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Danielle Niland | SSS Academic Advisor
What qualities and/or experiences do you bring to your job at SSS? While I’m fairly new to the field of counseling on a professional level, I’ve had some great experiences which I think will lend themselves well to the needs of SSS students.
I grew up in Santa Cruz, and did my undergraduate work at Hawaii Pacific University on the island of O’ahu. Here I earned my B.A. in Psychology, with concentration in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. In Hawaii, I worked with students from all over the world. Sometimes, I would find myself working in a group with students from Sweden, Botswana, China, France, and Western Samoa! It was quite an experience and it really helped me learn more about how to work well with folks from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds.
I am presently working on my Masters in Counseling with a specialization in Career/College Counseling here at SFSU. I am a first year student in the program so I’m a rooky, but don’t be deceived, I bring a lot to the table. Some of my experience in undergraduate school included working as a counselor with the Peer Support Program on campus, as well as working with the Psychology Club. I have a tendency to “nerd-out” and get involved in a lot of school activities… but hey, I enjoy it! I also worked for the City of Santa Cruz coordinating their volunteer/internship program. During this time, I spent a lot of time helping UCSC students find internships in local government.
What is the greatest challenge facing SSS students? College is an extremely challenging experience in general, and because most SSS students are low-income and/or first generation college students they have even more to contend with. The lack of resources and support can really make things difficult, but all the students in the program are here for a reason… they have taken the initiative to make things happen for themselves. Hopefully, SSS is able to provide a solid foundation from which students can thrive both in their education and in their careers.
What keeps you coming back to work everyday? That’s yet to be seen! I am very excited however to work with SSS. I expect to incorporate a lot of hard work, energy, and humor to make sure that everyone’s experience with SSS goes as smoothly as possible. With that said, I hope students feel the same and plan to work hard, do well, and have fun! Based on what I’ve heard, and based on the terrific energy I saw at the SSS orientation, I’m sure the students in the program will be so awesome that they will provide me with the motivation to keep coming back. Although JC’s comment about the bagels on Friday might help too! J
What are some interests outside your SSS job? I really dig school, I’m kind of a self proclaimed dork… and I don’t think that’s a bad thing… but now that I’m back in school full time, I won’t have a lot of free time to do much more than study. However, with that said, I very much enjoy music, dance, movies, ooh, and definitely good food! I like to cook, I love getting together with my buddies, I dig traveling, I’m a fan of kickboxing, and a beach lover (although Hawaii might have SF beat in terms of beaches).
What quote would best describe you? Questions like this kill me… you could probably think of 100 quotes that describe you. But, if I had to choose I’d go with the following:
“A well-developed
sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your step as you
walk the tightrope of life”.
Ooh, and also this one… I couldn’t choose just one! “You must look
within for value, but must look beyond for perspective”.
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