learning about others, herself

Melissa Fulton is a first-year graduate student from Carthage, Mississippi. She earned a B.S. in psychology at Mississippi College.

I have one older sister and several foster siblings. My parents started keeping foster children when I was 16, and I have lost count of how many siblings I technically have!

I have a graduate assistantship in the ULM Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic. I am also a member of Delta Kappa, the marriage and family therapy honor society.

I chose ULM because it has great people and great programs. I feel like I have learned more in the past year than I have in all of my other years of school. I have been so blessed to have such brilliant and supportive teachers in my programs, wonderful students to learn with, and such amazing opportunities to learn about marriage and family therapy.

My professional goal is to work with children—especially those who have been abused. In my time with my foster siblings, I saw how much abuse affects children's lives, and I decided that I wanted to do something to help them. I am really interested in learning more about play therapy and possibly earning a doctorate in marriage and family therapy.

My favorite spot on campus is the bayou behind the marriage and family therapy house. I especially love that our classrooms and offices have huge windows that face the bayou! It is really refreshing to be able to stop working so hard and be able to take a break with a beautiful view.

Dr. Sutton is one of my favorite professors at ULM—she is so inspiring. Even though she has so many responsibilities, she still seems to complete all of her tasks beyond the required level. She inspires me to do my best at everything I do. Ryan Stivers is another one of my favorite professors at ULM. In his class, students are always having fun and learning at the same time. Also, he is very supportive of his students and gives great advice, despite his busy schedule. If you have a class on a Friday, he is definitely the professor to have.

My whole experience in the MFT program has been wonderful. I have learned so much here, and I have met so many exceptional people. I know that I will look back one day and consider my entire time at ULM a favorite memory in my life.

ULM's MFT program has not only taught me about therapy and working with people, but it has taught me about myself. When you are studying people, you not only learn about others, you learn about yourself. Having the opportunity to fully learn who you are is one of life's greatest lessons.