I have been placed in charge of Task Force West, an embedded support team that is assigned to work directly within high risk units. This allows me time to work outside of the clinic each week and meet with military members on the flight line while they work. Being able to provide mental health services right next to a C-130 is certainly a unique experience!

Keep your perspective on the big picture and frequently remind yourself of how your classwork is related to your future goals. It’s easy to get bogged down with assignments that seem like they have little value to you now, but there will come a day when you will realize how much you have learned through your years of education.

I work at the largest psychology practice in Northeast Florida (10+ psychiatrists, 30+ psychologists, 10+ master’s level mental health clinicians). I am thankful to have been recently named one of the Chiefs of the psychology practice – a role held by approximately 4-5 other psychologists. Holding a leadership role at this early stage in my career, speaks to the quality of training offered within the UCA Psychology & Counseling department. In my role as one of the Chiefs, I am evaluating clinical data across the practice (e.g., therapy drop-out rates) and implementing system-wide intervention to improve practice outcome data. I am also providing support for clinicians to identify, measure, and improve clinical data to improve patient outcomes.

Seek out different experiences. Students often have a relatively narrow idea of what they would like to do after graduation, often choosing experiences that will move them in that specific direction. Exploring different experiences (less common training sites, varying roles such as consultation, etc) allows you to build a wider skill set that is highly marketable and provide yourself with flexibility later in your career to shift roles if desired.