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USM Grad Leads Katrina Recovery Response

"My work is becoming my life's work-there is no greater fulfillment than finding that!"
Chausey Leebron ('05)
Resource Center Leader
for Hurricane Katrina Survivors
2005 CP Student of the Year Chausey Leebron 2005 CP Student of the Year, Chausey Leebron, shares a Light moment with some of her clients, survivors from Hurricane Katrina.
Photo Brian K.Diggs
American-Statesman

"After graduation, now what?"

Like many graduates from universities around the country who ask themselves this question upon completion of their advanced degrees, I wondered what was to come next in my life.

Sometimes, it can take some time to clarify an answer. And then there are times when the answer comes searching for you!

The very morning after I graduated from the University of Santa Monica's Counseling Psychology (CP) Program, I flew back to my new home in Austin, Texas, filled with a sense of great accomplishment and joy.

I thought of USM's President, Ron Hulnick, who has often said, "A USM education is not for the faint of heart, but the rewards can be life-transforming." He is right on both counts! For me, completing the CP Program was the professional foundation of a long-held dream to begin a new career. I did not know yet what was next but was excited to be moving to a new city and about the possibilities that held for me.

I had no idea that . . . Hurricane Katrina was hitting the Gulf Coast!

I had no idea that, as my plane was making its way back to Texas, Hurricane Katrina was hitting the Gulf Coast. And I had no idea of the personal and professional impact this storm would have upon my own life.

I was Answering a Calling

A month after the storm hit, I received a phone call out of the blue, offering me a job as a case manager for Katrina evacuees. More than that, I would be building a resource center for displaced survivors. It was clear to me that I was answering more than just a phone call; I was answering a calling!

The next morning (just four weeks after graduating!), I started my new job and embarked upon a journey that would prove to be both extremely challenging and deeply rewarding. This was familiar territory for me after my USM education!

I am my own Resource Center!

In my first couple of days at work, I cradled a premature baby in a crack house, witnessed child abuse, saw many people struggling with drug addiction, and held a pregnant woman's hand as she went into premature labor. There were no client files-no documentation of any kind-set up yet. It was a huge job and, to be honest, I wondered where to begin.

Then I started by remembering that I am my own resource center. I reminded myself that these survivors have all the inner resources inside them to effectively deal with their situations, a foundational focus of USM's Spiritual Psychology Programs. Rather than "fixing" anyone, I was here to support them in rebuilding their own lives. I began a long conversation with my Inner Counselor-a place in my consciousness of profound wisdom, knowing, and compassion that I had learned to access during my graduate studies at USM.

Over the next couple of months, I co-created a Resource Center that has been the foundation upon which we have, together, built a community. I relied on my USM Counseling Psychology Program training to effectively set up client files, make child abuse reports, assess individuals for suicide risk, and make referrals when appropriate.

I have witnessed miracles. I have witnessed joy. I have experienced transformation in its most beautiful form. It has been an honor to witness, and be a part of, a new community being born. We have shared deep love, understanding, heart-felt laughter, healing, and grace.

Blessings

Katrina was indeed a very great storm. And the blessings have been greater. I am deeply grateful to the USM faculty, student and graduate community, and to my education for preparing me so deeply for this experience. I have delighted in the heights of my own joy and the depths of my own loving, and marveled at my own ability to prevail and excel in this very challenging situation. I have no doubt that my USM education has given me the opportunity to contribute here at the very highest levels of my ability.

I am now in the process of studying for the licensing exams as a Marriage and Family Therapist. I look forward to becoming a licensed therapist in the state of Texas and continuing the work that was truly seeded and nurtured at USM.

The work that is becoming my life's work-there is no greater fulfillment than finding that. My heart overflows with love and gratitude. My dream of being of service is born. What a blessing!

NOTE: You can read the three-page story (including pictures) about Chausey's work with Hurricane Katrina survivors that appeared in the Austin American Statesman newspaper here.

And if you'd like to learn more about USM's Graduate Programs in Spiritual Psychology, you can do so by choosing one of the following options: