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A Commitment to Community

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College of Social and Behavioral Sciences graduate student Jennifer Owens works full-time as a certified alcohol and drug counselor. She and her husband are raising four children. As an intern, she played a crucial role in organizing an educational event on domestic violence. And she is a noteworthy scholar, winning a competitive fellowship.

“Jen’s accomplishments reflect her commitment to personal excellence and her dedication to helping others to lead successful lives,” says Dr. Elizabeth “Lisa” Adair, chair of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program.

In May, Owens will receive her master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Wilmington University. She completed an internship at Gateway Wellness, a community-based mental health program in Bridgeton, New Jersey, which operates programs for underserved people. For Gateway’s domestic violence awareness event on Oct. 30, Owens organized a panel, poetry presentations, vendor demonstrations, a healing circle, and a keynote address by a domestic violence survivor who is now a prosperous, happily married businesswoman.

She is one of 20 students out of more than 500 applicants nationwide to win a $10,000 scholarship from the National Board of Certified Counselors. “Through my fellowship, I am meeting other people who also are committed to serving minorities and underserved communities,” she says.

Her goal is to develop programs to help adolescents in urban communities with counseling and other benefits, including opportunities to participate in the arts and extracurricular activities. “All those activities would be paid for, as well as transportation, if needed,” Owens says. “My dream is to remove every barrier these young people face so they can receive the services they need.”

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