My youngest daughter, Traci, graduated from Virginia Tech University this weekend with a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology. She maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average her entire college career, was awarded Summa Cum Laude in her class of more than 5,000 graduates, and spent countless hours working on a suicide hotline as a volunteer. She plans to obtain a Master’s Degree in clinical mental health counseling.
My son’s diagnosis and breakdown changed our entire family. I became an advocate for mental health reform. My son works now as a peer to peer specialist for a county diversion program that helps persons, who have mental disorders and are arrested, by getting them into treatment programs rather than having them languish in jail. And now Traci has chosen a career in the mental health field.
Along with her siblings, Patti and I are tremendously proud of her achievements.