Goals

In terms of career goals, I would like to go on to get my masters in psychology after I finish undergrad. I would like to go into counseling for young children and adolescents. Long term career goals include counseling young children and adolescents who are either refugees or survivors of war from the middle east. I would like to specifically provide counseling for PTSD and any other traumas that may have been caused. I would also like to eventually write and publish a book on the stigma that surrounds mental health awareness within the Muslim/Arab community. My career goals are based on things I am truly passionate about and have experience with. My father fled his home country when he was 3 years old escaping war and I have seen first-hand the amount of trauma that can cause and how it can be passed down generationally. All my life I have been advocating for human rights especially when it cones to war crime survivors and refugees.

Since I started LHSI until now, my career goals are still the same and I am still passionate about those things. In order to achieve my goals or begin the process of doing so, I need to ensure that I say involved and continue to do my part. I would really like to end up working in a position where I am able to help war survivors and refugees receive counseling they may need due to trauma. In order to get exposed to this population, I began volunteering at Exodus this semester, which is a refugee relief organization. By getting involved with this organization, I hope I will be able to make more connections that will help me get closer to achieving that goal I have.

In terms of other big career goals, writing a book is still very important to me. In order to achieve this goal, here what I need to do:

• By the end of this month, I can began doing research on the logistics of writing a book and the qualifications I would need to write about the topic I am interested in which is the stigma that surrounds mental health awareness within the Muslim/Arab community

• By the end of spring semester, I can begin doing research on my topic and begin gathering useful statistics and data that is relevant to the topic I am writing about.

• By this time next year I hope to continue to do research about my topic and find relevant data. I would like to incorporate previous research studies as well as collect data from participants in the form of a survey or questionnaire. It is important to incorporate the thoughts and experiences of Muslim American's who deal with the stigmatization of mental health within their communities.

This internship has helped me work towards my professional goals in many ways. I have been able to receive mentorship from my supervisor who supported me in everything I wanted to do. She has helped me set goals for the future and guided me in terms of what I need to do to achieve those goals. My goals are still the same as when I started at the lab. I feel very confident in my self-knowledge when it comes to making career decisions.