Write about a Teacher or Mentor You are Grateful For...
I'm thankful for the leadership of many teachers and for a handful of professional mentors who have helped me grow in my present and future career paths. As I think about this prompt, I'm aware that I would so love to find a spiritual mentor and/or a health coach, someone wise and encouraging and further along the path than I am who genuinely cares enough to speak into my life and meet regularly for growth and accountability. I'll start praying for wisdom on that now!
Aaaaanyway, today, I am grateful for...
1. Dr. David Frisbie -- My favorite SNU professor in 2012, Dr. Frisbie encouraged us to dream big and command respect, calling each of us "Dr. ____" from the very first day of class. "Dr. Muecke, do you have anything to add here?" ..."That was insightful, Dr. Muecke." etc. He took a genuine interest and encouraged my graduate school dreams. When I timidly mentioned that I'd love to write a book someday, he immediately and confidently responded, "Oh, you will," and I believed him. He sent this very affirming and encouraging email the day I gave a presentation on family structure: "I have had the privilege of teaching dozens of bright and gifted students --- people of exceptional talent. You are among that number, without question. Your project was the best that has ever been submitted, in any of my classes, during any of my teaching. You did a brilliant job of interweaving ideas and concepts from our class sessions, our texts, our learning as a group, and your study of the iconography of families, via television. It was absolutely brilliant work, very well presented. To sum up: Best ever. I do not say that lightly. Blessed to learn with you, Dr. Frisbie" And with his permission and encouragement, we emailed back and forth for a while after that class ended, and he offered wise and Godly counsel on family stuff and other life questions, and I'm very grateful! All things considered, he saw my potential and helped me to gradually grow and see myself differently, and that was incredibly important.
2. Debra Conley -- My Supervisor at Restore, Debra is a fellow believer and a warm and competent licensed professional counselor, full of encouraging words, good advice, and practical counseling tips. She makes the supervision meetings fun and light, and I feel sooo grateful that God guided me toward Restore for my Practicum experience!
3. Dr. Michelle Harrison -- My CCU Practicum professor for our Zoom meetings every Wednesday night, Dr. Harrison specializes in trauma work and has a lot of great insight. She is kind and caring, and teaching us to tell clients to go at their own pace and not feel pressured to share more than they are comfortable with - I love that. I also appreciate that she encourages us all getting to know each other and has made this class feel very doable and pressure-free!
4. Dr. Crystal Brashear -- One of my favorite CCU Professors so far (for my elective on Empathy), Dr. Brashear (rhymes with Frasier) is empathetic and warm while also being brilliant and firmly commanding respect. I always appreciate seeing strong Christian women who navigate that balance well!
5. Jill White -- Miss White (left in the photo) was my 5th grade teacher in 1995. I loved that she read to us for a while every day after recess (might be where my love for audiobooks started). lol And I am thankful that she encouraged me as a very young calligrapher and writer! I was always a good student who quietly got my work done well, so most teachers appreciated that but didn't take much personal interest in me. The ones that did stood out by comparison, and Miss White was one of them! =)
6. Marilyn Hodgen -- She and Mom were good friends when Mom worked as a Court Reporter, then I did my internship with her in 2004 (a very memorable two-week death-penalty Jury Trial in OK County). And since then, Marilyn has been a wonderful and trusted go-to person for me to call or email for specific advice on any transcript and exhibit questions, as well as changing laws and Eclipse CAT software issues. I'm very thankful for all her help and encouragement over the past 20 years!
7. Amy Huesman -- This one is admittedly a stretch since we haven't actually met in person yet, but I'm expecting good things. I am very much hoping to add Amy's counseling firm (Oak Haven) as a second site for my Internship semesters in 2024 (with nights, weekends, and possibly telehealth counseling opportunities). It makes me happy that they have a therapy dog who appears to be a blue-eyed Australian Shepherd! Michelle C. works with Amy right now and speaks very highly of her warmth and character and encouraged me to apply there - so yay. I'm ready to work hard to get my hours completed in two semesters if possible!
*A potential future mentor = Karen Bullard - I love all that I know about her - spiritually mature, kind, friendly, disciplined, athletic, insightful writer, amazing mom, Godly wife, etc. -- I've always admired her character and would love to learn more about her life patterns, parenting strategies, favorite recipes, etc. She could be a fantastic mentor for spiritual growth and motherhood and health-related stuff, but I know she's incredibly busy. Probably worth praying about and asking anyway. =)
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