Socks for Love!!!

Many of you are aware that I will be going to Ukraine in September to present my research as well as visiting and working in the orphanages we are doing research with.

I will be traveling with a delegation that goes to Uzhgorod every fall to do work that enhances the quality of life for children in orphanages there.  While much of the trip involves research and education, part of it includes providing the children with life's necessities they wouldn't otherwise have.  One such necessity is socks (currently the children only get one or two pairs of socks each year).  We are hoping to deliver 2,000 pairs of socks to the orphanages on this year's trip in September.

To help, donate NEW socks of any size February 2-13 in room 2190 JFSB on BYU campus.  Socks can also be dropped off at my apartment.

If you do not reside near BYU and still want to help, let me know, and we can work something out!

19 Credits and Four-day weekends.

I'm in my second week of my second semester of graduate school, and it's finally starting to feel like there is work involved.  I think a lot of that is due to the fact that I am enrolled in 19 credits right now and all of those classes are crammed into Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

So, here the break down of my classes this semester:

Social Work 602: Statistics

Social Work 611: Practicum (finishing up therapy with my client...should be done tomorrow!)

Social Work 622: Psychopathology/DSM-IV-TR

Social Work 661: Group Work

Social Work 662: Advanced Casework

Social Work 664: Community Organization

Social Work 671: Play Therapy

Yeah, so a bit more busy than last semester.   Also, for my Graduate Assistant job, Dr. Norman and I are tying up the actual research and statistical analysis part and will be writing it up.  We are planning to present at the Fulton Conference at BYU in April, and then again in Ukraine this September.

I'm pretty excited about the Ukraine trip, and right now Dr. Norman and I are planning on starting a sock drive so we will be able to bring socks to the kids in the orphanages (if any of you want to donate or help me, let me know).   

In other news, I got three new roommates with the change of the semester, and for the first time in a long time, we all get along great, we are all clean, and we have a blast together!  It's a nice change!!  

Last week, my friend Tahlia and I had the opportunity to be volunteers at BYU's Sports Hero Day.  We had a group of seven 6th graders (there were about 1,000 6th graders total that came) and got to take them around to different stations to meet BYU athletes and have little mini workshops.  It was way fun, and it got me pumped up about working with kids again!

I found out a few weeks ago that I will for sure get to work with youth/children when I go back to Wasatch...Hallelujah.  I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have made it otherwise.