Q: Hi! Thanks for doing this. Could you talk a little bit about your time as an undergraduate at Alma College?

A: Thanks for asking me to do it! My name is Halley King and I graduated from Alma College in 2015 with a double major in environmental science and biology. To be honest, my first year at college was tough. I was not prepared for the huge differences between high school and college. My faculty advisor, Dr. John Rowe invested time, guidance, and confidence in me. His investment gave me what I needed to get my feet under myself so I could succeed in college. I did! I adored environmental science classes with Dr. Murray Borrello. I still carry the lessons from my microbiology course with Dr. Tim Keeton with me to this day. I joined Dr. Brian Doyle’s Spring Term to Payamino, Ecuador. That experience impacted me so deeply I returned with him again two additional times and continued to work on the community Medicinal Plant Field Guide post-graduation.

Q: Can you talk about taking part in the new Clinical Mental Health Counseling program? I imagine it’s going to be quite a bit different than your undergrad days!

A: I imagine it will be! The fact that the Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree program is 90-percent online is a big draw for me to enter it. I would love to jump back into education like I did in my early 20s, but it’s just not feasible anymore. So, I’m planning to be listening to lectures while my daughter is in dance class and after she falls asleep. I like to imagine the two of us sitting that the table together doing our schoolwork side-by-side, together.

Q: I understand you’ve had some great conversations with the director of the program, Dr. Julie Robinson. What are your impressions of her?

A: Dr. Robinson is the deciding factor for me. While setting up our first meeting together, I told her, “I can meet with you during this time of day, but my daughter will be there. Is that OK with you?” She said, “I would love to meet your daughter!” It’s not the kind of thing that mothers are used to hearing.

Aside from that, Dr. Robinson is considered an expert in play therapy in children. Listening to her talk about it had me enamored. I felt safe sharing my concerns about balancing priorities and each concern we addressed together. It seems that she is giving me a version of what Dr. John Rowe gave me during my undergraduate experience. Dr. Robinson has also invested time, guidance, and confidence in me. Again, it is making me know I can succeed in this Master of Arts program. It was very inspiring. I’m looking forward to learning from her.

Learn more about the Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree program at alma.edu.