In this week’s #StudentExperience blog post, we are highlighting Tyler, a first year graduate student studying counseling psychology at Towson University. Since fall 2015, Tyler has worked as a graduate events and communications assistant with the Office of Partnerships and Outreach and the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU). In this role, he assists with the planning and management of CUMU’s annual conference, facilitated dialogues, regional seminars, and partnered events. He also assists with newsletter creation, email marketing, and social media.
In fall 2015, one of Tyler’s first tasks was to plan CUMU’s Engagement Academy, a professional and institutional development experience where campus teams work intensely with support from top scholars, leaders, and practitioners in the field of community engagement. “The focus on community engagement and cross-institution partnerships aligns with my counseling psychology career interests, and I have been learning a lot about developing partnerships and implementing action plans,” said Tyler.
#StudentExperience: Tyler Howard
Tyler’s advice for other students looking to gain experience? Confidence is all in the attitude. “I’m new to this field, having worked in relatively unrelated fields (as an educational tutor and grief support group counselor) before moving to Towson,” Tyler said. “Adopting a mindset of confidence, the belief that I have the tools and the interpersonal skills to network, collaborate, and communicate effectively and efficiently, empowers me to do my job. Often times I surprise myself by proving I am capable of doing things that I would have hesitated tackling had I not adopted a positive mindset from the outset.”
Tyler plans to graduate in spring 2017 with an M.A. in Counseling Psychology. After which, he will study for the national licensing exams and complete several years of supervised counseling services before he applies for licensure in clinical professional counseling. His goal is to work with children and their families in a hospital or community mental health agency setting.
FUN STUFF ABOUT TYLER
- What are two apps you can’t live without? Instagram and Snapchat
- If your life was a movie, what would the theme song be? Mouthwash by Kate Nash
- What would your superhero power be? My power would be the ability to freeze, reverse, and fast forward time. Partially to help save the world when need be, but mostly to give myself more time to sleep, study, and have a social life!
- What is a special hobby you have? I hosted an indie music radio show title “Indie Queens” my senior year of undergrad on our university’s radio station, KRTU 91.7 FM. My friend and I created hour long playlists of female indie artists and talked between songs about their biographies, album releases, and upcoming shows.
