Celebrating USM' s 2008 Students of the Year

As traditional for USM graduation ceremonies, two graduating students are selected each year to receive special acknowledgment as Students of the Year. " This is always a difficult choice for us to make," said USM' s Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Mary R. Hulnick. " Each student has contributed to the class in ways that are unique to that person, and the class would not be the same without each individual contribution. This graduating class has many students who could be selected for this honor, yet two are truly exemplary."

The criteria we use to select the Students of the Year include academic excellence demonstrated throughout the two-year Program and consistently demonstrating the very highest levels of mastery in the practical application and integration of the principles and practices of Spiritual Psychology.

Spiritual Psychology Program Students of the Year

Two students were selected from the 171 graduates of the Master of Arts Program in Spiritual Psychology to receive the 2008 Student of the Year awards.

UNIVERSITY OF SANTA MONICA
2008 SPIRITUAL PSYCHOLOGY STUDENT OF THE YEAR
Mia Erichson
 

Your luminous beauty, wisdom, and compassion radiate through your eyes, words, and actions. Your loving presence reflects your generosity of heart and the genuine caring you share with everyone around you. We are blessed by your presence among us. With gratitude, we acknowledge, bless, and love you.

Mia lives in Austin, Texas, where her husband and son have been supporting her for the past two years so she could get her homework done each month and go on to complete her Master' s Degree. They were also in the audience at the graduation ceremony to cheer her on as she moved the graduation tassel from left to right and became a graduate of the Master' s Program in Spiritual Psychology. What they did not expect, nor did she, was that she would be acknowledged and honored as one of the Spiritual Psychology Students of the Year.

" I was so moved that I couldn' t think of what to say," said Mia when asked what her first response was to hearing her name called from the podium. " What they read on the plaque was, I think, the loveliest thing anyone had ever said to me." When asked what she thought may have contributed to her recognition she shared: " To receive of the value of the USM education, I knew I' d have to work at a deep level of commitment and with great honesty and integrity. What I came away with, as a direct result of my education here a USM, was a real faith in human divinity.

I believe that, as we align more with our divinity than our humanity, our destiny is to give up warring within our own consciousness. Of course, that would also mean giving up fighting with our neighbors. My dad was a captain in the Air force and led bombing squads over Japan. He expressed to us, over and over, that he felt he could never forgive himself for this. I understand how, through learning and applying the skill of Self-Forgiveness on a very deep level within my own consciousness, I was able to extend this healing throughout the lineage of my family."

When receiving the award at graduation, Mia expressed her deep gratitude for the Program and the privilege she felt to have been able to participate with her classmates over the past two years. " When I walked into USM on that first day of class, I didn' t know who I' d be at the end of the two years. What I realize now is that I had no idea of who I could be. Now I know who I am."

Any last words? " I understand the responsibility that comes with this award to pay it forward. It' s really the best way for me to express my gratitude."

UNIVERSITY OF SANTA MONICA
2008 SPIRITUAL PSYCHOLOGY STUDENT OF THE YEAR
Trammell Whitfield
 

With your gentle strength and steadfast integrity, you inspire all you meet. The Light of your authentic heart beams forth as you enthusiastically express the resonance of your own true voice. We acknowledge you for all that you are and bless you as you go forward, joyfully co-creating—with generosity of Spirit—a life of loving.

" Surreal." That' s what Trammell had to say when asked how it felt to receive the Student of the Year award and graduation. " I' ve never won a thing in my life!" he shared with a deep chuckle.

" Being acknowledged for who I am, at the Authentic Self level, rather than for an achievement made a profound impact upon me," shared Trammel. " I see it as an invitation to stand forward in my Self from this day onward. It feels like the start of something new, something that is alive inside me, propelling me to be the best that I can be. It was very humbling to be acknowledged by so many people that I have the deepest respect and admiration for."

Trammell comes from an " intensely religious" family. " My dad started his own church. He was a West Point Graduate, and his approach to religion and God was Calvinistic. He died last January, and since then, I have felt his presence with me almost every day. What I am most grateful to my father for is that he introduced me to Spirit."

" I am so grateful to the University. I have learned a lot about myself in these past two years. When I started USM, I was deeply dissatisfied — mostly with myself. I felt like I was living in a 'wilderness of mirrors' to borrow a phrase. Now, I' ve learned that I can be tender to myself and with others from a place of strength. I truly let go of my story. I have also learned the true meaning of the word 'fellowship' through direct experience of being with my friends and classmates in a way that is supportive, gentle, honest, and authentic."

An interesting coincidence is that Mia and Trammell have become very close friends since they began the Program two years ago. " I have been staying with Trammell during the class weekends since about the middle of the First Year," shared Mia. " We care enough about each other to tell each other the truth. It' s been a great friendship in that we are always supporting each other and calling forward the best in each other." " I' ve been very blessed," shared Trammell, " to have Mia as my friend."

UNIVERSITY OF SANTA MONICA
2008 COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY STUDENT OF THE YEAR
Licia Rester-Frazee
 

Loving, compassion, and kindness are hallmarks of your way of being. Spirit moves and informs you as you lead by example, with humility and strength-of-heart. Your continued willingness to learn, grow, and serve is truly a gift and blessing to all the lives that you touch. We love and bless you as you continue to follow the path of Living Love.

Licia received the Counseling Psychology Student of the Year award to resounding applause. The Counseling Psychology Program meets the requirements for licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of California. " It' s a rare day when I' m at a loss for words," she said as she accepted the plaque from CP Supervised Practicum faculty members Johanna Jenkins and Marya Foley. " The only thing I can say is that I' m so privileged to have participated in this school and this program. USM is truly the University of miracles. Ron and Mary, if I were to say 'Thank You' to you for what you have created here every day for the rest of my life, it would not be enough."

As a faculty member in the First Year of the Spiritual Psychology Program, the graduating students and faculty have an existing relationship with Licia. She' s been walking the path of Living Love in service to the University and the students since she started as a student in 1997. In 1999, she was awarded the Spiritual Psychology Student of the Year award at her first USM graduation. She then went on to graduate from the Consciousness, Health, and Healing Program (CHH) in 2000.

" I witnessed the growth, willingness, vulnerability, and strength-of-heart, of all of my classmates in the Counseling Psychology Supervised Practicum class this year," shared Licia. " Any one of us could have genuinely been chosen to receive this acknowledgment. It was a privilege to be part of a group so dedicated to this line of work. The spirit of service, of commitment to something greater than ourselves, was very much evident from the first day of class. I knew inside that I had to show up 100% in service. With that kind of an invitation, how could I not fully participate?"

Licia answered an inner prompting to enroll in the Counseling Psychology Program after she had completed the CHH Program and had been a faculty member for a few years. " Do it NOW,' was what I heard," said Licia " and I signed up two weeks before the first class was to start."

" I had an experience this past year, while I was driving to class after a very challenging day, that was sacred, beautiful, and a turning point for me. While feeling my sadness and upset over a personal situation, I simultaneously had the experience of the most profound sense of compassion for myself that extended out to include all of humanity. I found the place inside where the divine and the human parts of me intersected. I witnessed for myself the marriage of Divine Loving and the suffering of humanity. I found the place from which I could truly be of service to those who are suffering. It changed my perception of myself and the work I am to do in a deep way."

What' s next? " The only thing I can say for certain is that I will continue doing the work I am asked to do with a great sense of gratitude and humility," shared Licia. " The miracle of USM is how we, as faculty, are there to support the students who show up in their willingness to go for their liberation...we get to stand by them while they do that. What a huge gift that is for me."

USM is proud to recognize and acknowledge these students for their willingness to share generously of themselves in their Authenticity and the Truth of their Beingness. We love, honor, and bless you as well as all of the graduates of the class of 2008. Heartfelt congratulations as you move on to make your contributions in the world.