I have found teaching and mentoring young adults (and older adults returning to school in their later years) very rewarding. My courses and teaching style are much like my therapy approach – collaborative and supportive, with a recognition that each student brings their own local knowledge to the learning community. This approach has allowed for rich and meaningful conversations around culture, power, privilege, social justice and client-centered counseling.

I find that my teaching informs my clinical work and that my clients inform my teaching. My role as a clinician and supervisor has given me a breadth of experience that I can bring into the classroom using real-world examples and case vignettes.

During the COVID-19 pandemic when our classes were moved online, I was able to connect to my students’ lives in a more personal way. I witnessed firsthand the many stressors my students were navigating – trying to hold down jobs while going to school full-time, caring for family members in multi-generational households, holding back the anxiety and depression that came with the uncertainty of the what the pandemic had in store. It was a humbling and eye-opening experience that reinforced my compassion and commitment to help students (particularly first-generation college students) be successful in academia.