Hello from Graduate Intern Maddy!

Hello! I’m Maddy, a Master of Social work student in her final semester at The University of North Carolina Wilmington. Growing up, my family and I moved quite often. While this comes with its own set of challenges, I was able to see experience diversities within cultures and socioeconomic status. Because of moving around, I was introduced to the beautiful horse world. As many of us know, horses are naturally healing animals. However, they also tend to test and challenge us. My first horse, a half Arabian named Queen, challenged my horsemanship as a whole. Without Queen, I would not have understood the power of connection and partnership. As I moved up the levels and was looking for something more advanced, I came across Missy, an off the track thoroughbred. There was one picture of her posted on the Facebook ad and her scrawny, under muscled self was priced at a measly $500. I spent years working with this horse, nursing her back to health and building muscle in hopes to create an upper level event horse. However, Missy and I’s journey ended too soon after she was diagnosed with career- ending kissing spine. Because of this horse, I became a stronger, more patient human. The point of my rambling is to accentuate  how impactful horses are to personal growth. Missy was a huge part in my decision to incorporate animals into therapy. 

In the midst of my Bachelors of Social Work degree came Brandy, an English Setter I immediately trained to be a therapy dog. Brandy loves the finer things in life: cuddles and behind the ear scratches. Brandy spent some time volunteering at the Veterans Affairs in Fayetteville and Timbernook of the Sandhills. Between training Brandy and earning my degree, I spent  some time working at an outdoor enrichment program called Timbernook. Timbernook is a kid-lead preschool which encourages outdoor play, confidence building, and independence. Through this program I found my passion of working with kids of all ages. During my undergraduate degree, I found myself working at an Equine Assisted Psychotherapy barn, where I saw the true magic of incorporating horses into therapy. Sprinkled throughout my undergrad was short term jobs working as an admin and interning in private practice. The bulk of my masters degree included an internship at the Wilmington Health Access for Teens where I learned about mental health needs within the Wilmington community. 

Now, as I am approaching graduation, I am excited to have the opportunity to learn from Becca as she shares her knowledge about horsemanship, natural lifemanship, and being a great mental health provider. I am looking forward to taking on clients this spring and helping to educate others on mental health services in the area!

With excitement,

Maddy