Episode 6: A Grad Student’s Perspective

Our guest is Dr. Kimberly Scales.  "Dr. Kim" is a LPC-S, Master Addiction Counselor (MAC), and LCDC.  She is also the past-president of the Fort Worth TAAP chapter and chair of the TAAP state Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee.  Her area of expertise is practicum supervision and she provides her insight on proper selection of Clinical Training Institutes (CTIs).   For specific questions, Dr. Kimberly Scales can be reached at [email protected] 

We welcome one of our most decorated guests, Paula Heller-Garland, to discuss how to transition from an Addiction Studies bachelor degree to a counseling graduate degree. Paula is a former state-wide president of the TAAP Board of Directors and is currently Senior Lecturer and Program coordinator of Addiction Studies at the University of North Texas. She can be reached at [email protected]

Guest: Amencio “Alex” Almanza, veteran and student TAAP member talks about his experience submitting a presentation proposal and presenting at the Taap state conference. Listen to the episode and submit your own proposal to this year's conference https://www.taapstateconference.org/call-of-presenters

Our guest is Stephanie Ayala, a current Addiction Studies student at UTRGV and previous winner of the TAAP Pena Scholarship. Stephanie shares how TAAP has impacted her education and her recovery. Check it out!

Our guest, Jessica, is a former counseling graduate student who joined TAAP as an undergraduate and maintained her membership throughout graduate school. She talks her interest in addiction counseling, benefits of student TAAP membership, and presenting at the TAAP conference (twice!)

Our guest, Roy Perez VP of the San Antonio chapter and recent graduate,discusses his experience joining TAAP as a student. Roy is actively involved in TAAP and can make himself available for any students’ questions at [email protected]

Our guest is Dr. Ed Bergen, current chair of the Texas Certification Board and faculty with San Antonio College. We discuss differences between license and certification as well as the process on how to obtain both. For more information on certification check out www.tcbap.org or contact [email protected]

We were honored to have Sherri Layton, current TAAP President, join us to discuss her vision for student involvement and early career professionals in TAAP. She provides a summary of how TAAP works on the behalf of students to provide scholarships, recognition, and advocates for loan forgiveness for addiction counselors. TAAP’s website will eventually be a vast informational hub for all students and CIs on their road to licensure. The list of TAAP local chapters can be found here https://www.taap.org/page/local-chapters and information about how to get a student membership via NAADAC https://www.naadac.org/join-or-renew

Guest: TAAP Legislative Committee Chair Laurie Roe [email protected] joins us to share upcoming advocacy events and the essential function of advocacy in the addiction profession. To register for the upcoming virtual Hill Day advocacy event visit https://www.naadac.org/hill-day and to receive updates on advocacy events in Texas supported by TAAP visit https://www.taap.org/page/legislation-advocacy

Guest :  Joseph Gorordo, TAAP 2019 Addiction Professional of the Year and co-chair of the TAAP Membership committee.  This is a conversation about the benefits of joining the Texas Association of Addiction Professionals, hosted by Eluterio “Jr” Blanco and fellow member Joseph Gorordo. Joseph is currently with Recovery Unplugged in central Texas can be reached at [email protected] Membership to TAAP is available to all addiction professionals, students, and interns across the state and all are encouraged to visit www.TAAP.org for more information.