who i am...
I am the second youngest of six children - in a family of four boys and two girls. My parents have always worked hard and shown great care and kindness towards family and others; always helping out and caring. From this example, I have cultivated kindness, reverence, empathy and compassion for all of God’s creatures. My parents were very health oriented and we grew up having large gardens that provided us with a variety of nutritious natural foods year round. We attended the Seventh Day Adventist church which is based on a healthy vegetarian lifestyle and service to others. I gained experience and knowledge about organic foods, vegetarianism, and the value of contributing to the community.
music, art & nature
I played violin and ukulele from grade two through High School. In 1986 while in grade eleven
I worked at a nursing home and I joined the Naval Reserves at HMCS Brunswicker in St. John as an administrative clerk. I wanted to work with people and I thought this type of work would coincide with the social aspect I enjoyed. I gained organizational, communication, and administrative skills but found at time passed that I preferred working with people in education and counselling.
I have always been interested in reading, learning, and being active outdoors. As a child I rode horses and spent hours riding bareback through woods and streams in the country. There were no computers then so I read everything I could get my hands on as a child. Often these were the school novels left out by my older siblings. Music, knowledge, the arts, & nature have always been very important to me.
Work, school, & family life
I studied and gained new skills and knowledge in fitness and health on my own and while working in the Navy. I moved from New Brunswick to Quebec in 1988 and completed a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Anthropology in 1991. I transferred to the HMCS Donnacona in order to pay for tuition and housing.
While studying, working, and living in Montreal, the diving trade became available to the Naval Reserves and I was eager to participate! I trained with the regular force at Fleet Diving Unit Atlantic and became a Ship's Team Diver in 1989.
I had a dual trade in Montreal at HMCS Donnacona in administration and as a Ship Team Diver. I became the first female in Canada to become a diver for HMCS Donnacona at this time. I was fortunate to have two wonderful females join me within the next couple years.
In 1991 I married and moved to Nova Scotia where I had two wonderful children. In order to parent full-time I started a small fitness & Lifestyle business training clients as well as volunteering and teaching fitness classes at the YMCA.
While studying, working, and living in Montreal, the diving trade became available to the Naval Reserves and I was eager to participate! I trained with the regular force at Fleet Diving Unit Atlantic and became a Ship's Team Diver in 1989.
I had a dual trade in Montreal at HMCS Donnacona in administration and as a Ship Team Diver. I became the first female in Canada to become a diver for HMCS Donnacona at this time. I was fortunate to have two wonderful females join me within the next couple years.
In 1991 I married and moved to Nova Scotia where I had two wonderful children. In order to parent full-time I started a small fitness & Lifestyle business training clients as well as volunteering and teaching fitness classes at the YMCA.
A few years later, as a single mom with two children, I drove from St. Martins New Brunswick with my three year old son and four year old daughter to Edmonton Alberta. I worked as a case worker at the Young Offender's Centre and then I went back to school to complete a degree in Education while pregnant with my third beautiful child.
I completed my B.Ed in 2001 and gained experience teaching and contracting in a variety of subject areas and to support learning strategies, at-risk populations, families, special populations, and in community outreach programs to support academic, functional life skill development,and psycho-social-emotional-behavioural support needs.
I completed a Masters in Counselling Psychology in 2012 and I am in the process of getting registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists. I hope to open a holistic health practice to support body, mind, and spirit wellness! My goal is to combine my formal education with my passion for holistic health practices - combining my lifelong interests in fitness and health and eastern practices in yoga, meditation, alternative medicine, and healing.
One-on-one sessions as well as group work focuses on helping others gain career-life balance through self-awareness & exploration of thoughts, feelings, & actions that will enhance one's body-mind-spirit ease & wellness. The importance of establishing healthy lifestyle habits, & routines, creating balanced self-care, relationship boundaries, positive self-talk, expectations, self-worth, nutrition, exercise, mindfulness, & focused career/life goals will be explored. A variety of holistic practices help clients gain awareness of 'self' as they connect to their sense of self, to others, and to nature in a more open, positive, compassionate and loving way.
I completed my B.Ed in 2001 and gained experience teaching and contracting in a variety of subject areas and to support learning strategies, at-risk populations, families, special populations, and in community outreach programs to support academic, functional life skill development,and psycho-social-emotional-behavioural support needs.
I completed a Masters in Counselling Psychology in 2012 and I am in the process of getting registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists. I hope to open a holistic health practice to support body, mind, and spirit wellness! My goal is to combine my formal education with my passion for holistic health practices - combining my lifelong interests in fitness and health and eastern practices in yoga, meditation, alternative medicine, and healing.
One-on-one sessions as well as group work focuses on helping others gain career-life balance through self-awareness & exploration of thoughts, feelings, & actions that will enhance one's body-mind-spirit ease & wellness. The importance of establishing healthy lifestyle habits, & routines, creating balanced self-care, relationship boundaries, positive self-talk, expectations, self-worth, nutrition, exercise, mindfulness, & focused career/life goals will be explored. A variety of holistic practices help clients gain awareness of 'self' as they connect to their sense of self, to others, and to nature in a more open, positive, compassionate and loving way.
Over the years, I have gained great focus, discipline, social awareness of gender issues, diversity and other political-socio-economic issues in life and while studying, working in the Naval Reserves. I gained knowledge of infrastructure from my formal studies in Social Sciences, Business Analysis of processes and from working with diverse populations the ability to understand people in these environments. My interests in the arts in areas such as theatre, music, nature, and photography have provided me with the passion, flexibility, and creativity that I needed as a parent, business owner, organizing, scheduling and as an innovator at work and on a daily basis. Living in the country as I child kept me very connected to nature. This has given me great insight on the workings of life and gave me the ability to short and long-term plan.
I have been able to transfer life experiences into my work life as career assets. All of these lifelong learning experiences, values, beliefs, and interests contribute to my present day skills and passion to meet my future goals.
Today I continue to work to help improve the balance in my life and the lives of others and this is reflected in my present day career-life goals. As a teacher and in counseling, I integrate a holistic approach that blends the commonalities of western theories and eastern philosophies to contribute to my happiness & body-mind-spirit well-being & to support the lifestyle goals of others.
I have been able to transfer life experiences into my work life as career assets. All of these lifelong learning experiences, values, beliefs, and interests contribute to my present day skills and passion to meet my future goals.
Today I continue to work to help improve the balance in my life and the lives of others and this is reflected in my present day career-life goals. As a teacher and in counseling, I integrate a holistic approach that blends the commonalities of western theories and eastern philosophies to contribute to my happiness & body-mind-spirit well-being & to support the lifestyle goals of others.