Two Northwest Christian University Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate students have won scholarships from the NBCC Foundation, an affiliate of the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), that will provide additional opportunities for them to learn how best to counsel underserved minority youth in transition, ages 16 to 25.
NCU student Shirah D. Canaga, of Myrtle Point, Oregon, was selected for the NBCC Minority Fellowship Program-Addictions Counselors (MFP-AC). As an NBCC MFP-AC Fellow, she is one of 33 other master’s-level addictions counseling students selected to receive the fellowship and up to $11,000 in scholarship.
Upon graduation, Canaga intends to work with transition-age youth who experience trauma, crisis, addiction, and career loss by using her academic coursework and counseling experience to provide consistent crisis intervention, substance use prevention, career counseling, grief counseling, and strength-based interventions. She plans to practice as a counselor in Oregon to provide a person-centered approach in helping individuals make their own choices to move toward a healthy lifestyle by implementing evidence-based practices.
“The scholarship will provide additional educational opportunities, including advocating for the counseling profession,” said Canaga, a University of Oregon graduate. “I will learn techniques to better serve underserved populations and individuals who experience addiction.”
NCU student Diana Glasser, Eugene, Oregon, was selected for the NBCC Minority Fellowship Program-Youth (MFP-Y). She is one of 29 other master’s degree students to receive an $8,000 scholarship from the foundation. After graduation, she plans to work with marginalized transition-age minority youth, specifically those struggling with culture shock and identity crisis as well as with young adults experiencing early symptoms of mental illness to assist them in receiving a culturally informed diagnosis and treatment.
“Earning this fellowship allows me the opportunity to attend counseling conferences and further my professional identity as a counselor, engage in research, study evidence-based practices, and provide assistance to marginalized populations,” Glasser said.
She is a graduate of Gutenberg College in Eugene, Oregon, and of Hawthorn University in Whitehorn, California.
“We are very pleased for Shirah and Diana to receive these impressive awards for their excellent work in the classroom and out,” said Elizabeth Wosley-George, Ph.D., LPC (OR)., PCC-SUPV (OH), NCU Professor and Director, Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program. “They are strong examples of the dedicated students and professionals who seek their clinical mental health counseling master’s degree at NCU.”
The National Board Certified Counselors Foundation provides programs and awards scholarships to individuals pursuing careers as professional counselors who are affiliated with high-priority populations and commit to serving them after graduation. Capacity-building grants fund expansion efforts to increase mental health resources in rural and minority communities where access to mental health care is extremely limited. Scholars and Fellows participate in innovation training to expand effective practice in their communities.
Learn more about the NBCC MFP and its fellows from their website.