When you’re in an AG church in this area, you talk about Southwestern. I just knew I was going to go to Southwestern. I went to junior college first. I needed that first stepping stone to help me socially before going anywhere else.

Did you always have an interest in English?

I have always loved English. I’ve always loved literature, storytelling, characters, and things like that. I had some amazing English teachers in the small private high school I attended. Because it was so small, I had the same English teacher from 5th-10th grade. I had a great rapport with her, and I was really good at language and grammar. English was one of those things I was really good at.

I came to Southwestern as a music major, but then I realized I didn’t have what it takes to make it as a musician. I knew I could do English, so I transferred, and I really loved it. It was one of those subtle God things where He purposely directed me there. English was always a comfortable and familiar area that I loved.

How did you as an English major come to work in the a psychology and counseling field?

I’m a wanderer. I don’t go anywhere directly. When I was an undergrad in junior college, I started with a psychology major, but had a bad experience, so I transferred and got a business degree for no reason.

After that, I came to Southwestern as an English major. Diane Lewis was one of my favorite professors, as was Dr. Montgomery, and Dr. Amy Alexander. They’re all wonderful. I thought that I would love to teach English, so when I graduated with my bachelor’s, I went straight into my master's. I was going to get a dual master's, one in English, one in history, so I could teach more than one thing. I made it two weeks before deciding I didn’t want to do it.

I knew I needed to take a break. There was a boy at the time who was very mean to me, and I didn’t take it well, so I moved to Europe. I signed up to be a MAPS worker to teach English as a second language to immigrants in Italy. I worked with people from Nigeria, the Philippines, Romania, and Moldova. It was very international. I loved every minute of it.

I was there for just the fall semester of that year but was super miserable when I got back. When you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing, it’s not fun. I ended up going back to Italy for another term to teach English to the children of working parents. It was a great time, but I realized there was so much more that needed to be done. I started talking to God about it and ended up helping trafficked women. We would give them food and jackets and things. We did all those things, and I knew I wanted to make a difference in that area.

There was a specific mom and her little boy whose traumatic story impacted me greatly. She had fled her own country, been forced to literally jump ship, and had arrived in Italy without papers or money. We helped her get papers, legal work, and childcare. It was a story like that that made me realize I wanted to help people in that way, so I decided to become a social worker. I went to a social work school in Arlington, TX . I realized then that I had found what I was meant to do.

I answered an ad in the newspaper to be a forensic interviewer, but I didn’t know what that meant at the time. I just knew that I wanted a job in the field.

Was it a smooth transition?

It was smooth for me because of my time in Italy. I felt very behind in some ways because I was 26 when I began my master’s degree, and most people were younger than me. What we were learning was so natural to me. It made sense. I think that was God. The growth and development I’ve had since getting out of SAGU and getting into that program was a product of the wandering. I don’t think I would have done English to social work as a direct line usually, but it was right for me.

What does it mean to be the program director for the Children’s Advocacy Center?

When children are the victims of abuse and neglect, they come to the center for a forensic interview, which is basically taking a statement from a child, so that they don’t have to talk to a police officer, and it’s done in a way that can be supported in court. We walk through the criminal justice system with them. We also provide free counseling services and advocacy in case they need those resources.

I’m an interviewer, and I’ve been doing that for 11 years. As the program director, I do counseling, interviews, keep the program afloat, write grants, etc. I’ve been practicing clinical social work since 2017, and I’ve been licensed since 2013.

Do you use your English skills in your job?

Yes. I use writing and editing, but I also utilize other skills in grant writing. Building up an argument makes up a great deal of grant writing. If you’re a good writer, become a grant writer. It’s building an argument and writing a paper. It’s a big deal. I use it all the time.

A lot of social work and counseling is communication, which goes back to English and whether or not you can have a conversation and listen for context. Can you hear subtext? The communication part is so important. I listen for context and details. As a forensic interviewer, my job is to build rapport and to get the child to tell me his/her story. I hear the story, and I paint that picture in my head. It’s all about the details. I learned to look for such details from reading books and writing stories.

What advice would you give to someone about to graduate who is unsure of their future?

If you’re interested in pursuing education past your bachelor’s degree, don’t waste your money. Know what you’re doing first. Take some time. I took three years between my bachelor’s and my master’s program. I’m also a big proponent of getting a job, getting into the field. Do you like that job? Yes? Good. No? Then get a new one. I’m also into internships, if you can get one.

I’m a firm believer in what the Word says about the steps of a righteous man being ordered by the Lord. The steps are what He orders. Not sitting, not waiting, but the moving around. My whole life I’ve told the Lord I’ll go wherever He wants me to go, I’ll be who He wants me to be, but I’m going to keep walking, and He can interrupt me along the way. And He has. He’s closed doors, and He’s opened other doors, but I’ve never been without.

Life is a journey, not a destination. Some of the most crucial lessons I’ve learned have been along the way. You pick things up, and God highlights them for you. My dissertation is based off of running away from a boy who hurt me. You never know what’s going to happen and what doors are going to be open to you.

Some of your skills come from education, and some come from life experience. Every job or missionary position I’ve ever taken has culminated into a really powerful skill set for me.

If you’re rigid and live in a box, you’re going to be rigid and live in a box, but if you can dream big and allow the Lord to lead you, He’ll lead you places you never imagined.