1. While writing your paper, what did you learn about the research process?

I learned
much more than I expected about the career and the field, but also about the research
process. I learned how to find reputable sources, write a proper outline, thesis statement,
introduction and conclusion paragraphs, and how to properly cite in MLA. I learned how
to plan out a paper beforehand by writing a good outline. Finding reputable sources was a
challenge, since the Art Therapy field is relatively new and there is not much information
about it. In solving this challenge, I learned about researching online sources and how
important proper, reliable research is to a formal paper.
2. How was the research related to your mentor hours? The topic of my Pride Paper was
Art Therapy but I did not just write about that, I researched and wrote about different
areas of the therapy field and subgroups of psychology. I included details about mental
therapy, social work, counseling, child psychology, and physical therapy. My mentor is a
Childrens Development and Disability Counselor and she helps children with
disabilities, counselling them on how to cope. Her job relates to what I wrote about child
psychology and counseling, since most of her clients are children and she uses
therapeutic methods to help them cope with disabilities or anything else they are
struggling with.
3. Summarize the mentor hours that you completed. The first time I met with my
mentor, Kellye Slaggert and one of her colleagues, we talked about my what I wrote in
my Pride Paper and what I needed for my mentor hours. I talked about the career I chose
and why, also what I still needed to complete for the Pride Project, including the product.
She told me about her job and what she does for her clients. Also, why she went into the
field and the requirements to become a Childrens Developmental and Disability
Counselor. My mentor and her colleague helped me brainstorm ideas for my product.
For the second meeting, I attended a Parents as Teachers Advisory Committee meeting.
Through this meeting I experienced a real workplace environment and heard the
committee talk of bettering their organization and community.
For the third and last meetings, I accompanied Mrs. Slaggert to one of her therapy
sessions with a young girl in an exceptional student classroom. I got the opportunity to
experience a real world situation of a therapist helping her client, and it was very
rewarding to see my mentor work with her client and help her engage in play.
4. How did working with your mentor affect your understanding of the topic area and
/or the professional world?
a. If you mentor was not directly related to your topic, what did you learn
about the profession that can be translated to any future professional
setting? My mentor is not directly related to Art Therapist but her job is very
similar to that of a therapist. She helps clients similar to an Art Therapist, without
using art as the main therapeutic tool. As a Childrens Development and
Disability Counselor, she works with children on coping with their disabilities or
 anything that troubles their personal growth. The difference between her job and
Art Therapy is the obvious art element, but also she is limited to working with
children. Art Therapists work with people of all ages and cases, sometimes groups
of people. Some of what I learned from my mentor can be translated into a future
professional setting, such as the therapist and client relationship and some tools to
employ as a therapist.
b. If your mentor contributed to the development of the product, how were they
involved? The first thing my mentor helped me with was brainstorm ideas for my
product. She helped me come up with the idea to go into a lower school class and
conduct two art activities to later use at a special needs summer came in June. My
mentor recommended using a wet medium, such as paint, because children really
respond to it. I took what she told me and created the lesson plan I took down to
the Lower School. I first had the students fill in what mood they were feeling at
the beginning of class and then draw their house and their family. I then had them
paint the emotion they were currently feeling. I had them fill in the mood they
were feeling after they finished painting. I did this with the intention of comparing
their moods before and after they created art. I had them draw their family and
later paint their emotion to get them thinking about what they were feeling.
5. How did creating a product and completing the hours challenge you personally?
Creating the product and completing the hours challenged my public speaking anxiety
and put me out of my comfort zone. I spoke in front of a Lower School class, for my
product, which was stressful for me. I also had to prepare the activities and what I was
going to say to them, which was a new experience. I have only read off of slides during
presentations in class, so it was challenging to remember correctly what I wanted to say.
After leading the class, I have I newfound respect for teachers. It was a huge challenge
for me to find a mentor because the field is very small, especially in North Carolina, and
all the Art Therapists I asked to mentor me refused. After I found my mentor in a
different field, I was nervous to meet with her and it put my out of my comfort zone. This
was a personal challenge for me since I am so shy and not very outspoken, but I realized
after completing my mentor hours what a big help these real world experiences were.
6. Do you feel prepared academically and emotionally for the presentation? If not,
why? I feel academically prepared for the presentation because I have done many
projects in class and have experience in creating a quality presentation. Although my
final project will be academically prepared, I am not emotionally prepared for the
presentation. My biggest fear is public speaking and a grade this important is very
intimidating. It is very stressful to think about how I will do on a presentation this long
since even the smallest presentation or public speaking experience is nerve-racking to
me. Although the final presentation is intimidating, I feel better about it after completing
the product; getting some public speaking practice helps some.
7. What challenges do you still face to feel prepared? The only challenge I still face to
feel prepared is the presentation. I am extremely anxious for the public speaking part of
the project. In the past I have only read straight from a slide during a presentation and
fear I will end up doing that on the Pride Presentation. All I have left to do is finish my
presentation slides and practice what I am going to say for my presentation.
8. How did the entire process stretch you as a learner and as an individual? The
process of completing this project stretched me as a learner and an individual by putting
me out of my comfort zone and challenging me academically. I have learned a lot since
junior year with the Pride Paper, which improved my research and writing skills.
Completing my mentor hours gave me a lot of insight into a career similar to Art
Therapy. I experienced a typical day as a Childrens Counselor in a real workplace
environment; I was put out of my comfort zone, into the unfamiliar adult workplace.
9. Other than time management, describe an obstacle you encountered and how you
overcame it. I encountered many different challenges throughout this project, mainly my
fear of public speaking. My extreme anxiety of public speaking was a huge obstacle to
overcome during the process of this project because I had to do a lot of social interaction
and public speaking. Meeting with my mentor was a little nerve-racking but I overcame it
when I completed my mentor hours. Going to the Lower School and presenting to the art
class was a challenge I overcame. I was very nervous to speak in front of the children but
I prepared for it and overcame the challenge. Preparing the lesson plan for my Pride
Product was also a challenge since I had never done that before. My mentor and Mrs.
Clegg both helped me a lot with that. Also, writing the Pride Paper was an obstacle I
tackled because writing a ten page paper on a very small field was difficult. To fill the
length requirement for my paper I had to expand my topic to include different subgroups
of therapy and psychology. I enjoyed researching more than just Art Therapy and
learning about the different fields related to psychology.
10. What life skills did you acquire and how will they help you in the future? I learned
skills for writing a research paper that will help me succeed in college. I got a lot of
practice with social interaction and public speaking. Throughout this project I have
learned leadership skills and presentation skills. I also learned good time management
skills and organization skills; waiting until the last minute to do any part of it is
irresponsible, so completing this project really taught me the importance of time
management and being organized. Stress management was a huge part of this project. I
get stressed out very easily, especially over public speaking, so I had to learn to deal with
the vast amounts of stress put on me from this big project. Due to many obstacles and
challenges I have learned conflict resolution and problem solving skills as well.
11. If you had to go back and do parts of the project again, what would you do
differently? If I had to go back, I would choose a career that I could easily find and
shadow a mentor in. Finding my mentor this year was very difficult, since the field is
 relatively new, and due to the HIPAA laws I could not take pictures or disclose personal
information about the client. After narrowing down careers that I could easily find a
mentor, I would think about what my interests are and the requirements to go into that
career. If I could change anything about my product, I would go back and tell the class to
be silent while working on their art so they could really think about what they were
painting and why. Other than those two things, I would not change anything else about
my project.
12. Based on the entire Pride Project experience, do you plan to pursue this field as a
career or college area of study? If so, why? If not, why? Please be specific. I am not
sure what I want to do for my career, but I definitely want to study both psychology and
art in college. Studying both of these will help me determine what I want to do and keep
my options open. After researching Art Therapy, I thought it was very interesting and I
loved the idea of being able to use my skill to help others. Although it was discouraging
not to find an Art Therapist as a mentor, I enjoyed shadowing Kellye Slaggert and in
doing so I realized I would like to work with kids when I am older and look into
Counseling as well. I did not get to experience actual art therapy but I remain optimistic
about the job.