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Thank you for visiting my digital portfolio! It is wonderful to have you here. My name is Danielle Symes, a graduate student at Chapman University, pursuing an M.A. in School Counseling from the Donna Ford Attallah College of Educational Studies! To tell you a little about myself, I am a first generation college graduate with a B.A. in Psychology from University of California, Irvine. I am also an immigrant, transplanted here from my beautiful home country of South Africa. I am a self-proclaimed hip-hop head, literature lover, word-play enthusiast, social-justice sister ally, NBA fanatic, culture seeker and sagacious and ever-curious student-of-the-world who lives by the principles of Ubuntu* and vehemently believes in the power of community.
As a school counselor, I will work to ensure students of all races, ethnicities, socioeconomic statuses, abilities, genders, and sexual orientation. I aim to prioritize meeting students where they are, and recognizing and valuing their unique perspectives and experiences. I will practice cultural humility, empathy, knowledge, and my position with the education institution to insist on and advocate for educational equity, access to resources and opportunity, and change in what has been the maintained status quo of society. I am passionate about students and their unyielding potential, so I approach my interactions and relationships with them by showing empathy and cultural humility, and highlighting their strengths and differences to help build self-esteem, confidence in ability, and the idea that they can achieve whatever it is they set out to do in this world. The youth are our future - let's make sure their development is healthy, their resources are vast, their dreams and goals are achievable, and their cups are always full. *Ubuntu [ùbúntú]: "I am because we are" - Ubuntu is a Zulu philosophy that embodies the virtues that maintain harmony and the spirit of sharing among the members of a society. The word ubuntu can be roughly translated as "humanity towards others," and "the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity." |