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Alrighty. Hello, and welcome to Phoenix Fireside Chats, the official podcast for the Department of Rehabilitation and Health Services at the University of North Texas. My name is Kori Gorman, I am the Internship Coordinator for the RHS Department, and I am also your host for today's episode. If you're not already familiar with our department, we are located on UNT's main campus in Denton, in Chilton Hall.

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We have undergraduate degree programs in rehabilitation studies, addiction studies, and public health.

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Our graduate programs include master's degrees in rehabilitation counseling, health services administration, and health data analytics, and we do also have a PhD program in health sciences. So the goal for this podcast, we just want to give our listeners an overview of our department and programs, as well as a look at what our alumni are doing in the field. And today, we are joined by the wonderful Dr. Linda Holloway. Dr. Holloway is currently a professor emeritus in the Department of

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and Health Services, and she was absolutely instrumental in the founding of this department, actually. For her time at UNT, she's held a number of titles here, but just some highlights of the titles that she's held. She's been an associate dean, Interim Dean, Associate Vice Provost for Faculty, and of course, our RHS department chair. Um, and now she does actually serve on the RHS Advisory Board as well, um, and I believe it is herself a UNT alumni.

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So welcome, Dr. Holloway, thank you for being here.

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Thank you. As the Joe… the Eagles, Joe Walsh, uh, has a saying that says you can check out, but you can never leave. And so, that's kind of how it is, I guess, with me. You know, you can retire, but you don't…

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It's still… it's in your blood, so thank you for having me.

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Absolutely, we're very glad to have you today.

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Was there anything from your introduction that I did not mention that you would like to tell us about yourself?

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No, other than I'm, um, enjoying retirement and still working a little bit, and loving my grandchildren, so it's… life is good.

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Wonderful, I'm glad to hear that.

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5 is good.

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Yes. Yes.

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Fantastic. Well, we will go ahead and jump into some of our questions here. Um, as I kind of mentioned, you were really instrumental in the founding of this department. This department has actually been around for quite a while, but looked a little bit different before you joined. Um, and so, would you mind telling us a little bit about what led to the creation of the department and how it came to look like it does today?

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Sure, sure. To really go all the way back, of course, I was a student there in the 70s, so it's been a long time, but actually, the whole program started in 1967.

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Uh, with a federally funded grant to provide rehabilitation training.

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Uh, to people currently working in the field. And so at that time,

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Uh, we became the School of Community Service, and we were the…

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rehabilitation Studies program. So,

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Um, you know, we're an institute for Rehabilitation studies. So, it's evolved a lot. If you think about it, the 60s, the 70s,

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There was a lot of progressive legislation to support people who were disadvantaged.

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And so, of course, the rehab… the Rehab Act has been around for, you know, more than 100 years now, but

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Uh, at that time, you also had the, um…

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you know, you had the Institute Area Agency Services, so they, they had a lot of different legislation, like the Economic Opportunity Act of 64. Johnson had a war on poverty, had civil rights legislation, and so it was a really…

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good time for, um…

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research and academic programs related to disability and other programs to serve people

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Uh, who, again, were disadvantaged in many ways. So we've evolved. Our first… I was actually the first graduate from the undergraduate program in 1978.

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Oh, wow.

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And, uh, at that time, uh, we were still… UNT only had, like, 16,000 students, so when I went to graduation, you know, there was one big graduation ceremony, all the undergrads, masters, PhDs together.

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And they said, would the graduates from the School of Community Service please rise and come forward? And I was the lone person to rise and come forward.

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Aww.

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So, at 21, it was very embarrassing for me to have to stand up and walk with my fore…

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4-inch high heels, uh, platform shoes across that stage. We still have our graduation. So, um, but then we had our first graduate from our master's program in 1979.

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So, you know, we're coming up. It's been, you know, a long, long, good…

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term for our program.

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Um, the department itself, you know, again, we started as an institute in a school, we evolved into an official department.

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Uh, we were originally the Department of Rehabilitation Studies, then, you know, we…

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I joined the Institute for Addiction Studies joined us. At one time we had social work.

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Um, and then I think it was about 10 years ago that Health Services actually joined us.

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And so, when you look at that, some people say, well, what? You can't… you couldn't decide on a department. I said, I…

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choose to look at it from a strength-based perspective, that we were flexible and able to move with the times. And so, we dropped the addiction title because we really felt that rehabilitation incorporated addiction, so you didn't need to have a separate

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title, but when we first had it, it was political.

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There was a professor who had started that institute and demanded that addiction be in the title.

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kind of argued, you know, that it was really part of the whole rehab process, but

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Um, and then, you know, social work joined for a while before they were large enough to get their own master's program.

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And then we were asked by the dean about 10 years ago to take over the health services program.

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And some people thought, well, what does that do? I said, well, actually, we're all in health in many ways, and so it made a lot of sense when you think about it.

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from that direction that, um, you know, rehabilitation counseling is about helping people to be healthy and well.

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and employed, and all those good things, and health services, uh, provides more of the administrative kinds of support. So we do the counseling and hands-on kinds of work, if you would. So that's kind of how we've evolved over the years.

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Um, I… I've always said you have to be really flexible to be in rehabilitation, uh, counseling, because it dynamic field, things change a lot.

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And I think that's evident as a department how we've evolved over the years to become who we are today.

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Who knows where our next journey will go, right?

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Absolutely, yes. So, you were leading the charge for a very long time, from your graduation walking across the stage by yourself, to getting us where we are now.

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even as an undergraduate, driving a van with people with disabilities, bringing them into a sheltered workshop on campus, so…

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Oh, wow.

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So, from a van driver to an interim vice provost, you know, it's, uh, anything can happen.

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Very broad, yes. Wonderful. Well, thank you for that.

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Yes.

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Um, so as you mentioned, the work that our students can do in this field is pretty broad and can vary quite a lot. Um, so what do you think makes our department unique, and what sets us apart from other similar programs, such as maybe a counseling or a psychology degree?

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Right. You know, I used to have to go over that a lot when I was an advisor, because people were like, I'm looking at Councillor Edd, I'm looking at social work, I'm looking at psychology,

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And I kind of had a little spill. I said, well, if you look at it, we're all kind of in the meddling arts. I know that doesn't sound very positive, but, you know, in some ways, you know, we're all involved with people,

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Many of the skill sets that we use are very similar, but to me, it was more, we have additional skills and a unique attitude.

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So I used to do ethics training a lot, and I would do it among social workers and addiction professionals, and rehab counselors.

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And, um, I would have them do kind of a forced choice on values. And one of the things I found that set the rehab counselors apart

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is the number one thing that they valued was autonomy.

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Hmm.

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And so, and people… in social work, it was protection of life, and somebody said, well,

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How can you, you know, value autonomy over protection of life? And I said, well, if you think about it, social workers often work with children in very, very vulnerable people, and that is their job.

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Protect them. Make sure that… but it says rehab counselors, we need to give people the dignity of risk.

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Mm-hmm.

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And so, what we do is we give them more autonomy. You do take some risks. They're calculated risk.

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Um, but if you don't, people never really fully grow. So, I think, you know, kind of that… that attitude about nothing about us without us,

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Uh, when I worked in… in… been in a lot of different programs working with other faculty, especially when I was a provost,

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Um, I think we had more of a belief that we do with people rather than to people.

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And to me, that was very important. Additionally, um, rehab, if you… if you go kind of back to the 1950s, 1954, the Rehab Act amendments had, um, included in their research and training centers.

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And so rehab has always been, even before counseling and psychology and other things, in my opinion,

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It's been evidence-based, and so we've always had to use research. We received a lot of federal funding, which is kind of the good and the bad, you know. A lot of our programs are federally funded, our students often go to work in federal and state programs.

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Um, and so that… that requires that we actually, you know, we're using taxpayer dollars.

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I have to make sure that what we're doing is best practices. It's research-based, evidence-based.

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And so, I think… I think that makes us unique.

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Additionally, you know, just having to keep up, you think about the disability is very dynamic.

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So, we have to keep up with all the medical advances. Look how far things have come just in my lifetime, you know.

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Mm-hmm.

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Um, we have to keep up with technology. We have to keep up with legislation, and changes in employment, and all kinds of other trends. So, one time I was having lunch with a department chair who was in counselor ed, and

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And, uh, I won't say at what university, but she said, I'm so glad I don't have to do rehab counseling. I said, well, help me understand, what's that about? She said, well,

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You guys have to… you're always having to learn new things. She said, counseling's counseling. You know, I haven't really had to push myself or learn a lot of new things. I mean, there's a few little tweaks here and there.

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But she said, with you, we always have to be abreast of the latest advances in technology and medical and even legislation and political issues. So, you know, disability is economically, politically constructed, socially constructed.

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We have to be aware of all of those issues. So, to me, it's exciting, because it's a lot more challenging. You're always kind of putting together all these

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pieces of the puzzle.

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Um, and… and the biggest piece that I… I fear we're losing some with KCREP is the employment piece.

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Because if you look at a lot of the research, I mean, yes, all our students get all the counseling skills they're…

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highly qualified to be LPCs, be mental health counselors,

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Um, additionally, though, they can sit for their CRC exam and become certified rehab counselors,

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as soon as they graduate. And to me, that rehab counseling, uh, the focus on employment, you may not be doing… being a vocational rehab counselor,

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You may not be doing supported employment, but if you're always aware of the fact that

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employment is one of the biggest predictors of well-being.

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And yet, there's not a single program in the world, academic program, that I'm aware of that really deals with that.

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Okay, you have HR that deals with pieces of it, but it's not really helping people to get to work. So, for me,

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Um, the motto I had, and it was always in my syllabus, probably people are still using it, and they don't have any idea where it came from, but it was, you don't have to be well to go to work.

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You go to work to get well.

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Oh, I like that.

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So when you think… when you think about what all employment has brought, just to you personally, Corey,

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It's the money, yeah, you know, most of us wouldn't work for free, although I do most of the time now.

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Of course.

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like, such a mess, you know? Because it's a passion, and it's more than just a job, you know, it really is who I am.

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But if you think about it, what it's brought to me is a wealth of opportunities.

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wonderful people that I've met, both colleagues as well as

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clients that I've served, you know.

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Um, and… and just opportunities to continue to learn, and so I tell people, if you don't want to be a lifelong learner, don't go into rehab counseling.

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Because I am still learning, you know, again, I got my degree 45 years ago, you know.

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Um, and I'm still having to learn, and I still have to keep abreast of things, even though I'm not

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technically really practicing anymore, but it's still in my blood. And so, I think when I… when I look at that, that… and it's also…

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Um, it's… it's difficult, and I served as a mental health counselor for years. I was actually a director of a mental health center.

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Um, and… and you had… you had outcomes and deliverables.

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But not as concrete as whether or not somebody goes to work.

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You know, you can kind of fake it a little bit. You know, yes, there suicidal ideation, you know, they're voicing more positive thoughts about themselves, whatever it might be.

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Um, but if you're looking at employment, they either get a job or they don't, and so it's a real… it's a… it's very challenging. To me, it's much more challenging.

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than doing, you know, traditional mental health counseling. Even if you're doing mental health counseling, though, a number of our students are,

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To always be thinking about the role that work plays in their life.

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your job may not be to help them get employed,

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But to help them consider the consequences and the impact it's having. It impacts our career, it impacts our relationships. I mean, I served as a probation officer for one year.

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Okay, I was taking a hiatus from mental health, and…

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Um, and it didn't last, because my husband didn't like calling me Officer Holloway.

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Um, you know, so it impacts our… it impacts our marriages, our relationships, our children, who we are.

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And… and even now, you know, my husband says, you know, you keep doing these things, you know, because I had told me I have to be… this afternoon, I'm doing this podcast. Why are you doing a podcast? I said,

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I don't know. Um, but I said, you know, it's still, to me, he says, well, you just need to stay relevant. And I said, that's a big part of it.

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I think we all need meaning and purpose, and even though I'm retired,

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And drawing my Social Security, I still want to be relevant, and I'd like to still feel that I'm having an impact.

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in, uh, I stay in touch with some students. Sometimes I had one call me recently with an ethical dilemma. They're like,

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I'm in private practice, I don't have anybody else to talk to, could you… could you walk me through this? And so,

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Um, it's… it's… to me, and to me, rehab has always been about relationships anyway, so…

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that part of it is… is just really critical. But I like the fact of

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always having to be learning and thinking about technology and thinking about

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you know, how the world of work, and how just the world is changing.

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Um, so I… I tell people, it's… it's been the best gig in my life. You know, I couldn't imagine doing anything else.

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Well, that's wonderful to hear, thank you. That was a great overview.

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And I'm really glad that you mentioned the kind of, you know, the continuing education, keeping up with it, trying to stay relevant to the field. In fact, you do a lot of work to help this department stay relevant and try to keep up with things, so would you mind telling us a little bit more about the work that you do as an advisory board member for our department?

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As an advisory board member, you know, it's our job to provide input and guidance, and so…

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We meet every year, but that… it shouldn't just be an annual one-time thing. Uh, if we… if we hear of issues that are happening, if we know about jobs that are occurring,

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If we hear both positive or negative feedback, it's our role

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to give that to the department, that information.

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Um, it's also our job to help connect people. I say we're kind of ambassadors to the community, and even though

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had been out of the direct work for a while.

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Um, I still have connections, you know.

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Uh, rehab's a small world. I tell folks, you know, at one time I was going to a conference in San Diego,

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That's how small it is, Corey.

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And I was on a bus going from the airport to the hotel or something,

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And someone said, we need to find an FM loop. I mean, they don't even use… this is technology, people don't even really use anymore, because we have a deaf woman from St. Croix coming to the conference, and

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And she, you know, we realized we don't have the technology that she needs to be able to hear, and I said, oh,

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I know that woman. It's like… and it was actually somebody that I knew who'd been at a conference, and…

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I thought, you know, there aren't that many people who are deaf from St. Croix who are probably coming to a conference, have the resource. She was a director of an agency there.

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Um, and so that's why I just tell people, you just don't know how small the field it is, so don't…

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Yeah, yeah.

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ever burn any bridges. But that's also what makes it fun, because even though I've, you know, been out of

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direct work. I do some work with UNTY, some training and a few things.

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Uh, and UNT-wise, for those who don't know, is the arm of continuing education, training, and also some grants, a lot of grants.

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Uh, to help people with disabilities to get employed. And so they have transition camps, summer camps, a lot of things that I started years ago. We have UNT Engage for

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people on the autism spectrum, um,

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are her neurodivergent. We have, um… where the credentialing body for the state of Texas, uh, for anybody who wants a contract for employment services with the state VR agency. And so that was… I failed to mention that earlier. That's part of

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That's kind of what makes us unique, is this…

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fact that we've always had labs there.

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as I said, when I started as an undergraduate, we had a sheltered workshop. I drove the van to pick people up to come into it, you know. We've always had our, you know, how can you…

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teach and be sharing information if you aren't being current, and one way to stay current is to have

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programs and practices that you're doing that are actually, you know, you're able to put into practice the evidence-based practices. You're able to

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to test things out, you're able to do some research, and so…

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I think that still makes it very unique in that we

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Um, we have those programs.

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So, we have the UNT Well Lab, you know, which helps

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the students actually hone in on their counseling skills.

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So, you know, and I've been around long enough, when I first started, you had to have a master's degree to be a rehab counselor.

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And then over time, they had a hard time attracting salaries and things changed, and they started hiring a lot of bachelor's people.

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And then, of course, in 1999, we had the changes where they had to have… everybody had to have masters, so we started on our…

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the first online program in 1999 is a collaboration between San Diego State and Georgia State, and I still stay in touch with that friend from San Diego, so…

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Um, so we… we've been doing this for a long time, but we've always had this connection to the community and a place for our students to practice and to work.

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So that we're not just, you know, a lot of people think, you're an academician, you're in this ivory tower, you don't really know how things work.

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And yet, we want to really know how things work in our department.

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Of course.

00:19:54.524 --> 00:20:03.121
So, I think those… those pieces really make it helpful. So, I enjoy being on the advisory committee. I think the connections are part of my reason to be there, that hopefully

00:20:03.176 --> 00:20:05.176
Sometimes somebody's looking for…

00:20:05.892 --> 00:20:10.892
this particular person or someone else, and I might know someone in that… in that arena.

00:20:10.892 --> 00:20:22.512
But also, I guess part is kind of the historian. I can, you know, people have questions. Did we try this? Has this worked? And if they want my, you know, opinion, I can tell them what we've done.

00:20:23.055 --> 00:20:28.055
Doesn't mean we shouldn't do it again, but I can kind of tell them maybe the pitfalls that we face when we…

00:20:28.413 --> 00:20:33.413
When we tried it before. So, I think I've become the department historian in some ways.

00:20:34.701 --> 00:20:37.701
That's really important. It's got to have somebody to refer to, absolutely.

00:20:39.171 --> 00:20:41.171
Alrighty, well, do you think you have time for one more question here?

00:20:40.828 --> 00:20:42.828
Derf!

00:20:42.826 --> 00:20:48.874
Alrighty, so what do you think is the biggest challenge that our students will face once they kind of graduate and move out into the field and begin working?

00:20:48.826 --> 00:20:56.826
I think more recognition for rehab counseling to help people understand what does set us apart. I mean,

00:20:56.827 --> 00:21:07.813
you know, because I would tell people, yes, we're all kind of in this meddling arts, but in general, and we've become closer in practice over the years than we used to be.

00:21:07.813 --> 00:21:09.581
But I used to kind of describe it that…

00:21:09.686 --> 00:21:22.686
You know, like, psychologists tend to focus more on the pathology, and that was kind of their job at the time. You know, you need to diagnose people, you need to, you know, find out, you know, what's wrong with them. And yes, they do also do…

00:21:23.336 --> 00:21:30.336
counseling a lot of other services, but it was kind of more focused on that pathology. That's why I was a psych major, I switched to rehab counseling.

00:21:35.744 --> 00:21:37.744
Mm-hmm.

00:21:37.744 --> 00:21:47.374
Because we are focused a lot more on strength-based, um, and what worked for people, you know. Social work, you know, is a great field. It tends to look more at the macro issues, although some of their… a lot of social workers do micro and kind of counseling and things, too, but

00:21:47.556 --> 00:21:51.556
Their actual training is much more focused on kind of that macro level.

00:21:51.904 --> 00:21:57.904
You know, and… and counseling, just general counseling Counselor Ed, I used to say focus more on the worried well.

00:21:57.904 --> 00:21:59.750
Mm-hmm.

00:21:59.751 --> 00:22:01.430
We focused, you know, and I tell folks,

00:22:01.808 --> 00:22:06.808
Yes, and they… they also work a lot with people with serious psychiatric disabilities. I realize that.

00:22:06.910 --> 00:22:11.910
Um, however, I've always told people, if you have, like, a serious mental illness, if you have a…

00:22:11.910 --> 00:22:15.666
If you have schizophrenia, major, you know, bipolar,

00:22:16.535 --> 00:22:24.535
disorder. You're better off served by somebody who comes from a rehab counseling background, because we get more training in that.

00:22:24.476 --> 00:22:30.476
And more training in things like supported employment, and how to… and the case management, you know, counselor…

00:22:30.616 --> 00:22:37.616
that Councillor add and psych programs don't, and that's kind of a big part of what we have to do to

00:22:38.872 --> 00:22:50.872
keep all these balls juggly. So I think it's, you know, being aware of that, trying to promote the identity of re-up counselors more, even though you are a mental health counselor, you're just a LP… not just, you're an LPC,

00:22:50.871 --> 00:22:52.804
Um, but you also have that rehab

00:22:52.805 --> 00:23:02.111
To me, that mindset that kind of makes it unique for you. And then I think we're always looking at potential funding cuts, you know. Right now, mental health has

00:23:03.209 --> 00:23:07.209
You know, there's a lot more funding currently for it, but that may change.

00:23:07.442 --> 00:23:12.442
VR rehab counseling is typically done very well because it's not been a

00:23:12.823 --> 00:23:18.823
Republican issue or a Democrat issue? How could you say it's not good to get people with disabilities to work, you know?

00:23:20.146 --> 00:23:27.146
Of course, in our current climate, everything's much more political, so funding is… is always one of the issues. And then I think just

00:23:27.146 --> 00:23:31.087
making sure that you take care of yourself. That's the biggest challenge, because, um…

00:23:31.596 --> 00:23:36.596
It can overwhelm you, it can take its toll on you if you don't find ways.

00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:42.000
Uh, to take, you know, do your own self-care. So I tell students, you know, get… get…

00:23:42.840 --> 00:23:45.840
early on practice that, you know, and… and…

00:23:46.388 --> 00:23:55.388
And try a lot of different things, you know, as I said, I've been a probation officer, mental health, worked at UCP with people that are now called neurodivergent. At the time, they were, you know, not

00:23:56.157 --> 00:24:09.157
still an autism spectrum, but broader category neurodivergence now. But, um, people with physical disabilities, mental health, addiction, you know, and… and I feel that the training I got set me up to work very well with

00:24:09.769 --> 00:24:15.769
everyone, because I… I understand the medical, the psychosocial, and all those pieces that… that go into it.

00:24:15.769 --> 00:24:22.776
And having that philosophy of, it's your life, not mine. Even worked with the homeless a lot, and people were like,

00:24:22.775 --> 00:24:30.443
You know, it's just so… I don't know how you can do that, they're just so depressing. And I said, it's… it's not… a lot of them were just the most genuine,

00:24:31.286 --> 00:24:40.286
generous people had ever met. You know, they weren't there. They were there because someone had bad choices, and they needed, you know, a lot of help to get started on the right foot again.

00:24:40.865 --> 00:24:48.865
Um, but I think that the background that I had, where it's no pity, you know, we don't pity people, we don't feel sorry for them, people are like,

00:24:48.864 --> 00:24:53.285
Oh, bless her heart, you don't have any legs, or you can't see, I don't know how I'd live if I could…

00:24:53.297 --> 00:24:58.297
It's… it's… it doesn't mean we don't have compassion, but I think the fact that, um…

00:24:59.752 --> 00:25:03.752
We understand it's their life, it's their choices,

00:25:03.752 --> 00:25:09.904
And, you know, nobody wants to be told what to do, but a lot of counselors and people, a lot of those in the

00:25:09.724 --> 00:25:16.724
The Helping Professions try to tell people what to do, and as a good rehab counselor, our job is to listen and help

00:25:16.723 --> 00:25:19.085
Provide resources to them.

00:25:19.562 --> 00:25:34.562
Um, so that they can be who they want to be, and it's… it's… nothing changes a person's life more than a really good job. And so, you know, when I see somebody actually go to work and get their first paycheck and, you know, to me, that just was…

00:25:34.438 --> 00:25:41.438
the biggest high I ever had. You know, it's… it's… it's amazing. So, uh, it's a great field. I hope that people will

00:25:41.992 --> 00:25:44.992
get more recognition. I think we should be doing more with aging, too.

00:25:45.922 --> 00:25:52.922
Um, you know, my dad's in assisted living, and they didn't even know about a lot of technology and things that I've brought in. Even just, like, spoons and…

00:25:52.923 --> 00:26:02.035
you know, the rubber bibs is that they were putting, you know, napkins and with clothespins on people's shirts. I said, you got these rubber bids? I went and bought a bunch of…

00:26:02.987 --> 00:26:07.987
assisted devices, little puffy dots that they can put on their microwave so they can know how to cook.

00:26:07.987 --> 00:26:12.877
Simple things, but somebody who's not trained in rehab might not consider those, right?

00:26:12.877 --> 00:26:14.864
Of course.

00:26:14.863 --> 00:26:19.397
So, anyway, you can tell I love what I had the chance to do, and uh…

00:26:19.382 --> 00:26:21.382
it's always going to be a part of mine.

00:26:21.395 --> 00:26:23.395
my life, yeah.

00:26:23.415 --> 00:26:31.415
Well, that's wonderful. Yes, it's very clear that you're very passionate about it, and we really appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective with us. It's really good to hear your insight into everything.

00:26:32.316 --> 00:26:34.316
Thank you, Kori.

00:26:35.552 --> 00:26:37.552
Okay.

00:26:37.552 --> 00:26:39.748
Of course, well, that's pretty much all that we have for today's episode. Thank you so much for taking the time to join us today.

00:26:39.748 --> 00:26:44.676
I hope that's what you need. I know I can kind of, you know, pontificate a little too much sometimes.

00:26:48.778 --> 00:26:50.778
Okay.

00:26:50.778 --> 00:26:52.994
No, no, it was exactly what we were looking for. It was a great overview of the history of the department, and kind of the challenges that are facing the industry today, so thank you so much. It's wonderful to hear from you.

00:26:52.994 --> 00:26:54.029
Thank you. Have a great day.

00:26:54.028 --> 00:26:57.324
Yes, and thank you for our listeners for joining us today. Thank you.

Gorman, Kori   0:06

Hello everyone and welcome to Phoenix Fireside Chats, the official podcast for the Rehab and Health Services Department at the University of North Texas. My name is Kori Gorman. I am the internship coordinator for the RHS department and I am also your host for today's episode. Today I am joined by Ryan Cole, who has a master's degree from our rehab counseling program here in the department.

And who is also the project director for the Texas Beacons of Excellence at UNT Wise, which is also housed in the RHS department. And so welcome, Mr. Cole. Thank you so much for being here today.

 

Cole, Ryan   0:36

Thanks for having me. Super excited.

 

Gorman, Kori   0:39

So would you mind just start off with telling us a little bit about your current position and the types of services that you provide in that role?

 

Cole, Ryan   0:46

Yeah. So I am the project director for our Texas Beacons of Excellence project. I work for the University of North Texas for UNTY stands for Workplace Inclusion and Sustainable Employment. And the Texas Beacons of Excellence project is 1 project kind of under our our wheelhouse, if you will.

But our project is a federally funded grant where where we are working to make an impact on sub minimum wage employment for individuals with disabilities. So we're working with sheltered workshops where we are working these these places have what's called a 14C certificate through the Department of Labor.

And it allows them to pay people with disabilities below minimum wage at a peace rate. It's a really hot button topic across the United States, so much so that certain states are choosing to abolish the 14C certificate, thinking that's going to solve this dilemma, when in actuality it doesn't. And so the federal government has put aside some funds.

And we are one of 14 states that are working to make this impact on sub minimum wage employment. So what we're doing is we're working with these sheltered workshops and we're working to transition individuals with disabilities out of these sheltered workshops and into the community engaging in competitive integrated employment. We're also at the same time.

Working with school districts. This is more of kind of a preventative measure, but we're working with school districts to divert students from going into sheltered workshops or going into day Hab settings. We want their their first opportunity once they graduate high school to be competitive, integrated employment out in the community. Then if that opportunity doesn't work out, then we can explore.

Some of those other options, but what we see all too often is that students are going straight into subminimum wage employment once they graduate high school without ever having the opportunity at competitive integrated employment. So the whole point of the project is really to get people jobs. We have a goal of getting around 240 individuals competitive integrated employment.

We're about 1/4 of the way there thus far. We have about two years left on our project and things are really, really picking up. People are getting jobs on a weekly basis now, so we're starting to make a really, really great impact across Texas.

 

Gorman, Kori   2:57

Fantastic. Well, that's great to hear. Thank you so much. So would you tell us a little bit more about what led you to your current position and kind of what what prepared you for that role?

 

Cole, Ryan   3:00

Yeah.

Yeah, so I mean, I guess this all started when I worked. I used to work at the YMCA in undergrad when I was in college, and I had one of the kids that was in my after-school program was on the autism spectrum. And so I started to learn more about it, became really curious about it, started. I changed.

My major started pursuing A behavior analysis degree, which then eventually led me to my master's degree in rehabilitation counseling, where I was connected with some opportunities to do some job coaching and really start to get my my kind of my feet in the field.

Once I was able to, I learned this whole employment piece of the disability field. I was bought in. I was really, really, really interested in making a career out of this because there is no greater feeling than helping somebody.

With a disability, gain employment. This employment for a lot of these folks is, is life changing. Some of the folks that I work, I'm working with right now, there's a guy that we're working with. He's 53 years old and he just now got his very first job in the community. He had been in subminimum wage employment for 33 years.

This is greatly, greatly changed his life. He's able to take his family out to dinner. He's able to plan for his first family vacation that he's paying for. I mean, this is really, really given him a whole nother sense of independence. So that really being able to see that impact.

As as it's what it's what hooked hooked me into this field. Now I've had a lot of different jobs in this field. I've been in the private sector, I've been in the public sector, but really all of it has really involved in in serving folks and helping folks become more independent through employment.

 

Gorman, Kori   4:52

Fantastic. And more on your current position, would you mind telling us a little bit about what your workload looks like and what a typical week might look like for you in your current position?

 

Cole, Ryan   5:04

Yeah. So my workload now as being a project director, it's a hefty workload. I'm pretty much the the centerpiece that's connecting hundreds of partners across this project, employment for providers, school districts, sheltered workshops, state agencies, federal federal agencies working with all kinds of.

Different folks. So my day, to be completely honest in this field, it looks different every single day. Some days I'm sitting right here at home behind my computer, you know, kind of coordinating a lot of these efforts. Other days I'm in the field. Tomorrow morning I'll be down in downtown Dallas and I'll be speaking with Dallas.

With their vocational coordination teachers talking to them about how to create this vision, right? How do we get folks with disabilities transitioned into competitive integrated employment? So every day looks a little different. You know, sometimes my, you know, my hours flex and I have to work evenings. Sometimes I have to be there very, very early. Sometimes.

You know.

Traveling and I have to be places on the weekends. So it does require a great amount of flexibility. I think why we're seeing so much success in the project that we have is because we meet folks where they're at. So that comes with kind of a cost, right, where we want in order to be able to better serve the individuals that we're working with.

 

Gorman, Kori   6:19

Mhm.

 

Cole, Ryan   6:24

Have to be willing to be flexible on our end in order to really help them capitalize on these opportunities. So every day is a little bit different, which is great. It kind of gives you a little bit of variety to your day.

 

Gorman, Kori   6:38

Mhm.

That's a great overview. Thank you. And as far as the populations you you serve, it sounds like it's a pretty broad. I mean, you serve pretty much everybody. It sounds like from really young to really old. And would you talk more about that, please?

 

Cole, Ryan   6:41

Yeah.

Yeah. So students, we're able to serve students ages 14 to 22 that are enrolled as a student and have some type of disability. So most of the folks that we're serving have some type of intellectual or developmental disability. That's typically the types of disabilities that we're serving on this project, but there are.

The secondary disabilities that folks have as well. We're also able on the adult side, we're able to work with any adult ages 18 to. However, I think we have some folks that are in their 60s that have been in the sheltered workshop for a couple decades.

 

Gorman, Kori   7:24

Mm.

 

Cole, Ryan   7:29

So we have, we're able to really serve anybody and everybody. Our big, our big kind of criterion point that we're looking for is we're looking for individuals that are already engaged in sub minimum wage employment or are contemplating sub minimum wage employment, meaning that they would consider going into that type of setting or a day HUB.

Setting, which is a very similar setting, but really we're able to work with a wide array of individuals. We have probably well over 200 individuals that have been onboarded onto the project that we're working with day in and day out.

 

Gorman, Kori   8:05

I'll say that's a lot of work.

 

Cole, Ryan   8:06

It's a whole lot of work and it's a, it's a, it's a very large team that we have, you know that's kind of wrapped around me between all of our partners, all of our our, our TVE staff here at UNT Wise and a lot of other consultants and subcontractors as well.

 

Gorman, Kori   8:07

Yes.

Well, it sounds like you're making a very big impact out in the community. So that's wonderful to hear. Thank you. So as an alumni of our program, I want to kind of look back a little bit and get your perspective on the program. If you could share advice with someone who might be like a current student on our program or even someone who's considering the program for the for the master's degree.

 

Cole, Ryan   8:25

Thank you.

Well.

 

Gorman, Kori   8:41

What kind of advice would you want them to know?

 

Cole, Ryan   8:43

Yeah, I get, you know, I've done a lot of mentoring with folks that are coming out of the program, undergraduate and graduate students. I do a lot of mentoring with individuals with disabilities in the field. My first piece of advice is always find your place in the world, right? You know, it took me, took me a while to get this position.

I'm at now where, you know, I would only stay in a job for about a year to a year and a half, and then that's when I'm kind of deciding, is this for me or is this not for me, right? And most of the time I just didn't feel like I had a really strong connection to the work that I was doing when I got here at UNT.

2018, I knew that this, this is where I wanted to be forever. And I've been here for eight years now and that says something. I feel like I found my place in the world. So I guess what I'm trying to say is don't settle, right? If you feel like you're in, if you feel like you're in a job in the field and you're not really happy with the dynamics of it, you know, keep looking.

There's something that's out there. Find your place in the world. And the second piece of advice that I give to everybody that I work with, do not burn bridges, especially in this field. Everybody knows everybody. I have. I have some wild, wild examples how things come around full circle in this field. It's.

The world's a big place, but this this field is very, very, very small, especially in voc rehab. A lot of us that have CRC's, they graduated with the masters in rehab counseling. A lot of us know each other, and if we don't know each other, we know others. You know that the web, the web extends.

Pretty well, but a great examples. I just I just hired on my Texas Beacons of Excellence project. I just hired somebody that worked for UNT Wise for one of our summer programs four or five years ago.

And she made a really, really great impression during during her time with us. She kept up. She didn't burn any bridges. She kept that really great connection. And then the moment that I saw her apply for that job, I was like, Oh my goodness, I remember how great she was back then. But that just goes to say, you know.

To make sure that you're still you don't leave employers on bad terms and that you're not leaving one position and putting that employer in a tough spot by not giving them advance notice. But you know, do things the right way, the professional way. Make sure that you you don't burn those bridges because you will never know. I've I've left jobs.

Before and then I ended up coming back to that job at some point once I wanted to kind of get back to my roots and I I was able to do that because that door was still wide open, right? So again, just make sure you don't burn those bridges.

 

Gorman, Kori   11:17

Mhm.

That's really good advice, yes. Especially for, like you said, a kind of a smaller industry. If things don't go so well, yes, bridge, bridges can be burned. But on the other hand, it can, you know, work to your favor sometimes. If if you do get a really good connection with somebody that you meet in the field, that could be a potential for working with that person together down the road, so.

 

Cole, Ryan   11:39

100% every. And I tell, I tell folks this all the time. Every single job that I have ever gotten in my professional working career, I have always known someone. I've always had a connection some way, shape or form, right? Even at UNTI knew folks that worked here that were able to say, hey.

 

Gorman, Kori   11:40

Um.

Mm.

 

Cole, Ryan   11:55

That's a good guy. You want to hire him and you want to be able to kind of have that somebody to vouch for you. So again, it goes back to having as many people as you can in your corner, not burning those bridges because it will come around full circle.

 

Gorman, Kori   12:07

Fantastic advice. Thank you. So some advice for specifically the the time period in a student's life when they might be doing their practicum or internship preparations. Um, what do you think that students can do in order to get the most out of those experiences or even out of their supervision meetings that they'll have during their practicums and internships?

 

Cole, Ryan   12:27

Yeah, I would say, you know, really dive in as deep as you can, lean into the expertise of those around you. Because you know, a lot of these folks that you're going to be working with, they've been in the field for 5/10/20, 2530 years. And so there's a lot that they have to share. I think that there's a lot to be said about organization.

When you're able to pass on the historical knowledge and learning from those before you, because there's a lot of things that aren't written down on paper, right, that aren't in a policy or aren't in a procedure. And those are the really, that's the really valuable information that you want to be able to to gain and being able to do an internship or a practicum and have that the supervision hours.

Lean into those supervision hours. You know, I've been on that side. You know, I've been where I was doing my supervision hours. I've been when I've supervised others. It's really important to take that time seriously. Ask the questions, right. I mean, all those curious questions that you've always wanted to know about that job in the field, you know what you're.

Your favorite thing? What do you not enjoy? You know, all of that. You know, how did you get here? Those are all really, really great questions to kind of dig into. I think there's a lot that you can learn from others in the field. I had a lot of folks that I felt like invested in me when I was coming.

You know through the program and it's you'll be surprised if you'll lean into those folks that are willing to invest in you, what that what that ends up paying out, right. You're gonna have connections that you're gonna learn from these folks and you know your network will be expanded and you'll have a much, much better.

Less rocky Rd. trying to get employment once you graduate with your with your master's degree or your bachelor's degree. So I think it's just really important just to lean into the experience, take it seriously and really, really, really try to.

Expand your network from from the connections that you'll have with your supervisor.

 

Gorman, Kori   14:25

Absolutely. Yeah, that practicum and internship, of course, is the time to to get all that learning, you know, and get all those questions asked. So that's really great advice. Thank you so much. Well, is there any other, you know, thoughts that you last thoughts that you have that you would want to share that you know that I haven't asked about already that anything that you would really want to tell a current student in the program?

 

Cole, Ryan   14:32

Absolutely.

You know my e-mail? Feel free. Anyone can always e-mail me. I I I give my e-mail out to people will tell you that there's probably hundreds of people have my business card. They're like, why does this guy continue to tell me to reach out to him? I have families that reach out to me. I have students that reach out to me. I'm an open book. I love to help.

Foster the love for learning in this new generation that's going to be coming into this field. Because guess what? We can't do it forever. My Gray hairs are showing you that I've got about 15 years where I've been chugging away at this. But you know, lean into to these folks that want to.

Help and that want to help connect you ryan.cole@unt.edu. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail at any time. If you want to learn more about our Texas Beacons of Excellence project, you can go to our website. It's disabilityinnovation@unt.edu.

There's a section in there where there's some success stories and testimonials where you can actually hear from the guy that I was talking about that was in a sheltered workshop for 33 years. You can hear from him and about the what he's experienced in the project. There's several other success stories there. There's newsletters, there's resources for.

Family members for individuals with disabilities, for employers, for VR professionals, for students. There's all kinds of resources that are on our website as well. So that's just my little shameless self promotion to plug our project. And if you have any employers that you know of that are wanting to hire individuals with disabilities, my God, please, please, please, please reach out.

We would love to get connected, but I love the field. I love having my CRC. I'm a big proponent of the Masters in rehab counseling. I can't tell you how impactful it was for my career, for my life. A lot of things. It's brought me a lot of.

Really positive and great things to my life. I could get emotional talking about it too much, but I really it's it's the best decision I've ever made in my entire life was to go get my masters in rehab counseling.

 

Gorman, Kori   16:49

Well, that's great. Thank you. Yeah, your passion for it is very evident and just from talking to you. So it's great to hear your experience from the program and also your experience in your current position. And for our listeners, the e-mail address that Mr. Cole just mentioned and the website that they have for Texas Beacons of Excellence, I'll be sure to link those down in the description of this episode. So if you do want to contact for

 

Cole, Ryan   16:53

Yeah.

Absolutely.

 

Gorman, Kori   17:09

Information or if you want to just read through the website and just to see what what kind of projects we've got going on right now, you can can go ahead and do that. But thank you so much Mr. Cole for your time today. It's really great to have you on. And to our listeners, hopefully you enjoyed this episode and you'll leave us a rating and a review and hopefully you'll catch us on the next one as well. So thank you for listening today.

 

Cole, Ryan   17:15

Awesome.

Thanks so much, Kori.

 

Gorman, Kori   17:30

Thank you. Thank you. Bye-bye.

Gorman, Kori   0:06
Hello and welcome to Phoenix Fireside Chats, the official podcast for the Department of Rehabilitation and Health Services at the University of North Texas. My name is Kori Gorman. I am the internship coordinator for the RHS department and I'm also your host for today's episode. Today we are lucky to be joined by our wonderful department chair, Doctor Sharma. Thank you so much for being here today.

Sharma, Rachita   0:25
Thank you, Kori. It's my pleasure to be here.

Gorman, Kori   0:29
If you don't mind, would you mind starting off off with a little introduction about yourself?

Sharma, Rachita   0:33
Absolutely. Hello everyone. My name is, as Kori mentioned, Doctor Sharma. I am currently the Chair for the Department of Rehabilitation and Health Services. I've been in this role for about five years now, but I have been at this university at UNT for closer to 13 years.
I'm a clinical associate professor, so when I started I taught a lot of classes that were related to doing clinical mental health work in the field of rehabilitation. By trade, I am a licensed professional counselor supervisor.
I previously had my CRC certification as well, although I don't work much in the area of rehabilitation and vocational rehabilitation at this point, so I've still held on to my LPC license, but for the most part now I just help the program and the department.
Run according to schedule.

Gorman, Kori   1:33
Wonderful. That's a great overview. Thank you so much. And I wanted to ask a little bit about the history as well. I know when Doctor Holloway joined us a couple episodes ago, she gave us a really great overview about the field of rehabilitation. Would you mind sharing a little bit more about the history of this department specifically?

Sharma, Rachita   1:35
Mhm.
Yeah, absolutely. I'd actually love to do that. Doctor Holloway was a great speaker to get this podcast started and present an overall over general or overview of the field of rehabilitation. I, in my role as chair, have been learning so much about the history of our department.
And I feel it's something that more people should learn about. So happy to share more. I'll start with where we currently are. Right now we have seven different academic degree programs, but when we first started back in back almost actually 50 years ago.
We're coming close to our 50th anniversary in about a year and a half. We started with a program in in Bachelor's of Rehabilitation Studies. It was one of the first programs of its kind in the nation.
And then pretty soon thereafter, we developed a master's program in rehabilitation counseling or vocational rehabilitation as it was back then before the field change as Doctor Holloway had mentioned. So both of these programs were on campus programs, very successful and.
Then as the field started changing, our department was one of the first to really very intentionally bring in distance learning, online learning as we call it now, well before the pandemic. So in actually the early 2000s, our department had a contract with another university in California.
San Diego State University, and they helped us develop our infrastructure for our online courses. So because of the assistance, the technical assistance that San Diego State University offered our department, we were able to begin offering our masters in rehabilitation counseling on 2 parallel tracks. We offer an.
on-campus track and an online track. They run sort of parallely different students come into either the online or the on-campus program. This continues to be offered to this day. It is now a CACREP accredited program. CACREP is the National Council for Accreditation.
Of counseling and related educational programs. So what this means is that the program has quite the seal of approval, I should say, in terms of quality of the content that is offered. It also makes our graduates eligible for state.
Licensure as a licensed professional counselor as well as certification as a certified rehabilitation counselor. So aside from these two programs, which we've had running for, like I said, quite close to 45 to 50 years, about I'd say in around 2016.
We had a faculty member who expressed interest in building a master's in health services administration or health care administration, which is an area that is quite in demand, especially here in the Dallas Fort Worth area where we have several large hospitals, several health care.
Care centers, older age facilities for providing care for seniors, and they need good administrators. So this was back in again 2016. Dr. Gail Privatek helped us develop our Masters in Healthcare Administration and in 2017.
Te.
Launched the program and brought in our cohort, our first cohort. This program is offered fully online, so it is a great fit for professionals who are working in the field, whether currently in hospitals or other health care agencies, but who are now looking to move up in terms of their skills.
That and just career, career ladder. So those three programs were running really well by the late 2017 and then we decided there was more need in the in the field, in the community that our department.
could help train students for. So at that point, we also started building a public health bachelor's program. This was developed by Dr. Ami Mors, she's a professor in our department, and it really was one of the first bachelor's level public health programs.
In the Dallas, Fort Worth Metroplex, public health education had typically been limited at the master's level before that. So with this new bachelor's program, we were able to start bringing in students who wanted to train to become public health advocates, community health workers, and even students who were maybe.

Gorman, Kori   6:26
Ohh.

Sharma, Rachita   6:43
Looking to go to medical school, nursing school, OTPT schools, but also wanted to get a general understanding of public health, community health, global health before they went into their specialized medical areas of training.
So we've offered this bachelor's in public health since 2019. As you might imagine, the COVID pandemic brought a lot of awareness about the value of public health in our communities, right? How do how do we do that messaging so that public health information reaches?
All types of communities that are in our Metroplexes, in our rural communities, urban areas, et cetera. So this program has boomed. We have over 550 students in this bachelor's program and they do very well in terms of their post graduation outcomes. Many students go on.
To get their masters in public health, while many others find themselves working either as community health workers or working as advocates and advocates who do either mental health or public health work in different community agencies.
In addition, we still weren't done, so we continued to think about what are some other needs for training in the community. So we then developed a bachelor's degree in addiction studies.
That was launched in 2021. This was developed by one of our principal lecturers, Paula Heller Garland. She helped us put the curriculum together for this so that those students who want to become addiction counselors can come into the program, train from it.
And learn how to whether work in substance use treatment, perhaps prevention or recovery related areas. Students who graduate from this program are eligible to become licensed chemical dependency counselors.
After they pass their exam and complete the supervisory hours post graduation. So that that program has also received a lot of great interest from people, students who know that they want to work somewhere in the addictions community.
Whether it's substance use addiction, which includes drugs and alcohol, or even process addictions like gambling or, you know, Internet addictions and those types of things. In addition to this, our most recent master's program has been in health data analytics.
This is an up and coming field. Sorry, Kori, the lights in my office go off. All right, there we go. They're back on. We're a very green university. We don't waste electricity. So going back to the Masters in Health Data Analytics, this is an expedited master's degree. It's only 30.

Gorman, Kori   9:23
No problem.

Sharma, Rachita   9:38
30 credit hours, so 10 classes which then train students on how to become analysts who know how to work with healthcare data. And what I mean by that is, you know, think about every time you go to a doctor or you go to a hospital, the first thing that you have to do is fill out a lot of paperwork.
Right. So there are these healthcare agencies that have tons of paperwork about client data, which they are now recognizing they can use to make informed decisions about the types of services that are needed, perhaps any indicators of future health related illnesses or chronic problems.
That can be alleviated or prevented now. So students in this program learn about data harvesting. They learn about how to look at, you know, big data where we're talking 10s of thousands of data points, using them to help the agency make maybe business decisions, service decisions.
They're looking at data visualization because what good is a whole bunch of data if you cannot present it in a meaningful way to stakeholders who can use that information to make those decisions. So this master's program is a great fit for students who have either a background, a bachelor's.
In a healthcare related area, whether it's, you know, biology or maybe they were a public health major or come from an area where they're interested in working in the healthcare, in healthcare settings, but not necessarily in direct patient care.
They're typically working behind the scenes on supporting the organization itself by capturing that data, harvesting it, visualizing it, and then presenting it to the key stakeholders who use that information then. So that has also been a very popular master's program.
We offer that on campus as well as online for professionals who want to take maybe just one or two classes a semester and do the work for it on their own time in the evenings or the weekends. In addition to these three undergraduate programs and three master's programs that we have, we also have a PhD.
Program. This is a PhD in Health Sciences. It has evolved from what it used to be to being what it is now. When we first received this program into our department, it was a program that was very focused on gerontology, on aging.
Studies. So really the studies of people aged 55 and older. However, we, you know, as we received feedback from the community, from site reviewers who came in to look at our programs for program review, we learned that there was more that this PhD program could train students in.
So what we did was we moved into a model where we have a very multidisciplinary approach. We have different concentrations that students can specialize in as part of their PhD in Health Sciences.
One of those concentrations is an Applied Aging and Rehabilitation Science, which is for students who want to do research that helps better the quality of life in in different capacities for older adults or individuals with disabilities or chronic illnesses.
The second concentration is in behavior analysis, which is pretty self-explanatory. This particular concentration actually lies within the Department of Behavior Analysis here at UNT. It's a collaboration that our department has with theirs.
Where they the students in that program are able to specialize in becoming behavior analysts at the doctoral level. They do research in looking at human behavior and performance. And then the third concentration which we have in the PhD program is an audiology and speech language pathology.
And this is again for students who are very specialized in that particular area, whether in the on the audiology side or the speech language side and want to get a PhD. They work with faculty in the Audiology and Speech-language Pathology department, which is also in our college here.
At the College of Public Affairs and Health Sciences. So in a very large nutshell, that is the history of our department. As you can probably gather, we have evolved a lot in the past almost 50 years.
That our department has been around. We are actually one of the oldest departments within our college and we also have among the highest enrollment within the college. We have roughly about 1000 students in our programs across all of those seven programs.
But we also have numerous students who are enrolled in our minors, in our certificate program. We also, I didn't talk much about the minors, but we have a minor in aging, which is really popular. Students just want to learn about, you know, whether it's global aging or looking at.
Aging and sexuality, looking at aging of different populations. So that has been of interest to many of our students. So I think this really is a testament to the department, faculty and leadership.
As they've done their due diligence in assessing the needs of the community, the members in our community and then training students to meet those needs so that they're great post graduation outcomes for our students.
I know you do the coordination for all of our internships, but for the folks listening to this podcast, I do want to emphasize that we really try to prioritize work integrated learning for our students. So all of our bachelor's programs have a specific course which students take which allows them.
Complete practicum hours with a community agency that really this course which students take typically in their final semester is an opportunity for them to take their academic learning, right, all that learning that they've done in their classes and actually apply it into providing services at the community agency. So it really helps.
Helps them with the application of academic learning into actual practical learning and that helps increase again their likelihood of networking and meeting with potential employers and also learning about maybe specific areas within their field that are of interest.
Them that they want to pursue either in Graduate School or in employment moving forward.
OK, I'll pass it back to you. Sorry as I spoke too much, but there's just lots of great things happening in our department academically, which the history really lends itself to.

Gorman, Kori   16:27
Wonderful.
Yeah, not too much at all. I love hearing about the historical side of things, seeing, you know, where we've been and how it led to where we are today. And of course, we have more than just the seven academic programs within our department that you mentioned. We do also have a really great service side of our department as well. Would you mind telling us a little bit more about everything that we do there?

Sharma, Rachita   16:55
I would love to tell you more about it. Thank you for pointing out that in addition to our academic wing of the department, we also have a service wing that has several programs which again have also grown significantly in terms of their capacity and types of service offerings that they have.
The very first one that I'd like to talk about is the UNT Wise program. I know in one of your episodes you've had Mr. Ryan Cole come in and talk about the Texas Beacons of Excellence project that he directs. The TBE project actually falls under the UNT Wise wing.
UNT Wise has four distinct types of programs that it offers, which are community facing. So these aren't necessarily for students, although they do employ a lot of students in offering these services. But the services are intended either for individuals with disabilities themselves or for professionals who work with those individuals.
So aside from the TBE grant, which I know many of your readers probably know or your listeners know about in detail, we also offer through UNT Y's program called Engage. Engage stands for Embracing Neurodiverse Neurodivergent Adults into Education.
And gainful employment. And this is really intended to support students here at the UNT campus who are neurodivergent. They might be on the autism spectrum or have other types of neurodivergence that has been diagnosed, and these students get a chance to work one-on-one with case managers.
Graduate Assistants or in the Engage program to really help facilitate their success in in higher education at UNT specifically. So while some of the supports might include things like study hall, you know, a little bit of just understanding about what the assignment instructions are, what the expectations are.
A lot of the supports are also more social and engagement related. You know, how do you, how do you make friends on campus? It's hard for really the best of us, right? There's so many people on campus. You meet so many individuals in classes. So how do you strike up conversations? How do you maintain friendships? How do you participate?
Participate in different opportunities on campus. They do a lot of social events for students and then as students sort of progress through their academic degree, move on from freshman to being sophomore juniors.
Then the focus shifts on vocational exploration and career readiness. So by the time students are maybe juniors, they may have a better sense of what they want to do after they graduate. And if they don't, then the case managers in the Engage program work with them on just exploring different careers.
Either through internships or doing different types of assessments to see how their natural interests fit with potential careers out there, and then provide them with guidance accordingly, whether it's learning how to do mock interviews or preparing your resumes or.
Just dressing up for the interview. How do you present yourself? Soft skills like that that really help a person not just get a job, but also retain that job. So that's the Engage program. They have 3 coordinators employ anywhere from 6 to 8 graduate assistants who work with.
With the students more more than once a week as needed. Aside from the Engage program, there is also the summer live and learn. There's summer transition camps that are offered every summer, as the name suggests, by our UNTY staff.
And these particular transition camps are for students with disabilities who are either currently in high school or transitioning out of high school, either into post secondary education, so going to a college or a university or.
Transitioning into employment after high school. So these particular summer camps allow these students who work with the Texas Workforce Commission's Vocational Rehabilitation Solutions offices to actually come stay here at the UNT campus.
For two weeks over the summer, and during that two-week period, they engage in a lot of, again, vocational exploration, career development, but also just independent living skills. You know, how do you for many of these students, this is the first time that they've been away from their parents, most of the participants.
Are between the ages of 14 to 22. So for many of them, you know, this is the first time they've been away from parents, from friends. They're in a new environment and they have to learn basic things like how do you do your laundry, how do you cook for yourself? One of the classes that they do is on how to make chicken and rice.
And I'll tell you, the students are so excited because for many of them, this is the first time that they've ever been in the kitchen handling knives, cooking food. And it may not taste like the best thing out there, but to them it is extremely exciting because it may be the first time that they've ever cooked a meal for themselves from scratch.
So those are our summer transition camps. The students, as I mentioned, come in for two weeks at a time. It's typically cohorts of 25 students and we do multiples of these camps throughout the summer. So at any given time you bring in anywhere from about 100 to 125 students over the summer across the.
There's numerous camps. One of those camps is specifically focused on students who are interested in STEM-related careers, so it's great for students who already maybe have done some of that career exploration and want to move into either a major that is somewhere in the sciences.
Or potentially a job out there, you know, in coding and things like that. And then the 4th program that is offered by UNT Wise is their community rehab professional training programs. So the the staff members who work in this program do an excellent job of providing either self-paced.
Training programs that rehabilitation professionals can sign up for, to sign up for credentials to complete the work required, maybe for continuing education for their licenses, for their certifications.
Or for individuals who have their own community rehab agency, they get a chance to learn how to be the directors of agencies. They could learn how to be a job coach, an employment specialist, just lots of various credentials that these professionals and even our students really can benefit from.
Is it allows them to really set themselves apart during that job search process because then they have this enhanced training that is not academic but very practical when it comes to training and helping individuals with disabilities find jobs.
So those are all for UNT Wise programs. In addition to that, we also have a teaching clinic associated with our department. This is the UNT Well Clinic. We established this clinic in 2017 to really help with two goals that we had. One was to increase opportunities for our.
Masters in rehabilitation counseling students to train in how to provide direct services to clients. And then the second was to fill a need in the UNT community where students who were looking for counseling services could come in and receive free services.
So right now we offer two main kinds of services. We offer free counseling sessions for any UNT student at the undergrad or grad level, and we offer vocational evaluations for students who want to again learn more about how their natural interests and abilities and aptitudes.
Connect with different job professions out there. So our clinic is located in Chilton Hall, just like UNT Wise on the 1st floor and we run in the fall semester, the spring semester and the summer semester and are able to provide students with those supports.
As in when they need them. And then the third service based program that we have in our department is UNT Elavar. This is a special program that was established by Doctor Brenda Barrio and Doctor Chandra Carey and other faculty who were involved in.
Writing a grant application to create a program to support the post-secondary engagement of students with intellectual developmental disabilities here at our campus. So many of the students who are enrolled in the program are also working maybe with the Texas Workforce Commission Voc Rehab.
Solutions, and this is an opportunity for students with intellectual developmental disabilities to get a chance to experience college life. When they're part of the program, the students get to live on campus in the dorms. They attend classes just like with all other students, and they get a chance to really just socially engage.
Participate in all of the fun college activities that you know all of the other students get a chance to do. The only difference is that the students, when they graduate, they're typically not graduating with a bachelor's degree. They're typically graduating with a certificate or a diploma, you know, of having spent time here in a college setting.
While they're here, they're also doing vocational exploration, career readiness work. They typically are placed in internships or jobs, whether on campus or off campus, so that they can also build those workforce skills such that by the time they finish their four years with the L of our program, they're also typically.
Employed in a community, providing services and engaging in either independent living or living with a roommate and really just enjoying life the way any other typical, you know, 20 something year old would after graduation.

Gorman, Kori   27:14
Well, that's a really great overview of all of our programs. Thank you so much. The average person may not be aware that we do so many wonderful things in our department, so.

Sharma, Rachita   27:17
Yeah, you're welcome.
Yes, absolutely. Thank you for the opportunity to share that. Our department is unique in that we do offer so many of these service-based programs. That's not typical for most departments, but I think it really is part of the mission of our department to not just train students, but also train professionals.
As well as provide opportunities for vocational readiness, career engagement for individuals with disabilities, whether they're transition age or adults or still, you know, in school and trying to figure out what to do next.

Gorman, Kori   27:57
Yes. All righty. Well, I think that that was pretty much all of the questions that I had for you today. Were there any final thoughts that you'd like to share with our listeners?

Sharma, Rachita   28:06
No, I think that was everything, Kori. Thanks again for the opportunity to share all the amazing work that the faculty and staff in our department regularly engage in. It's stuff that makes us really proud to be a part of this department and really when we think about.
The.
History of our department. I think it's it's an opportunity for us to carry the work that has been done by faculty and staff who came before us. And we hope that this work will continue in the future really as a legacy of the department, not just to the UNT community, but to the community of individuals and professionals out there who.
work either in disability or rehabilitation related spaces.

Gorman, Kori   28:51
Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for your time today. It's been really great to have you on and to hear your perspective on everything. Thank you so much.

Sharma, Rachita   28:54
Yeah.
My pleasure. Thanks, Kori. Bye.

Gorman, Kori   0:06
Hello everyone and welcome to Phoenix Fireside Chats, the official podcast for the Department of Rehabilitation and Health Services at the University of North Texas. My name is Kori Gorman. I am the internship coordinator for the department and I am also your host for today's episode. Today I am joined by one of our wonderful alumni, Kelly Nix, who is also the Associate Director.
of the Engage program at UNT Wise. Welcome. Thank you so much for being here today.

Nix, Kellie   0:29
Hi, thanks for having me, Kori.

Gorman, Kori   0:33
We're so excited to hear a little bit more about your your current work that you do in your current role, but also your experience in the program. So to start us off, would you mind telling us a little bit more about what you do in your current role and just the types of services that you offer at at UNT Wise Engage?

Nix, Kellie   0:51
Yeah, so Engage supports four year degree seeking students on our campus that identify as neurodivergent. I'm also working kind of across projects right now, which is really exciting because I get to tap into different skill sets and learn new things. But I'm also helping out with the Texas Beacons of Excellence. So kind of.
On the back end of things with any admin support or intake coverages and then transition services, once those start ramping up for the summer, I'll be helping out with that. So kind of just do a little bit of of things here and there.
All all employment supports, all community facing unless it's with engage and then it's student facing and community facing so.

Gorman, Kori   1:27
OK.
Sounds like you get to wear a lot of hats then in your current role.

Nix, Kellie   1:41
Yes, yes, as as many rehab counselors do.

Gorman, Kori   1:47
Yeah, of course. It's a good way to get some good experience, of course. And Speaking of experience, would you tell us a little bit more about your time as a student in our program and what you think best prepared you for the experiences that you have today?

Nix, Kellie   2:01
Yeah, so I think it's kind of a funny story and I love telling it because really it it does hit on like the beauty of the transition period of somebody's life. Um, I was like 2829. I didn't really know what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to work with individuals with disabilities. I I knew it from.
A very young age, but I was at this age where I had a bachelor's degree, but I wasn't really working. I was knitting and I had to move back home. And so I just felt like there was not any meaning in my life. And so I did some research. I saw the show born this way and I was like, you know, I really want to work in.
In that capacity, working with individuals with disabilities in like a community based setting. Anyways, I reached out to some contacts that I had at the time and they were telling me about a place to work. And then I was like, you know what? I think I'm gonna throw my hat in for grad school. So I am, I took a moment of.
Just.
I don't know the process, everything I was going through and channel that into what I wanted to do. And so I wrote my purpose paper, I sent it in and I got in the program. So I was I had a degree in child development, so not really rehab related, although there were some concepts and stuff that.
I was able to relate to, but I just had a lot of experience in in that realm and so I was so glad to find the program, but I really relied a lot on my experience and I worked while I was in grad school and I was able to really apply a lot of the things that I was learning from classes into.
The work that I was doing, but you know, grad school is is tough. It's not, it's not easy. So it did take a lot of work.

Gorman, Kori   3:50
Of course, yes. I love hearing everyone's kind of kind of back story, cause of course there's lots of different ways that you can end up in the field of rehabilitation counseling. So it's really great to hear your your personal story there.

Nix, Kellie   3:52
Yeah.
Yeah, it really is the like the best kept secret. And I don't know why it's such a secret, but it took me a lot of research and digging and talking to people to even learn that this was a career field. So glad I found it.

Gorman, Kori   4:16
Yes, it sounds like it's worked out really well for you so far.

Nix, Kellie   4:20
Yeah.

Gorman, Kori   4:21
My next question here, what would you say would was the most valuable part of your learning experience?

Nix, Kellie   4:29
It's twofold. It was my passion and motivation for being in the field and then also just having a collective space. I was an online student, so being able to really get to know my professors.
Getting to talk to my advisor, really making an effort to get to know them. Um. And then they were just naturally very supportive. Um, if there was something going on, I felt like I could be, you know, open about it. Um, and that they, you know, were able to.
Say, OK, where are you at? Where do you want to be? How do we get there? But I just it was just this really good relationship or really good space to be in. I felt comfortable enough to be challenged and and be vulnerable because that's what we have.
You know, need to do, but then also knowing that I had support on the back end if I need any needed anything, I thought that was incredibly valuable. I think that the content was really valuable. I I relate things back to classes that I've taken many times.

Gorman, Kori   5:23
Mhm.

Nix, Kellie   5:39
And so it's it's all very relative. And yeah, that's did I answer the question?

Gorman, Kori   5:48
Yes, you absolutely did. Yeah. No, it's wonderful. I would agree that the the people in our department are very supportive as far as our faculty goes. So I'm glad that you were able to to have that support as you were going throughout your program and everything.

Nix, Kellie   5:59
Yeah.
And it's going to be in a space too, where other students were wanting to do the same thing as I I was, and they had different expertise and different experiences that I could really learn from because rehab is so vast and there's a lot of things you can do with it. And so it was great to be able to be in a space where I might have had.

Gorman, Kori   6:05
The.

Nix, Kellie   6:20
Employment experience, but somebody else had worked with individuals with substance use disorders and so that I got to learn from them. So it's just a really enriching space to be in.

Gorman, Kori   6:30
Well, that's great to hear. Thank you so much. Going back to your current position, what would you say is your favorite thing about your job or your favorite thing that you get to do in your current role?

Nix, Kellie   6:32
Yeah.
I really enjoy the I love the small things. It's small things to probably anybody, but it's just those little glimpses or little sparks that I see either with students that I'm working with or with families or.
Participants out in the community, I just really live for those moments because it means that the work that we're doing, it just reinforces that the work we're doing is really important and necessary. So for an example, if I'm working with a student who is.
Really wanting to do something, but they're not sure if they should do it because they've, you know, had external voices telling them they can't. We go through this whole informed decision making process and they're like, I can make a decision and we're like, yeah, you can. There may be some risks or consequences involved.
You know all the information, but ultimately you get to decide. And on the other end of that, I'll be here to support you in case it wasn't the decision that led to results that you wanted it to lead to. And some of them, when they come back and they exercise those skills that we talk about during our meetings and say, hey Kelly, like I did this or I noticed like maybe they sent.
An e-mail on their own to their professor. Like those are huge things and it may seem again, it may seem small, but I really, really enjoy those moments of just like I can do this and this is really exciting. And the same thing with our our TBE project, talking to families and going, you know, I know this is.
This requires a lot of trust on your end and we really, really appreciate your trust and your your investment in this. And then, you know, a couple weeks later they're like, yeah, they went, you know, my my student or my kid went and did discovery and they're so excited about this and OK, this may work. And so just that that hope and that excitement.
The independence, all of those moments that maybe we would miss if we were moving quickly are just so important. So that's one of the biggest things I enjoy. Plus, I think I work with an incredible team and they provide a lot of insight, a lot of different experiences, perspectives and.
I'm I always call myself a forever learner, so I'm always learning from them and because they're willing to share their experiences and expertise, I can continue to learn and grow.

Gorman, Kori   9:06
That's wonderful. It sounds like a very rewarding position.

Nix, Kellie   9:11
It is it. It is very much as.

Gorman, Kori   9:16
Oh, I'm so glad to hear that. Thank you so much for for sharing that.
And then my my last question that I have for you here today, what advice would you give to someone who is considering a career in rehabilitation counseling? So maybe someone who's a current student or maybe even someone who's thinking of applying to our master's program?

Nix, Kellie   9:20
Yeah.

Gorman, Kori   9:32
M.

Nix, Kellie   9:33
Oh, I have so many things. I I love it when people are like, I think maybe I'll go to grad school, but I don't know if I can do it. I'm too old or I I don't have really the experience that I thought I would need for this program or just unsure. I love having those conversations because.
It's it can be a really empowering space for people, especially because when I applied for grad school, I was, you know, I didn't know anything about rehab counseling and then I had experience, but I couldn't, you know, tell you anything about the field and.
I just it was life changing for me. It was challenging. It was very hard at times. I had to think a whole lot differently than I had before, but it was such a good space to be in. And so I just encourage anybody who's interested or thinking about it or on the fence to reach out and and do some.
Research on our program, on what the field offers, not just with having a CRC, but also maybe an LPC, maybe LCDC. There's just lots of options. And if you have a passion for working with individuals with disabilities, whether it's in employment, whether it's.
And you know, justice involved individuals, whether it's, you know, substance use disorders, there's there's a bunch of different spaces for rehab counselors to live in. So really do the research and don't second guess yourself. Sometimes we can get in our own heads about, you know, I don't know.
The you know what is this gonna lead to? But the return on investment for going through the program is is.
Huge. So it's definitely worth it. Talk to the department, reach out, attend some of the the information sessions, the college events. That way you get to know the faculty and staff.

Gorman, Kori   11:34
I think that's great advice. Thank you so much.

Nix, Kellie   11:37
Yeah. Oh, and then like, if students are already in the program, start, start studying now, start applying for applying the skills that you have. We can apply these, whether it's micro counseling skills or if we're looking at theoretical perspectives or frameworks like.
Start applying that in your day-to-day because then when you start taking your exams at the end, you're able to put some of those scenarios into play and kind of think like the test, but continue going. It is hard, but it's very worth it and it's very rewarding and don't forget to take care of yourself.
Along the way.

Gorman, Kori   12:17
Oh, yes, that's an excellent point as well. Thank you so much.

Nix, Kellie   12:21
Yeah.

Gorman, Kori   12:22
I'm so glad to have heard your perspective on everything and and hear that it's been, you know, really rewarding experience for you as well, that everything has gone well for you since you've left the program. I think that that was pretty much the questions that I have for you today. Did you have any final thoughts that you wanted to share with our listeners?

Nix, Kellie   12:33
Yeah.
No, I just, I appreciate if you're a rehab counselor out there in the community working. I appreciate all the work that you're doing, the research that you're doing. It's such an important field. There's so many individuals that need our support and so just continue to to plug in and know that you're worth.
Is not, um, unnoticed.

Gorman, Kori   13:03
Definitely agree with that. Thank you so much.

Nix, Kellie   13:05
Thank you, Kori. I really appreciate your time.

Gorman, Kori   13:08
Of course, I appreciate your time and taking the time to come on and give all these great answers today. To our listeners, I will leave a link to the Engage program's website in the description of this episode, just in case you want to go learn more about the fantastic work that they're doing over there. But otherwise, I hope you enjoyed this episode and we'll see you on the next one.

 

Gorman, Kori   0:05
Great. Hello and welcome to Phoenix Fireside Chats, the official podcast for the Department of Rehabilitation and Health Services at the University of North Texas. My name is Kori Gorman. I am the internship coordinator for the department and I am also your host for today's episode. Today I am joined by our Associate Department Chair, Doctor McDaniels. Welcome. Thank you so much for being here, Doctor McDaniels.

McDaniels, Bradley   0:14
OK.
Thank you, Corey. I'm glad to be here.

Gorman, Kori   0:27
Wonderful. So to start off, would you mind telling us just a little bit about what made you decide to choose a career in rehabilitation counseling?

McDaniels, Bradley   0:34
Yeah, it was kind of a circuitous route. I spent almost 20 years in the Pharmaceutical industry as a sales Rep and as a manager for a few different companies. And my mom was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease about 15 years ago now.
14 years ago and I decided I was kind of burned out in the career that I was in and knew I wanted to do something to help my mom. And I at that point in my life, I think I was 42 years old and thought Med school was a little bit too much for me to tackle at that point in my life.
And kind of really serendipitously fell into rehab counseling. I had, I knew that it was a field that worked to help people with quality of life and psychosocial adaptation. And one of the main draws, funny enough, was that it was an 18 month program at the time I could get through.
The University of Kentucky. So I thought, wow, I can go in and get out. I didn't even realize that I was going to get a PhD at that point. I my plan at the time was just a master's degree and realized at, you know, early 40s that I actually loved school at that point in my life.

Gorman, Kori   1:49
Oh.

McDaniels, Bradley   1:50
Like times changed, right? When I was an undergrad, I was focused on many other things besides my schooling. And as an adult, when what I learned is when you when you figure out what your path is, things don't seem like work.
Right. So I really enjoyed writing and school and my mentor at the time, Doctor Maliki Bishop, who's now at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, encouraged me to stay and get a PhD and still didn't know what I was going to do. So I did that and.
So that was kind of what led me into this field, and now it's just blossomed ever since.

Gorman, Kori   2:29
Fantastic. Those are great reasons to get into it, and I'm glad that it's worked out so well for you.

McDaniels, Bradley   2:33
Yeah. Thank you.

Gorman, Kori   2:35
So what made you want to work at UNT specifically?

McDaniels, Bradley   2:38
Yeah, so after I got done at University of Kentucky, I went and did a two-year research post-doc fellowship at Virginia Commonwealth University, where I just spent two years just learning about Parkinson's disease. I spent a couple days in the clinic with different movement disorder specialists.
And really begin to hone my research interest area. And so I was, I was there trying to figure out, thinking ahead a little bit about what my next step might be because I knew it was a time limited position and I had, I had known Denise Catalano for a number of years.
And I don't exactly remember how our conversation began, but somehow she and I connected again. And she told me I that they were looking, you know, UNT had become just a few years before I started a Carnegie One research school.
And she said, hey, we need somebody, some people in our department who are doing research. What would you think about coming? And I I, like I said, I just knew her. I knew Linda Holloway. And I said, yeah, I'm going to need a place to go when I get done.
And looked into UNT and because of the relationships that I had with with Denise and Linda and and the trajectory of where this program I thought was going much more to a research department.
I thought, what a great opportunity. And so it really wasn't a place that I was specifically looking for, but it kind of just fell in. Things just worked out here at UNT. And you know, I got here in the I started in the spring of 2020.
Which was a terrible time because COVID hit right in March of 2020, everything shut down. And so here I am living in a new city. I don't know anyone and I'm told I can't come to my office to work. And so I was sitting at home doing the things that we, you know, learned teaching from home and.

Gorman, Kori   4:33
Mhm.
No.

McDaniels, Bradley   4:49
Trying to do research from home. And so it was a tough beginning really, because I, you know, I'm, I'm an extrovert and I enjoy social connection and being cooped up in my house for a year and a half a year was challenging.
But you know, I've grown to love this place and the people who work here. Doctor Sharma has heard me say this 1000 times. You know, I I would not stay here if I didn't enjoy the people I work with. Life's way too short.
And if I was miserable coming into work and and with those around me, I would certainly find another job. But I've enjoyed UNT greatly.

Gorman, Kori   5:29
Mm.
Wonderful. I know that we've heard from other people who've interviewed on this podcast saying that it's a really small field, rehabilitation counseling is. So it's good to be able to network and it's great that it ended up working out for you so well, ended up you being here. So. So since you've been at UNT for a few years now, would you mind telling us a little bit about the ways in which you've seen this department?

McDaniels, Bradley   5:46
Yeah.

Gorman, Kori   5:53
Kind of grow and change over the years.

McDaniels, Bradley   5:54
Yeah, yeah. We had a a couple of years shortly after I started where we had some Exodus, right? We had Linda Holloway retire. Chandra Carey moved on and went to the University of Pittsburgh. She was the department chair when I started. Brandy Levingston also left and went to.
Virginia Commonwealth University. And so with those three leaving, they had all been here for quite and then Denise retired, right? So we had those four people who had all been staples of our department kind of over a two-year period. They all left.

Gorman, Kori   6:21
Mm.

McDaniels, Bradley   6:31
And so we here we are in this place where we had a very well established program changing over to what are we going to do now and what's it going to look like. And so we we you know kind of went to the drawing board and said you know when this hiring process is now starting what do we.
What do we want? What are we looking for in a program? And I think, you know, like I mentioned, the number one thing that that I look for when I'm chairing a search committee is personality fit. Clearly anybody that comes if we've looked at their CV.
And agreed to interview them. They're qualified. So I we're looking at some of these things that we can't teach people. How do you interact with other people? How how do you treat people that, for instance, when we go out to dinner with a candidate, I always pay attention to how they interact with the servers.

Gorman, Kori   7:15
Mhm.

McDaniels, Bradley   7:25
Do they treat them with kindness and generosity and things like that? So as we begin this process, we we knew that we needed to continue to increase our research presence in the field of rehab counseling. And so we we began looking at young researchers who were.
Who were very skilled and who were doing research that is important to the field. And so now we've we've really built a program that's got people who are actively engaged in publishing research and our our publications.
Have gone up dramatically as a program since I arrived. Not not because of me, but because of the group as a whole. And I think that that does a few things that increases. It helps to increase our rating where we're ranked in the university as a rehab counseling program.
And it helps to increase the visibility of what we're doing here so that students, particularly in the state of Texas, when they think about rehab counseling, I this is the program that they think of. We're the number one program in the state. And so if people search for a rehab counseling graduate program.

Gorman, Kori   8:33
Mhm.

McDaniels, Bradley   8:38
We have a lot to offer and I think that our our new faculty have brought a kind of an excitement to the department and not that the folks that left hadn't didn't have that right. There's just a a change over to sometimes getting.
Young people who are eager, who are really excited to do the research and connect with with students. And I think we are, we are really close to being where we need to be. We still have one higher left.
To fill our all of our slots and that'll start interviewing this fall. But I think once we get this next person on board, we will have a full team and you know the Sky's the limit to see where we're going to go.

Gorman, Kori   9:29
Wonderful. Thank you for that. So since you've worked, you know, with so many other universities and of course you've worked at UNT for so long, what do you think sets our department apart from maybe the a similar department at another school?

McDaniels, Bradley   9:31
Yeah.
Yeah, I think collegiality is the number one thing. I think, again, I go back to the way that we interact with one another. You know, when I started, I'm just thinking back to 2020. Once we kind of came back to work after 2020.
There, there weren't a lot of faculty who actually came into the office. And so I was one. I I work better from here than I do from home. I have all of my books. I have everything I need. And so I was coming in all the time and I didn't see anybody and.

Gorman, Kori   10:08
Mm.

McDaniels, Bradley   10:15
I I begin to feel lonely in in this department. And so we've gradually seen the change over time of folks, faculty who are coming in on a regular basis. So most people in our program are here two to three days a week.
Full times. And then, you know, you do online teaching and other things on other days. But I think having the people who are actually here leads to a lot of impromptu discussions, right? So Tai Chi Xiao will walk by my office and we'll chat and next thing you know, we're talking about a research idea.
That wasn't the planned conversation. It just kind of serendipitously happened. And I think there's so much value in that. You know, we get to know each other. We know how each other thinks, think, and that leads to a lot of new projects. It leads to collaboration.
Whether it's with those up here or down with UNT wise with Lucy and her team downstairs. And so I think that that those those connections and those relationships have been invaluable to the growth of our department and the draw.

Gorman, Kori   11:18
Mm.

McDaniels, Bradley   11:28
That other people who who come and interview here or who have interest in coming here, again, because we talked about it being such a small field, you kind of know everybody. And so people know if I don't know someone, I can ask Kaiqi, he probably knows them or Sarah Park knows them.

Gorman, Kori   11:41
Mhm.

McDaniels, Bradley   11:48
Them or Rachita Sharma knows them and so that we get those connections and people really think that this is a a tight-knit community here and and it really is.

Gorman, Kori   11:59
Well, that's a fantastic overview of our faculty and department. Thank you so much. And a little bit earlier you mentioned briefly your your primary area of research interest is on Parkinson's disease. Would you mind telling us a little bit more about your research interests?

McDaniels, Bradley   12:04
Yeah.
Yeah. So it's, you know, it's a little bit off of, you know, rehab counseling as a field has largely been focused on employment and what's the role of employment and quality of life for people. Still a focus of what what we do, my research focus.
Includes employment, but it's not my what I focus on the most. So really what I'm looking at are what are the factors in someone's life that can improve their outcomes. Things like we're looking at quality of life. What can someone do differently and improves quality of life?
And I'm looking mainly at the psychosocial feature. So things like social connection, things like gratitude, spirituality, resilience, right? A lot of these positive psychological variables.
That we know can improve quality of life outcomes, but really specifically looking at the Parkinson's disease community. So I've gotten, I've been so fortunate to get connected with some wonderful researchers around the country.
Most of my work, I do it with a researcher from UCLA, another guy that's at the University of Florida. And so I've got several people around that we we always jokingly say we drink the same Kool-Aid.
Because in the in the world of Parkinson's disease, it's a it's a motor disease, right? It's a disease of movement. And so most of the research that's done is looking at drugs that can be developed that will either delay the progression of Parkinson's disease or potentially.
Reverse it or prevent it, which we're a long way from at this point. And there's not a lot of research really that's done on the psychosocial adaptation piece and the quality of life piece. I mean, there's some on quality of life, but usually it's looking at how do motor features affect quality of life.
How does your tremor or your gait abnormality, how do those things affect quality of life? And so my research focus has really been very nuanced, looking at some of these factors that are largely, we'll call them unaddressed. Oftentimes they're not even diagnosed in the clinic.
And so we're trying to increase awareness to these things and improve the tools that clinicians have to evaluate and then provide treatment for these different things.

Gorman, Kori   14:48
Well, thank you so much for going into that. It's very obvious how passionate you are about it. And for my next question here, actually congratulations are in order because you've recently co-authored a book. The title is Facing Parkinson's Together, A Guide for Care Partners and that was recently published by the Michael J Fox Foundation. Of course, this is an incredible achievement.

McDaniels, Bradley   14:53
Yeah.

Gorman, Kori   15:08
Would you mind telling us a little bit more about your writing?

McDaniels, Bradley   15:11
Yeah, so that book I got Rachel Dolan, who is the medical director for Michael J Fox. She reached out to me. Gosh, it's probably been 18 months ago now and knew kind of my research area. She and I had never met and.
She asked me, hey, would you be interested in in helping with this book? And really, you know, when we look at the Parkinson's community in the world, care partners are oftentimes neglected, I should say.

Gorman, Kori   15:42
Mhm.

McDaniels, Bradley   15:43
And so she's like, we need something that we can give to the care partners to help them improve how they're dealing with Parkinson's, right? Because what we know is if a care partner is not well, it's going to dramatically affect how the person with Parkinson's.
Functions. And so, you know, I I tell my students all the time, you can't pour from an empty cup. So you've got to do the self-care things that are that we offer to make sure that you're being fed. And so we wrote this this book and there were three of us that got together and wrote it.

Gorman, Kori   16:01
Mhm.

McDaniels, Bradley   16:19
And we offered a lot of definitions of things that people care partners might face. What is demoralization and how does depression manifest in a care partner? What does anxiety look like? And really the more important question we wanted to provide some background.
But the operative question and the operative outcome from that book really was what can we do about it, right? It's great that you can identify a problem, but if you don't have a solution to the problem, knowing what the problem is is not super helpful.

Gorman, Kori   16:54
No worries.

McDaniels, Bradley   16:54
So that was really the focus of the book was saying, what are some tools that we can give people to help them find meaning in life? Let's say you know, people who have meaning in life have significantly better outcomes than those who don't.
So what are some things that someone can do to help improve meaning? Because that's an area that often is dramatically changed post diagnosis, right? You might as a care partner, you might not have. Now you're a care partner. Previously, that was probably not your role.
Right. You were a spouse, a mom, a son, a daughter, and you had kind of part of your own life. But now all of a sudden you're thrust into this world with a loved one who has an incurable neurodegenerative condition that's only going to progress.
And so now you're going everything in my world just changed and my meaning is now potentially different than it was before. Or I don't know what my meaning is now. And so it's important that we develop and and give people tools.

Gorman, Kori   17:53
Mhm.

McDaniels, Bradley   18:01
That they can use to deal with meaning in life or depression or demoralization or any of those things they struggle with. So it was a it was a wonderful project prospect project to work on with them and was excited to see it come out a few months ago.

Gorman, Kori   18:15
Wonderful. It sounds like really incredibly important work that you are doing. So congratulations again. That's wonderful. And then my my final question that I have here today, let's just say hypothetically you were to meet a student who's really interested in in also doing Parkinson's research or something similar along the lines of what you've done in the past. What advice would you give to them?

McDaniels, Bradley   18:19
Thank you.
Yeah, I I think the the first advice is I would say learn as much as you can about the disease process that you want to research, right. It's important to understand what are the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. What does the disease actually look like?
Begin reading the literature. That's where we find. Typically we find our research questions and the areas that we want to go into is we read a lot of papers and for me, I begin to ask myself what's missing from the literature.
Right. Maybe the literature always continually talks about non-motor features of Parkinson's disease. I think the mental health struggles. But let's say nobody talks about demoralization, which is a paper we wrote middle of last year introducing this new topic to Parkinson's disease.
And so you you find those things by reading the literature and seeing what's been done, what hasn't been done. And I think the main thing is, if you want to be successful in research, you've got to be passionate about what you do. If you're not passionate about it, it's not going to happen.

Gorman, Kori   19:42
Mhm.

McDaniels, Bradley   19:45
You know, I I love talking about Parkinson's disease. I love meeting with people who have Parkinson's. I do a lot of talks on Parkinson's disease and mental health and the struggles that are associated with those. And so I think finding something that you love.
Love and are interested in is is critically important.

Gorman, Kori   20:08
Absolutely. Well, that's great advice. Thank you so much. Well, at this time, is there anything that I haven't asked about that you really wanted to share while we're here?

McDaniels, Bradley   20:17
You know, I don't think so, Corey. I appreciate the time and the opportunity to chat. This is, this is a wonderful podcast that you put together and I think it can give people an opportunity to see behind the scenes a little bit into our program and the people who were involved with it and the different areas that we work.
Work in because we're we all are cut from the same cloth, but we have different focus and so I think it's great for people to get to hear it.
Right.
Thank you, Corey.

 

00:00:05.627 --> 00:00:14.627

Okay. Alrighty, hello, and welcome to Phoenix Fireside Chats, the official podcast for the Department of Rehabilitation and Health Services at the University of North Texas.

00:00:14.627 --> 00:00:27.012

My name is Kori Gorman, I am the Internship Coordinator for the department, and I'm also your host for today's episode. Today, I am joined by one of our wonderful alumni, Vanessa Murillo, who is the Director of Employment at 29 Acres. Welcome, thank you so much for being here.

00:00:27.556 --> 00:00:29.556

Of course! Thank you for having me.

00:00:30.804 --> 00:00:34.804

Well, to start off, would you mind just telling us a little bit about 29 Acres and the work that you do there?

00:00:36.020 --> 00:00:47.020

Yeah, absolutely. So, um, 29 Acres is a non-profit that supports adults with neurodiversity. Um, and the DFW area, um, including Denton and Collin County,

00:00:47.386 --> 00:00:52.386

Um, we were founded in 2015, but really launched

00:00:52.995 --> 00:01:00.995

All of our programs in 2018, starting with our, um, Transition Academy, which is a two-year residential program.

00:01:00.994 --> 00:01:03.625

Um, that kind of encompasses the…

00:01:04.272 --> 00:01:16.272

college life for, um, students after they graduate from high school. Um, we are partnered with Texas Women's University, where they get to enroll as non-degree-seeking students, and we, um,

00:01:16.881 --> 00:01:21.881

do their class on campus, so they get to really experience, um, you know, the college setting.

00:01:22.135 --> 00:01:29.135

Um, their first year, they are freshmen, they live in homes that we, um, have in Little Elm, and then their second year as sophomores.

00:01:29.833 --> 00:01:34.833

Um, they get to move into two-bedroom apartments at an apartment complex in Denton that we rent out for them.

00:01:34.833 --> 00:01:47.104

Um, after our transition academy, we launched our, uh, long-term living community, which is in Crossroads, right off of 380. Um, we actually, um,

00:01:47.464 --> 00:01:58.464

Our name, 29 Acres, came from us purchasing 29 acres, but we are now, um, proud owners of 45 acres, so, um, we just rebranded, and we are now 29 plus.

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Um, so we, uh, currently have 10 houses and 48 residents that live with us.

00:02:05.229 --> 00:02:12.229

Um, we are a gated community just for our, um, individuals, so it's safe, and it's, um…

00:02:12.583 --> 00:02:25.583

You know, very unique, uh, for them to have this space of, you know, trails and a community center and, um, really just being able to experience a safe home environment with other like-minded individuals.

00:02:26.649 --> 00:02:38.649

Um, then we have our day program, which we launched in January of 2022, um, in the Dallas area. We are in Farmer's Branch. We are Monday through Friday, 9 to 5 program.

00:02:38.650 --> 00:02:56.041

Um, for all needs of the spectrum, and then, um, not to be biased, but the employment department, which is my favorite, um, we, uh, launched in… I guess fully launched, I should say, in 2021, you know, COVID kind of hit us, so we didn't get too far.

00:02:56.041 --> 00:03:12.287

Um, but we service, um, Denton, Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, and Rockwell County. Um, so we support individuals 16 plus with finding employment, um, and a provider of Texas Workforce Commission, so we work really closely with them during all of their summer programming.

00:03:13.115 --> 00:03:19.115

Um, and partnerships with the schools in doing work readiness classes for, um, the students in the special education classes.

00:03:19.755 --> 00:03:23.755

Wonderful, thank you so much for that overview. It's such incredibly important work.

00:03:23.756 --> 00:03:23.897

It's a mouthful.

00:03:24.134 --> 00:03:26.134

Well, and congratulations on these.

00:03:26.136 --> 00:03:26.591

Yeah, it's a mouthful, it's a lot.

00:03:26.600 --> 00:03:32.600

Yes. Well, it's all great to hear, thank you so much, and congratulations on the expansion as well, that's wonderful to hear.

00:03:33.522 --> 00:03:51.522

Yes, yes, it's great. We also franchised, um, just back in October, our own Howdy Homemade ice cream. Um, so that's an additional expansion, I guess, to our programming. Um, if you know anything about Howdy Homemade, they, um, are a ice cream, uh, company that employs individuals with disabilities.

00:03:52.247 --> 00:04:00.247

Um, so we now have our own. We are live for catering, and our storefront is actually opening in Little Elm in November of this year, so… we've got a lot going on.

00:04:00.436 --> 00:04:02.436

This is very exciting, wonderful.

00:04:03.201 --> 00:04:09.201

So my next question here, would you mind telling us a little bit about what just, like, a typical week in your job would look like for you?

00:04:10.340 --> 00:04:22.340

Yes, yes. So, my week varies. Um, you know, day by day. Um, with employment, you know, we are very… we do a lot of individualized planning for our clients.

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So, we may have a client who, um, you know, is starting, you know,

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their first job. And so, my week with, um, those clients might look like meeting with them one-on-one, whether it's virtual or in person.

00:04:36.527 --> 00:04:42.527

Um, kind of creating a resume based on any past volunteer experience or skills that they have.

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Um, and putting together a cover letter that really showcases, you know, who they are and what they bring to the table.

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Um, we also have other clients that are looking to get back into the workforce, so they have experience, but just need a little bit, um, interview brush-up skills, so, um, we practice a lot of mock interviews.

00:05:02.147 --> 00:05:16.147

Um, we go to different, uh, employment locations, um, like Old Navy or Kroger, and we conduct mock interviews there with their, um, managers on site, and also kind of do career exploration. We

00:05:16.147 --> 00:05:26.556

do different tasks while we are there at the job site to see what they like, what they don't like, um, what they find that they are really good at, or maybe, you know, where they're kind of struggling a little bit.

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Um, so, on some weeks, I'm spending them directly with clients.

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Other weeks, um, I do a lot of training and speaking, um, at… with employers about inclusion and accommodations and how to better provide

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um, supportive environment for our clients, whether they're already working there or we're looking to partner with them to be, um, an employer partnership, um, for inclusive hiring.

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So, it's a lot of talking, um, I do talking 24-7, um, whether it's with clients, with parents, with, um…

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paraprofessionals that are looking, you know, for their students and planning ahead, um, as well as,

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Um, you know, students that we get from UNT, we get a lot of interns that come through that are, um, you know, there's a lot of mentoring and guiding and training that I do with my staff, just to make sure everybody still

00:06:19.755 --> 00:06:34.821

you know, up to speed on new ADA rules, laws, policies, making sure that our clients are being supported, um, fully while our staff are with them, and then while they're not, making sure that employers are fully accommodating them.

00:06:35.755 --> 00:06:38.755

The Great Explanation, thank you. It sounds like you do a little bit of everything.

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Yes. But I… but I'm not complaining, I love what I do.

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Oh, that's good to hear.

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Speaking of which, what would you say is your favorite thing about your job?

00:06:49.136 --> 00:06:52.136

Yeah, I will say my favorite thing, um…

00:06:53.165 --> 00:06:58.165

Or I guess my favorite part of this job would be the rewarding aspect of it.

00:06:58.406 --> 00:07:02.406

you know, in the employment field, to be able to

00:07:04.495 --> 00:07:06.495

help these in, you know, help individuals that,

00:07:07.090 --> 00:07:21.090

maybe think that they can't work somewhere competitive, or that they, you know, they don't know if they're going to be able to find a job without any support, and being able to pair them with these meaningful jobs that, you know, give them purpose and, you know,

00:07:21.477 --> 00:07:24.477

their eyes, you know, light up from, you know,

00:07:25.866 --> 00:07:33.866

being able to say, hey, I… I'm doing this, I'm getting paid, um, you know, getting a paycheck is something that they… that they feel is so far-fetched sometimes.

00:07:33.865 --> 00:07:38.558

So, you know, my favorite… my favorite part is just that rewarding aspect of being able to say, like,

00:07:40.341 --> 00:07:48.341

you did this, and, you know, never taking credit for it. I helped you, but, you know, our clients are the ones that took the steps to get where they needed to be, and…

00:07:48.340 --> 00:07:51.714

It's very brave, you know, especially for our, you know, adults that…

00:07:53.011 --> 00:07:58.011

have never worked before, and being able to say, like, I can guide you, but you're the one who did that, and…

00:07:59.463 --> 00:08:09.463

just… I don't know, it's just exciting. And then being able to go grocery shopping, you know, months later, a year later, and still see them there, and see them thriving. So, um, that has to be

00:08:09.122 --> 00:08:11.122

one of the most rewarding things.

00:08:12.394 --> 00:08:17.394

That is very exciting. I'm glad that you've been able to find something that you've been so passionate about and been so rewarding for you.

00:08:18.308 --> 00:08:30.308

It's wonderful. Um, so looking back a little bit about your… or looking back at your time at UNT, what would you say would have been the most valuable part of your learning experience, either in your undergrad or your grad?

00:08:30.116 --> 00:08:32.116

grad programs.

00:08:32.117 --> 00:08:36.776

Yeah, so, um, I did both undergrad and grad school at UNT, um…

00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:44.080

And so, I usually… people say, go Mean Green at that… after they say that. But I've never said that until right now.

00:08:45.147 --> 00:09:01.147

But, um, you know, as an undergrad, um, I went in as a… an advertising major. I was in yearbook in high school, and I was like, this is what I want to do, and very quickly learned that that was more of a hobby, and I had always thought in the back of my head, I want to do counseling, I want to be a counselor.

00:09:00.918 --> 00:09:05.918

Um, and so, it was a little too late, um, at that point to join.

00:09:06.823 --> 00:09:09.823

in… on the counseling classes, but, um…

00:09:10.487 --> 00:09:19.487

just someone in class was like, you should try a rehab counseling class as an elective, and I was like, okay. Um, and I took my first one, it was the addictions course, and I was like,

00:09:20.376 --> 00:09:30.376

Okay, I think I like this. And then the rest, that was the, uh, spring semester, um, before I graduated, and that whole summer and fall, I…

00:09:30.261 --> 00:09:37.261

racked up all electives and rehab counseling, um, that I could take. And I just… I fell in love with

00:09:37.903 --> 00:09:45.903

with the programming and with, you know, the curriculum, and being able to know that there's so many different avenues in the rehab department.

00:09:46.482 --> 00:09:50.482

Um, whether it's, you know, mental health, substance use, um, disability,

00:09:50.254 --> 00:09:52.254

Um, so…

00:09:53.527 --> 00:09:58.527

I learned very early on, um, during those classes that I wanted to pursue this.

00:09:59.153 --> 00:10:04.153

And I joined Eagle Pure Recovery, um, which I think is named something different now.

00:10:05.124 --> 00:10:12.124

Um, but it was EPR at the time, um, it was, you know, ran by, uh, Professor Garland, Paula Garland.

00:10:12.124 --> 00:10:18.249

And, um, I joined EPR, we did a lot of, you know, advocacy and tabling and…

00:10:18.636 --> 00:10:22.636

Um, met a few friends through there, and, you know, we…

00:10:23.887 --> 00:10:28.887

really discuss what this future looks like, and so I was like, I think I should probably go to grad school.

00:10:29.632 --> 00:10:32.632

Um, and as a first-time, uh,

00:10:32.633 --> 00:10:49.991

college student, you know, in graduate, I had no idea what I was doing. Um, I was also late for my submission, um, to grad school, um, and so I, you know, I like to tell that story because I feel like I don't give the typical response of, I knew what I wanted to do, and it was a breeze. I mean,

00:10:49.990 --> 00:10:59.415

I was… I was late on my application, I didn't know what a letter of intent was, I… I was… it was so far-fetched. But I knew that that's what I wanted.

00:11:00.074 --> 00:11:03.074

Um, and so I applied, and…

00:11:04.569 --> 00:11:14.569

I got the letter, I did the interview, I showed up to the interview in shorts and a t-shirt, because, again, I was not expecting for everybody else to be in suits and ties when I was there, and…

00:11:14.655 --> 00:11:18.655

Um, I realized very early on then, too, I was like, okay,

00:11:18.655 --> 00:11:21.188

I'm gonna get a lot out of this program.

00:11:21.963 --> 00:11:23.963

Um, I need to lock in and really…

00:11:24.254 --> 00:11:26.254

really focus. Um…

00:11:27.559 --> 00:11:31.559

So, everything that I learned being in

00:11:32.096 --> 00:11:37.096

grad school was valuable. I mean, I can't point out one thing, because everything was just so…

00:11:38.151 --> 00:11:41.151

you know, it was so new, but also things that I…

00:11:41.533 --> 00:11:46.533

take and learn there and implement every day that I do my job.

00:11:47.115 --> 00:11:52.115

Um, you know, even… even though I'm not in the substance use or mental health side of things,

00:11:51.948 --> 00:12:07.948

Um, there's a lot of co-occurring disorders, you know, especially with individuals with autism or any other neurodiversity, and being able to take holistic approaches and do a little one-on-one counseling goes a long way, even in the employment field of working with these individuals, so…

00:12:09.006 --> 00:12:19.006

Um, I will say the professors that I had, and some are even still there, um, you know, I value them a lot. I still, you know, touch base with them every once in a while, and

00:12:19.006 --> 00:12:20.755

coming from, again,

00:12:20.754 --> 00:12:26.592

having no knowledge of what I was getting into, and their patience and willingness to explain things

00:12:27.158 --> 00:12:34.158

10 different times until I fully understood. Um, I think really, you know, pushed me to be where I was… where I'm at now.

00:12:34.616 --> 00:12:38.616

So, anybody who's thinking about going into the program, I'm always, like,

00:12:38.764 --> 00:12:42.764

I'll be the spokesperson for it. I will talk it up day in and day out.

00:12:44.635 --> 00:12:50.635

That's a great story, thank you so much. Sometimes, it just goes to show that sometimes the most unexpected thing can be the thing that works out the best for you.

00:12:50.636 --> 00:12:52.439

Absolutely, absolutely.

00:12:52.282 --> 00:13:02.282

Well, you kind of just touched on this a little bit, but is there any other advice that you would share with someone who's currently in school, or maybe even someone who is considering going down the same career path as you have?

00:13:02.994 --> 00:13:04.994

Yeah, um…

00:13:05.777 --> 00:13:09.777

you know, I think one of the most important things is

00:13:10.557 --> 00:13:12.557

And as cliche as it sounds, you know,

00:13:13.084 --> 00:13:20.084

don't, like, don't let anything hold you back. I mean, that's… I think that's why I always like telling my story, especially to…

00:13:20.660 --> 00:13:23.660

you know, first-time college students, or, you know, when…

00:13:23.660 --> 00:13:39.643

you know, we get, um, applicants in, and they're like, well, I'm only 19, I just graduated, I don't know what I want to do, you know, after college, or they're about to graduate, and I'm like, you know, I was there. Um, and I was terrified. Um, but…

00:13:39.643 --> 00:13:41.393

I think…

00:13:42.152 --> 00:13:59.152

without… with… with… it is our program. With our program, you know, the rehab department program, it's probably one of the most supportive programs that I've experienced, and I've also seen, and can say that, you know, with full confidence, when I talk with other people or friends that I have thatuated from other departments,

00:13:59.521 --> 00:14:04.521

Um, or even other schools, they don't… I feel like they didn't receive the same type of support that

00:14:04.986 --> 00:14:07.986

that we did in this department. So, um…

00:14:08.824 --> 00:14:16.824

you know, I know that the professors really value the, you know, information and lessons and curriculum that they're teaching, and they're doing it so that you can

00:14:17.726 --> 00:14:20.726

be somewhere, get somewhere like this. I mean, I never thought that I would be…

00:14:20.726 --> 00:14:26.607

have a name… have a director title in probably a million years, um, to be quite honest, so…

00:14:28.065 --> 00:14:31.065

Um, I think it's just important, if you have that passion,

00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:36.240

Don't tuck it away, because I did that and then had to change everything up last minute, so…

00:14:36.523 --> 00:14:40.523

It's never too far-fetched, even when it seems like it. It's really not.

00:14:41.540 --> 00:14:46.540

Absolutely, I'd agree with that. And that's great advice, thank you so much. It's really great to get to hear your insight on everything.

00:14:48.670 --> 00:14:55.670

Well, that was pretty much all the questions that I have for you today. Was there anything else that you had on your mind that you really wanted to talk about today, or anything else you can think of?

00:14:55.670 --> 00:14:58.516

You know, I will say, outside of…

00:14:58.978 --> 00:15:00.978

Outside of all the… all the greatness,

00:15:01.933 --> 00:15:08.933

One advice, another piece of advice would be, even though class is probably… I think it was, like, twice a week in the evening, purchase

00:15:09.642 --> 00:15:14.642

purchased the pass, because the amount of parking tickets I racked up thinking that I can get away.

00:15:14.643 --> 00:15:21.606

Parking in the parking lot just to go to class twice a week, just do it, just for… it's worth it. Purchase the parking pass.

00:15:23.798 --> 00:15:25.798

Yeah, oh my goodness.

00:15:25.798 --> 00:15:26.392

That's really good advice as well. If you've been to our campus.

00:15:27.216 --> 00:15:32.216

Yes, because you can't graduate if you don't pay the tickets either, so get the parking pass and just… and just do it.

00:15:31.975 --> 00:15:33.975

Um, but…

00:15:35.017 --> 00:15:43.017

No, I mean, I think… I think it's really great, you know, that you're, you know, interviewing different, you know, alumni and kind of getting our different stories and different backgrounds.

00:15:43.197 --> 00:15:45.197

Thank you.

00:15:45.198 --> 00:15:57.776

Um, you know, and especially, you know, being 29 acres, we're right down the road from UNT. Um, we get, you know, I get interns all the time from there, um, that come, you know, for the summer, or are looking to finish hours or start their hours, and…

00:15:57.526 --> 00:15:59.526

Um…

00:15:59.750 --> 00:16:08.750

doors are always open, we always need job coaches, we always need life skills coaches, and I think you find… you find your passion. You never know if it's something you like, and then once you do it, you don't…

00:16:09.774 --> 00:16:11.774

You can't get out of it, and that's not a bad thing.

00:16:12.213 --> 00:16:24.213

Wonderful. I know from just being the internship coordinator from the department, talking to our students, I know that a lot of our students have had a really incredible experience there at 29 Acres, so getting to hear your side of things, it's really great to hear all of it.

00:16:25.056 --> 00:16:30.056

Yeah, yeah, I would have loved to intern here when I was in grad school, but it was still… it was still fairly new.

00:16:33.998 --> 00:16:35.998

I don't know.

00:16:35.998 --> 00:16:41.041

Um, and hopefully that doesn't age me, so… you know, it wasn't really… it wasn't really an option for me at the time, but, um, we are an option now, so…

00:16:41.040 --> 00:16:46.645

You know, and that's another thing, too, if, you know, if there is any students that aren't sure what

00:16:46.645 --> 00:16:50.690

route they want to take in this department, um, you know,

00:16:51.165 --> 00:16:56.165

We're happy to take them, and, you know, help them find their footing in this field.

00:16:56.647 --> 00:16:58.647

Oh, well, thank you, that's wonderful.

00:17:00.362 --> 00:17:10.362

Well, thank you so much for your time today, and thank you so much for all of our listeners. If you've been tuning in today, and hopefully you'll join us for the next one. But thank you again, uh, Ms. Murillo. I hope you have a good rest of your day.

00:17:10.113 --> 00:17:12.113

You too, thanks for having me, Kori.

00:17:12.113 --> 00:17:13.712

Thank you.

Gorman, Kori   0:07
Okay, hello and welcome to Phoenix Fireside Chats, the official podcast for the Department of Rehabilitation and Health Services at the University of North Texas. My name is Kori Gorman. I am the internship coordinator for the department and I am also your host for today's episode. Today I'm joined by Lucy Gafford, the program director for UNTWISE. So welcome and thank you so much for joining us today.

Gafford, Lucy   0:28
Thank you for having me.

Gorman, Kori   0:30
Great, so to start off, would you mind telling us a little bit about UNTWISE and its current programs?

Gafford, Lucy   0:36
Yeah, so we are a program within the department. Our whole mission is to serve people with disabilities and make an impact in their lives. So we really work to create pathways to independence, education, employment across the lifespan. And we are doing that
by focusing on supports, programming, community partnerships. We really think of ourselves kind of doing 3 buckets. We've got direct services, where we're actually having programming serving individuals across the state, actually. And we also do training and technical assistance for partners
outside. So it could be employers, school districts, VR staff, that we're working with, families. And then we also collaborate with our faculty on research. So right now we have quite a few programs that we are running, and we have a Texas Beacons of Excellence grant.
which we were lucky to receive, working in collaboration with the Texas Workforce Commission Vocational Rehabilitation Division to make an impact on subminimum wage in the state. So we are going across Texas in various communities, providing training, technical assistance, going in and doing direct supports.
bringing people who are either in or contemplating subminimum wage, moving them into competitive integrated employment, which is really exciting. We've got some great examples there. We also serve students here at UNT in our Engage program. Our Engage is for neurodivergent students who want more supports to be successful in college.
So we provide wraparound services, connecting them with communities in, you know, in UNT, other services, but being a touchstone so that they can get land here and hopefully build their various independent living, educational, you know, long-term vocational goals and skills. We provide
transition services, which serves students who are 14 to 22. We have a really popular summer program where students come to UNT campus and we provide a lot of just opportunity for them to expand their thinking about what their future is going to look like. And we also provide
professional training for providers in the field who either are currently or would like to be serving individuals with disabilities through employment supports. You know, what I really think makes us unique is that we're blending that direct service and programming with systems change. So we're making these bigger impacts.
where really it's not just one person today, but, you know, improving those opportunities for the future, including through those internships and things that we provide to our UNT students.

Gorman, Kori   3:34
Well, that's a great overview. Thank you so much. So as you just mentioned, outside of the work that UNTWISE does with individuals with disabilities, you also provide a lot of programs to support practitioners and community agencies. Could you talk a little bit more about those initiatives?

Gafford, Lucy   3:49
Yeah, absolutely. And I love that we're focused on this more holistic view. You know, it's not just this direct service component. It's, hey, we all have things to learn and let's talk about it. Let's figure out what works and let's make the systems change because disability is often as much what society puts on us as anything our bodies.
are doing, right? So, one of the things that, you know, we really work to is like, how do we partner with those professionals, with families, with other organizations that are providing supports, employers, you know, especially. We want to be able to provide training and technical assistance that is assisting with things like transition,
Obviously employment, disability inclusion, customized employment, evidence-based practices. There's so many topics out there. And none of us can be an expert in everything. And we don't know what we don't know. So it's really important just to continue to be able to have these opportunities for ourselves to learn because we partner with lots of experts in the field as well.
so that we're always getting the most up-to-date information. We love to go out into school districts. We partner with Texas A&M University. They have a wonderful transition program. And we have, you know, community rehabilitation providers that we're working with. That's in strong partnership with the Vocational Rehabilitation Division.
We love working with employers because ultimately we want to see more opportunity for really great jobs out there. And employers are really hungry to hire people with disabilities and to provide great workplaces. So how do they continue to do that? How do they continue to be innovative so that they can attract and retain that talent? And, you know, in other state agencies that
people, you know, tap into as they're, you know, moving through life. So, and then additionally, our students that we're serving, like I mentioned, we love to hire students to work alongside us because they're going to walk out into the world as future professionals. And while we absolutely hire, you know, students who are in rehab counseling, you know, mental health counseling, any of our disability services, education, our social work,
kind of our helping fields. We actually will hire students from any background because we strongly believe that if they're getting an experience and working with people with disabilities, they take that into whatever field they're going into and it helps them make positive impacts. It helps them maybe think a little differently about how to interact with a colleague or
you know, if they're supervising, if they're building, you know, employee resource groups or whatnot, just creating opportunity everywhere that we see. And we really feel like that that's that ripple effect that can be really powerful. So we can have the direct impact on an individual, but we can also be thinking more systematically about, you know,
big picture, you know, organizations, employers, education, all of that.

Gorman, Kori   6:42
That's wonderful. It sounds like you're doing a lot of really impactful work that impacts a lot of people, not just, you know, just our students or just a few members of the community. That's wonderful. Thank you for that explanation. And so can you talk a little bit about the ways in which you've seen UNTWISE grow and change over the years?

Gafford, Lucy   6:51
Yeah.
The.
Yeah, you know, we actually started as like a regional technical assistance center many years ago. And just over time, of course, like all things, we've evolved. And right now, we've really embedded ourselves in the department so that we can be a strong partner in that research component.
providing opportunity to find that really great field research. So we love that. That's definitely been an expansion over the last few years. But we're not just a regional resource anymore. We really have expanded to be statewide and even national. You know, we work with folks
across the US in various capacities and trying to bring more light to, you know, our rehabilitation counseling field. We've, you know, created new partnerships. We have new contracts. We're always looking for various funding opportunities.
to make those impacts. And everything that we're looking at has those, you know, multiple components of how do we provide the direct service, how do we think about systems change, and how do we provide opportunities for, you know, future professionals too. So, you know, we've really embraced things like new technology, which is always changing very quickly.
so that we can enhance the supports that we're providing, enhance the courses that we have. And we're building, you know, more specialized supports. Of course, as we learn more, we find, you know, certain things work better than others. The workforce needs changing drastically, you know, over the last 20 years. So consistently being flexible and adaptable. I would say rehab counselors are nothing
if not flexible and adaptable. But we want to provide, you know, be responsive to what's happening in the field, which is why we want to partner really strongly with employers because they're going to tell us what they're seeing change. But we really just want more and more opportunity for individuals with disabilities
and their support systems. And, you know, I also, I do have to say, well, I love that there's all this evolution and we're thinking about things differently and we try and be creative or we are creative. And our mission really remains very, you know, at the heart of what we do. So everybody I work with, super passionate.
love what we do and we're very committed to making change and serving individuals. So it's very service driven, helping people with disabilities to live, learn and work in the communities that they want to be a part of and love.

Gorman, Kori   9:37
Wonderful. I didn't realize that it had expanded quite that much in the recent years. That's wonderful to hear.

Gafford, Lucy   9:42
It's hard to think about, you know, because we, I think we're just in it and we're just doing the work. And then you kind of look up sometimes and you go, whoa, we're really doing something here. And that's exciting because again, the people I work with, they want to do good work. They want to make impacts. They're really passionate about, we're all really passionate about what we do. And so

Gorman, Kori   9:48
Mhm.

Gafford, Lucy   10:04
It's exciting to see that that hard work is resulting in, you know, these larger impacts and, you know, more community connections. And I hope it continues to go that way.

Gorman, Kori   10:15
Absolutely. Yes, it's always good to see your hard work pay off.

Gafford, Lucy   10:18
Yes.

Gorman, Kori   10:20
So thinking about all the different variety of services that UNTWISE provides, what would you say is your favorite thing about your job?

Gafford, Lucy   10:29
Oh, my favorite thing is the people. So, and I get to work with lots of different people from all kinds of perspectives, which I've always felt like that's a unique part of rehab counseling is we have to understand individuals from so many different perspectives.
So yes, working with people with disabilities is, you know, kind of the main core component. But when you're thinking about working with the families, working with employers, working with lots of different types of professionals, and most of whom are very passionate about the work that they do. So the people are really the most important part to me.
And you know, thinking about...
who I've met, who's had impacts on me, who I've been able to work alongside. There's...
I mean, there's just so many wonderful individuals and I have a lot of just really strong emotional attachment to the families I've served over the years and hopefully making, you know, some positive impacts for them to the colleagues that I've developed.
where, you know, we've got, you know, just strong ties and that passion for the work that we do. And to, you know, the employers that I see really striving to make a difference and think differently about how they, you know, attract and recruit.
Disability talent, and so there's.
There's just a lot of different people that I get to work with every day coming from so many different perspectives. And, you know, that no two days are the same. So again, there's that flexibility and adaptability that's super important in the work that we do. And I love that because then I don't really get bored. You know, there's
always something new. We are never not busy for sure, which works well for me. And, you know, sometimes there's those immediate challenges that we're addressing where it might be, you know, we're sitting alongside a student who's struggling in one of their classes here at UNT and we're problem solving to, we're looking at

Gorman, Kori   12:27
Mm.

Gafford, Lucy   12:40
you know, a systems challenge where the state is thinking about how do we serve people better? How do we do more with our programming and getting to really make, you know, be a part of that is really, really exciting. But all of the work is meaningful, you know, from the little minutia day to day to these big systems change and all of it is impactful.
people. So it's really, really rewarding and it's really important work. So when I'm thinking about our future professionals, you know, helping them stay motivated and excited about this opportunity to be in this field.

Gorman, Kori   13:18
It does sound incredibly rewarding.

Gafford, Lucy   13:20
Yeah, oh yeah, absolutely.

Gorman, Kori   13:22
Oh good, wonderful. So you yourself are a UNT alumni of our rehab counseling program, is that right?

Gafford, Lucy   13:28
I am twice actually.

Gorman, Kori   13:31
Oh, of our rehab studies program as well for the bachelor's level. Wonderful. So is there anything about your learning experience that you feel particularly was valuable in preparing you for your current role or for anything in your future career as a student?

Gafford, Lucy   13:34
Yes, yes.
Yeah, absolutely. And it's funny because like my.
work here or my education here was, you know, very much grounded in that technical and, but also like the values of being a rehab counselor. Our faculty care a lot about the work that we do. So it's not just a class and
coming in and passing a test. It's very much this developing as an individual, as a professional, you know, to be caring, flexible, adaptable, to be...

Gorman, Kori   14:15
Mhm.

Gafford, Lucy   14:29
you know, a critical thinker. I think that's really important these days with how quickly things change and how many, like I said, you know, there's so many different people that we're pulling together in rehab counseling, understanding all of these different industries and perspectives, you know, it's really, really important. And I think a lot of the things that I really enjoyed
We had a strong ethics foundation, which I think is super important. Looking at people through a strengths-based lens, you know, so thinking about everybody from, you know, that strengths-based perspective, say that five times fast. But I think that that was a really key component. Advocacy, you know,

Gorman, Kori   15:07
Yeah.

Gafford, Lucy   15:14
the work that we do, you know, again, can be on a one-on-one, but it can also be at that systems level. It could be a lot of advocacy that we're doing, person-centered, you know, we're always thinking about the people. And I try and anytime I'm feeling ungrounded, I bring it back to the mission and the people that we're serving.
And I think our program does a great job of grounding folks in, you know, that technical component, which is really important, but also just that values and mission-driven piece.
I think I was lucky as I was coming through. I had a lot of, you know, not just our faculty, but my colleagues that I was coming through with. So the department chooses individuals who are very passionate. I had a lot of diversity in the, you know, level of...

Gorman, Kori   15:49
Yeah.

Gafford, Lucy   16:08
experience. So people were coming in like me, brand new, and they were tenured VR counselors. And so I had this opportunity to learn alongside these folks who they've been in the field and they've done it. So we're not just talking about it theoretically. They're like, this is how it actually happens.
So I found that really, really helpful and impactful because, you know, you learn so much from your colleagues as well. And our faculty really encourage that. They want different perspectives. They want people coming with different levels of background so that we really get a well-rounded class. And it really does impact us. You know, years down the road, I think about some of the
colleagues that I've had and worked alongside all the way back to, you know, our undergrad and graduate. And, you know, I think.
UNT is always, and our department has always been just that, it's not just a profession and a field, it's really this bigger mission. And the department helps you feel part of that family and tying in that mission. So I feel very lucky. And I have to, I know you talked to Linda Holloway on one of the episodes, a couple of
weeks back, but it was funny because Linda Holloway was the one who brought me into rehab counseling. I actually started as a math major at UNT. Still love math. But when I took a class with Linda Holloway, she was so passionate and she
spoke about the work that happens in our field with such a love and care that she inspired me to want to do this work. And it really kind of brought together, you know, my left brain, my right brain. I get to be critical.
thinker. I get to think about big picture systems change, but I also get to help people and work with them, you know, at that level. So it really brings those two sides together for me. So I have to say a big thank you to Linda Holloway for, she was, I was just taking her class for, I think it was disability studies or something like that, intro to rehab.
one of those, you know, very early on classes. I was taking it as an elective, but it was my favorite class and I never left the field after that, so.

Gorman, Kori   18:30
I would definitely agree that that passion is very evident within the department. So I'm glad to hear that it was such a good preparation for your career.

Gafford, Lucy   18:37
Oh, absolutely.

Gorman, Kori   18:39
Well, that is actually all the questions that I had for you today. Was there anything else about UNTWISE that you wanted to mention that I haven't asked about?
Are there any final thoughts you wanted to share?

Gafford, Lucy   18:48
No, just that, you know, this field requires a lot of grit, resilience, you know, because there is so much happening and changing all of the time. You have lots of different individuals you're working with, but it's also extremely rewarding. And so
To anybody who's considering it, you know, I would say it's an awesome place to be. You really build a true family. And my family's extended now. You know, it used to be very regional and Texas-based, and now it's national. And I've got lots of folks I can talk to, you know, for guidance and pull in.
on projects. And, you know, so that's always exciting. So I'd really encourage people to seriously consider coming into this work if you've got a heart for the mission piece, but also really enjoy kind of that bigger picture, strategic thinking and advocacy and, you know, systems change.
And also just that, you know, we're always happy to work with anybody. So if you've got questions, if you want, you know, help, please consider reaching out to us. And if we're not the right partner, that's the other thing is we'll get you connected with the right partner because I think that's just as important. We can't always be the answer, but
But, you know, that's, we want to help people find the answers. So, yeah, I hope that, you know, one day we'll all get to work with you at UNTWISE, but at the very least, you know, check us out, check out the department, and know that we're doing big things. We're all working on this big mission.

Gorman, Kori   20:12
Yeah.
Absolutely. Well, thank you so much. It's been great to sit down and talk with you all about the programs that UNTWISE is doing and all the wonderful initiatives that you have going on.

Gafford, Lucy   20:34
Yeah, absolutely.

Gorman, Kori   20:36
So I'm really glad that we got to have your perspective on the podcast. So thank you so much for joining us. And to our listeners, thank you so much for joining us as well. And we hope you'll join us on the next one.

Gafford, Lucy   20:39
Thank you.

Gorman, Kori   0:06
Hello and welcome to Phoenix Fireside Chats, the official podcast for the Department of Rehabilitation and Health Services at the University of North Texas. My name is Kori Gorman. I am the internship coordinator for the department and I am also your host for today's episode. Today we are joined by one of our wonderful faculty members, Dr. Meier, who is also the program coordinator for our public health program.
Welcome, Dr. Meier. Thank you so much for being here.

Meier, Naomi Meier   0:34
Yes, thank you for having me.

Gorman, Kori   0:36
Very glad to have you today. And to start off, would you mind telling us a little bit about yourself and your role as program coordinator?

Meier, Naomi Meier   0:43
Yeah, so I have a background in anthropology, medical anthropology, and public health. So I started here at UNT in 2019, teaching as an adjunct faculty here in the department, but teaching for the public health program. So I've kind of moved forward and am now
right, full-time faculty member and coordinator of the program, which I'm very honored to have that position. So I'm just thinking about where I come from as far as my background, you know, a real focus on kind of those social and cultural aspects of health. Of course, you know, that being very broad in public health.
but a little bit of a focus on my academic background. And then a little bit about me personally. I am born and raised here in Dallas-Fort Worth, and all of my degrees have been gained here through the UNT system. So I'm not only DFW born and bred, but UNT born and bred, arguably as well. So
a little bit of that background. And I live here in Denton with my husband. We have two kiddos, but they're grown up. So not in the house anymore, but, you know, moving on into their adulthood. And let's see, what else was I going to add? Oh, we have two dogs and a number of other pets.
So we keep ourselves busy, but definitely enjoy life in Denton.

Gorman, Kori   2:17
Wonderful. Thank you for sharing all that.
Could you tell us a little bit more about the public health program itself and a little bit about how it's grown and changed over the years?

Meier, Naomi Meier   2:27
Yes, yes. So the public health program, you know, here at the Denton campus, very exciting program. We've seen a lot of change over the past few years. Really seeing changes looking back to 2019, 2020. Our program only moved over here in the department in 2018, 2019.
So we started seeing some change there. But with COVID, we saw our numbers really rise. And since 21, 22, we've only seen those numbers increase. So we're really excited to see so many students interested in the public health program. And we've come to understand that not only are students interested in public health,
but a lot of our students are also looking towards moving into a health profession of one kind once they finish their undergraduate degree. So we have a very lively program. We have a lot of, you know, insights and interests within our student body and really excited about supporting, you know, all of
They're, you know, helping them meet their goals, but also supporting their interests, not only in health, but those ties to public health, right? So I think we have a great opportunity to really work with our future public health professionals, but our medical professionals as well. So the program goes through and trains students in five different areas of public health.
Really, you know, the program is set up to help students be prepared to enter many different areas of public health once they graduate. So we're really excited to see where the program is and really excited to see where it goes from here.

Gorman, Kori   4:07
Absolutely very exciting, yes. Well, speaking of professional development and possible career paths, would you mind telling us a little bit more about the career paths that are available to public health majors?

Meier, Naomi Meier   4:19
Yes. So I kind of, you know, I mentioned this already, but just the field of public health and the work done in public health is so vast. So there are a lot of opportunities for students, but there's very, there's some specific areas that someone with an undergraduate degree in public health
would qualify for. And there's a wide range of those different roles, right? So I kind of sum them up. First is, you know, what areas or where students might find jobs. So just thinking about direct community work, that can happen in the private realm and in the public realm, right? So
think public health departments being one of those kind of private entities, public entities where students can, you know, kind of establish their career, gain experience. But there are a lot of nonprofits, there are a lot of hospitals that exist and have
very good opportunities for students to establish and kind of build their public health experience. There are also a lot of data and research opportunities, even at the undergraduate level. You know, a lot of our students are interested in going into research. Biostatistics, epidemiology are two of our courses. And
You know, just thinking about epidemiology being kind of that core public health science. There are opportunities for undergraduate students to get some of that research and data analysis experience. I mentioned hospitals, but just thinking about the broad healthcare system, there are a lot of opportunities there for students as well.
And then thinking about the policy aspect of public health, there are jobs where students can find positions where they're carrying out policy analysis, advocating for policy, et cetera. So some main areas of, you know, potential
Places to work, you know, different um jobs to fill.
That said, you know, there are a lot of different ways a student might qualify to meet some of those needs in those areas. So a lot of work in public health is done in trying to
prevent people from developing disease in the 1st place. So we invest a lot, not only in research, but in the resources that we spend to try to get information out to people, to try to make our society structured in a way that maybe by default people are healthy.
So that prevention effort can take place in a lot of different realms, right? So thinking about the public health workforce, especially the public health workforce, public public health workforce, but then think about hospitals, you know, even doctors' offices, nonprofits I've mentioned,
a lot of different opportunities to implement different preventative measures, initiatives, et cetera. Then thinking about community and health education, definitely tied into that prevention work. And again, some great opportunities for students to jump into public health work.
and start to establish their experience. Because that's one thing about public health. There are a lot of people in the public health realm in the profession who have advanced degrees, so master in public health, et cetera. So students at the undergrad level often find success in building.
on the work experience, etc. So sometimes those entry level jobs are just a starting point for students. And it's kind of interesting to see how opportunities to develop for students. An entry level job might lead to, you know, more opportunity for leadership.
you know, thinking about those different opportunities available. There are a lot of organizations that support future academic work, et cetera. So that community and health education aspect, there's also kind of that research and data analysis factor. I kind of talked about that a little bit.
But even thinking about assistant or associate positions, something that our undergraduate students could qualify for, arguably. Healthcare administration and coordination. So again, I mentioned hospitals, you know, one kind of glimpse into the healthcare system, arguably. But looking at different
program and project coordination, some of those health initiatives that hospitals might be funding, for example. Those might be great fits for someone just finishing their undergraduate degree. I'm going to add environmental and safety health as well. There are different certifications that people can qualify to
gain with an undergraduate degree in public health. Community health worker certification can be beneficial. There's also a environmental health and safety certification. Someone with that certification can do a lot of inspections, health inspections in particular.
So another little niche where students could potentially find, you know, a career. And then finally, kind of going back to policy, thinking about working within the system. So the social services that are available often enhance people's health, right? So kind of working within
the social services that are available, advocating for policies that can help us all be healthier. Again, another area that students could pursue a career.

Gorman, Kori   10:05
Wonderful. Well, thank you so much for that overview. I feel like as the internship coordinator, I get a decent perspective on where our students might end up going for their future careers. And that's absolutely one of the best things about public health is that you really can do whatever you want with it. That there's so many different domains you could go into. If you have a specific interest, there's probably an option for that. And then of course, the grad school options and research options, like you mentioned. So

Meier, Naomi Meier   10:13
You.

Gorman, Kori   10:28
There's so many exciting opportunities. Thank you for sharing that.

Meier, Naomi Meier   10:31
Indeed.

Gorman, Kori   10:32
Well, what do you think are some of the biggest challenges that our students might face after they graduate and they do go into those jobs in their future?

Meier, Naomi Meier   10:42
So in thinking about this question kind of beforehand, you know, this is a bigger discussion right now, just with the changes we've seen in the support for public health work, kind of at the federal and the state level. So with these shifts in funding, you know, we've seen
job positions change and those opportunities change, especially in the public realm, right? So kind of at the federal and the state level. The public health work has to go on, you know, regardless of the resources that are out there, the public health work that we do, a lot of it is so invisible.
but it helps our society function successfully. It helps our economy stay strong. And so even with diminished resources, that public health work has to continue. So we're seeing shifts in funding, you know, along with fewer public health jobs. We're seeing fewer grant opportunities.
you know, think about research capabilities, et cetera. We're seeing some reduction in what would kind of normally be traditional public health roles, but we're seeing different entities kind of pick up and support some of the research, you know, here and there. It's a little bit different than kind of the traditional public health system, right? That
A lot of us, and even the students graduating this semester, have kind of seen as they've gone through their career. But as different entities meet some of the demand that's not being met right now, job opportunities are developing. So thinking about hospital systems, just the healthcare system in general,
The nonprofit realm has also stepped up. But these different areas of employment within our society are maybe where students will start to focus their search a little bit more if those, you know, government jobs aren't as available as they have been in the past.

Gorman, Kori   12:43
Well, thank you for sharing that. And you also do a lot of work to promote public health outside of the classroom. You're, of course, the faculty advisor for the Public Health Alliance. You host different events throughout the semesters, like you just recently did a seeker panel. Would you tell us a little bit more about those initiatives and the ways that students can get involved?

Meier, Naomi Meier   13:03
Thanks for kind of acknowledging that. It's one thing that I really like to do as a program coordinator. And with the speaker panels, you know, one of my goals is to not only help students understand, you know, these different roles that they could play in public health, but to make connections with our community partners.
Just with the fact that public health work is so broad, there's been some wonderful opportunities to connect, not only here at UNT, we did a risk management kind of public health at UNT speaker panel a few academic years ago, but then kind of reaching out to some of the entities that we worked with.
this year, thinking about kind of for fall, we invited people from a community alliance, public health, hospitals, and nonprofits. So bringing those people together, bringing in more of a health focus for this last
spring speaker panel has been exciting. Just again, helping students understand the different roles that they can play in public health, but also, you know, making those important connections. Because with and just by nature, public health is so interdisciplinary.
to be able to see people working together, I think will be helpful for students. It also offers them some networking opportunities. And I'm proud to see that students have taken advantage of that. So the speaker panels, you know, one way to kind of get students engaged, but also create those partnerships.
And then the student organization, Public Health Alliance, I'm very proud of my students. They've really taken on great leadership roles. And they've worked to not only create a space for public health majors, people, you know, excited about public health, but they really work to get the word out about public health as well, right?
So they're not just focusing on the public health majors themselves. They often invite people in from different backgrounds, which I love to see because of that interdisciplinary work that public health does, right? So, you know, once again, I'm really proud of that leadership. The students bring in speakers from different backgrounds as well.
So kind of highlighting, again, where somebody could potentially work in public health, but also offering different networking plans. So as coordinator, you know, that's one of my goals in just really helping students understand the different careers that they could be looking at once they graduate.
but also to help them understand, you know, the vast dimensions of public health. So exciting things. And, you know, I plan to keep those going and continue to support the Public Health Alliance, of course, but the speaker panels, you know, I'm really excited to see what we do in the upcoming academic year. So
some exciting things to come. And just thinking about, you know, the coordinator role and expanding on that, thinking about continuing those community connections, et cetera. Because it not only helps us as a program to get the word out, it helps our students get internships, but it also helps kind of create that community
of public health that we need to be successful. So I'm really proud that our UNC program can be part of that.

Gorman, Kori   16:32
Awesome. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to create this experience for our students. As you kind of said, there's not really many areas in our life that public health doesn't touch. So it's wonderful that students do have so many different options for getting a learning outcome that doesn't necessarily have to come from just the classroom. So very exciting.

Meier, Naomi Meier   16:49
Right.

Gorman, Kori   16:51
Well, I think that that was pretty much all the questions that I had for you today. Was there any other things or any other thoughts that you wanted to share with us before we end the episode here?

Meier, Naomi Meier   17:02
Yeah, I think I'll just end it with, you know, some things that have been developing here at UNT and some of the priorities that have been established. We're really excited that President Keller is supportive of the public health program, is supportive of the health professions support system that we have for students.
because, you know, President Keller, but a lot of the people who are making decisions for UNT see that need for public health and health professions within our community, even here in DFW. So I'm really excited to see what we can do with that support, how we can work with UNT Health Fort Worth.
and expand on a lot of the success that we've already seen. So I'm very excited as we move forward.

Gorman, Kori   17:51
Yes, there's lots of exciting things to look forward to for sure. Well, thank you so much for your time this afternoon. And I really appreciate getting to talk to you and sit down with you and learn more about the public health program. This has been wonderful. And

Meier, Naomi Meier   17:54
Yeah.
Thank you so much for the time.

Gorman, Kori   18:04
Yes, we really appreciate it. And to our audience, thank you so much for watching this episode, and we hope you will join us on the next one.