Trusting your loved ones to someone with experience.

I began working with the Special Olympics at the age of seventeen. What an exciting time of life. I was actually old enough for businesses to allow me to come and volunteer my time! I began teaching children on the balancing beam and worked with floor sequences. The ages ranged from 6 to 56. It was quite an experience. I was also given the opportunity to do In-Home Therapy with an 8 year old boy. During this time, I was taught the approach of ABA Therapy and worked with a family who was patient enough to teach me what I needed to know to work effectively with their child. These specific jobs took place while I was a freshman attending Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN and majoring in Psychology.

My time at Lipscomb showed me that I desired something more. I just knew that I needed to be elsewhere to complete my college studies, so, I applied to Pepperdine University in Malibu, Ca where I completed my college career finishing in 06’ with a BA in Child Clinical Psychology. Pepperdine pushed me outside of my comfort zone and opened doors that I never even knew were there. I worked with an organization called Kids at Work that brought special needs children into the social aspect of the world such as malls, restaurants, and parks as well as continuing to do in home and social work with private families and their children.

Once my diploma was handed to me, I came back home to Franklin where I immediately began working at Saddle Up! a therapeutic riding program. There, I completed the NARHA (North American Riding for The Handicap Association) course to become a certified NARHA therapeutic riding instructor. Now, I work part-time at Saddle Up! while bringing my dream of opening my own Non-Profit to life: Kindred Spirits.