Student Summer Spotlight: Ryan Kelly

PGSA asked 3rd year School Psychology student Ryan Kelly to share his experiences during a summer internship in Ecuador. This post will begin a multi-part series on graduate student summer experiences. Read about Ryan's adventure below:

 

Ryan taking a soccer break with the kids

"This summer I was given the opportunity to participate in the Ecuadorian Professional Preparation Program (EPPP).  This is a program dedicated to providing psychological services to the people of Ecuador, in addition to providing cultural education and practical training for Spanish-speaking graduate students of psychology.  During my month-long stay in Ecuador, I lived with a wonderful host family in downtown Quito.  From Monday to Thursday, I worked at a free health clinic just outside of Quito Antigua where I presented weekly on parenting and marital skills to the community, created and ran a 'Chicos Chéveres' activity program for the local children, and provided counseling for all ages.  The most common case problems were marital issues, parenting and child behavior concerns, depression and stress, domestic abuse and substance abuse (adolescents).  During the weekends, my cohort and I were free to do as we pleased.  I took these times to do more volunteer work, travel and present at conferences.  Volunteer work included helping build a house for a student and his family, working at schools and working at a neurological hospital in Cumbayá.  Regarding travel, I explored the coast, Andes and Amazon within Ecuador.  During my travels, I swam in thermal baths, biked down the worlds highest active volcano, danced on the equator, biked 72Km through the Andes into the Amazon, white water rafted on a branch of the Amazon River, whale-watched, experienced the Galapagos, repelled down waterfalls, enjoyed a canopy trail, hiked through the Amazon (where I jumped off a waterfall and broke my foot), went to a professional soccer game and explored the rich history and art of Ecuador.  Lastly, for further professional experience, I spoke at the University of Manta and observed the schools there, as well as gave a presentation on EBTs for depression and anxiety to the Ecuadorian Minister of Health and other health professionals.

"I will say, it's hard to sum up my experiences in Ecuador into a paragraph.  What is important is the life-long relationships I formed with my cohort members, the invaluable experience I gained as an aspiring bilingual psychologist, and the honor of having shared cultures and hearts with the people of Ecuador."

Ryan with Dr. Marcela Cruz, an internationally renown neurologist