Alumni Spotlight - Jenn Seda '09

After graduating in December of 2009 with a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Psychology (minor in Family Studies), I was accepted into the Master's of Counseling and Human Development (Mental Health track) program at Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio.  I began the program in May of 2010 and have enjoyed every minute of it. I have been well prepared by AU to excel in all of the classes I have taken in my program so far (including Research Methods, Theories of Counseling, Lifespan Development, Marriage and Family Counseling, Psychological Testing).  The Research Methods classes at AU have proven to be most helpful considering the amount of APA writing I have had to accomplish thus far. Also, as an elective part of the program I have just returned from a Global Learning experience in Kisubi, Uganda, Africa and Rome, Italy.  As part of the experience, myself and four other graduate students assisted our professors in conducting counseling technique and theory seminars for Ugandan counselors and counseling students.  The training they received far exceeded their formal educational training due to their lack of educational resources and materials.  We were able to provide hands-on training and personal examples and allowed them to modify the interventions to be applicable in the Acholi culture.  We were on the ground in Africa for 11 days.  On the return trip, we stopped in Italy for four days to see the traditional Roman sites (Coliseum, Pantheon, St. Peter's Basilica, Trevi Fountain, and Spanish Steps), but we also held a meeting with the Ugandan Ambassador to Italy as well as the Farming and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to discuss their project on awareness about global hunger.  This fall I will be accepting a position as a Graduate Assistant in the office of Counseling and Human Development as well as taking classes. Next spring I am scheduled to do my practicum in the counseling center and then two semesters of internship in the summer and fall of 2012. Upon graduation I will be able to sit for the state licensing board Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) exam.  After 2 more years of supervision, I can then be independently licensed as an LPCC (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor). AU has given me an excellent background in research, theory, human development, and clinical knowledge; I am much further ahead in my knowledge (compared to my classmates) because of the education I received at Ashland University.