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Mahlet Endale has lived on 3 continents
in her 25 years. She was born in Africa, moved to Europe,
and finally landed in North America, so she has an interesting
perspective as someone who provides mental health care to
refugees and other displaced people. In the past year and
a half, she has been to Australia
and Sri Lanka, where she provided care for tsunami victims.
She says these experiences have given her an appreciation
for the different ways people choose to live life and a
sense of freedom to choose what she wants her life to be
like. These experiences have formed the beliefs that she
uses in her life and her work.
Expected graduation: Summer 2007
Degree Objective: Ph.D. in Counseling
Psychology
Other degrees:
M.Ed., Guidance and Counseling, University of Georgia, 2003;
B.S.,
Psychology, University of Georgia, 2001.
University highlights, achievements and awards:
Dean’s List Fall 2001; Dean’s
List Spring 2000; Alpha Kappa Psi Scholarship, Fall 1999;
Hope Scholarship, 1997-1998 and 2000-2001.
Current employment:
For the past year and a half I have
had an assistantship with Deryl Bailey's Empowered Youth
Programs. This is an enrichment program for underrepresented
elementary to high school students in the Clarke and surrounding
counties. My responsibilities include developing a curriculum
and co-teaching character education to middle and high school
minority students, administering educational and adjustment
assessments to gauge student progress and program efficacy,
developing scoring instruments, serving as the office manager
who serves as a liaison between program director and program
staff/volunteers, maintaining contact with teachers and school
counselors at one school to gauge progress of program participants
from that school, gathering literature and information to
be used in writing research papers, and aiding in writing
research papers based on collected program data.
High School: Meadowcreek High School
Hometown: currently Athens, Georgia
Family ties:
My father works as an agricultural engineer for the
USDA at a research station in Watkinsville. My mother works
as an office manager in the African Studies department.
My sister just graduated from UGA with a bachelor's degree
in psychology. She will be doing a master's at the University of North Carolina
at Charlotte in Industrial/Organizational Psychology next fall.
I chose to attend UGA because...
...the
program I am in is really good. It is ranked fifth in the
nation and has internationally known faculty. I knew that
I would receive excellent training here. Also, because I
got my master's degree in the department, I already knew
the ins and outs and I needed less time to adjust. This
has allowed me the opportunity to do things like take a
recent trip to Sri Lanka to help provide tsunami relief.
I am also blessed to have my immediate family living nearby,
and after my experience in Sri Lanka, I realized how important
that is to me.
My favorite things to do on campus are...
...to go to the Ramsey Center. I don't get as much time there
as I'd like, but I make it there as often as possible.
In the past, I've taken advantage of the weight room, the
climbing wall (my favorite activity to date), a belly dancing
class, and a yoga class.
I also love the little pond near the life sciences building.
When I need a time out, I walk there from Aderhold and sit
with the turtles and fish. I especially like the catfish
that "sleeps" on its back.
My final love (or perhaps addiction) is the Jittery
Joe's at the SLC. I have to fight to stay
away from the white chocolate mocha.
When I have free time,
I like...
...to share stories over dinner and
wine with my friends, to go dancing with friends in Atlanta, and
to indulge in my Sunday routine of going to my parents'
house after church for a lunch with the family.
The craziest thing
I've done is...
...go to
Sri Lanka to help provide tsunami relief. Because my special
interest is in international psychology, I had been doing
some group counseling with diverse refugees in Atlanta,
so after the tsunami hit in South Asia, I really felt an
urge to do something. I filled out an application circulated
by the American Psychological Association and sent it in.
I did not have trauma experience nor am I licensed yet, but
I got accepted. I had not even checked with my professors
before I applied, but they gave me their blessings.
Within a month I found myself sitting on a plane thinking, "What
am I doing?" Once I landed and the
work began though, the fear melted and I began to connect
with all those around me. It felt like I was able to
give the people a momentary refuge after all the chaos
that continues even today. I will never forget the
adults' tears of sorrow nor the beautiful smiling faces of "my" children. This
opportunity was truly a blessing to me. It
was a reminder to spend time and energy on the important
people in my life since they are never guaranteed to be around. In
the end, I had a remarkable life-altering experience, and
I had an opportunity to do some good along the way.
My favorite place to study is...
...at home alone. There, I have
everything I need like comfortable clothes, snacks,
my hot tea, my TV when I need a break, etc. Also, with my
schedule I spend so little time at home (I work
12+ hours most days) that it is nice when I don't have to
leave for once.
If I could share an afternoon with anyone, I would love to
share it with...
...my maternal grandparents. Both of them
currently live in a rather remote area of Ethiopia. My grandfather
is 93 years old, and his health is beginning to fail.
My grandmother is in her 80's and battling cancer. Because
I have lived abroad since I was four years old, I have not
had the opportunity to spend much quality time with them.
I would like to hold my grandfather's hand and
feed him his lunch. I would share my life with my grandmother
and ask if she has any words of wisdom for me.
If money was not a consideration, I would love to...
...own a
coffee shop. In my last year and a half of high school, I
worked in a coffee shop in Little Five Points in Atlanta.
This is an eclectic part of town with very diverse people,
and I loved getting to know about their different lives.
After graduation, I plan to...
...continue my work with international and refugee mental
health. I found the work I did with the refugee relocation
center in Atlanta and the groups I ran in Sri Lanka to
be incredibly fulfilling and meaningful.
The one UGA experience I will always remember will be...
...working in the Aderhold counseling center, where I do
my clinical work, talking and joking with the other clinicians.
We spend so much time together that we really get to know
one another and grow comfortable with each other during
all the late nights. These are a great group of people that
understand what my day-to-day life is like, and once it starts
getting later we all get a little delirious and silly,
especially when we are stressed out.
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