Chi Sigma Facebook Page is a place for students to feel even more connected to Chi Sigma and other counseling students. It is a place to get information on events and a place to ask questions, voice concerns and/or to just get support and form connections to other students. Look for Chi Sigma Upsilon Chapter of Chi Sigma Iota to become a member (https://www.facebook.com/groups/chisigmaupsilonchapterofcsi/)
8
9