I would like to thank the academy...

I have had the privledge and honor of being one of the counseling interns at Eastside Academy this last school year. My job there was to meet one on one with roughly 10 students every week for counseling. It also included, teaching classes, running a group, and simply being present with these students. I have been so blessed by the experience. I have been encouraged, challenged, and loved by both the staff and the school. I was given the place to be me as a counselor - to explore my styles of practice, and to build authentic relationships with incredible people.

And in all of this I got to see the power of relationships. The power of a listening ear and what a caring/non-judgemental spirit can do in people's lives. I got to see the power of the Gospel. The redeeming power of loving, serving, forgiving, and being with others just as Christ has been with me and the world. I got to see students press on in a journey to becoming clean and sober. Celebrating someone having achieved two weeks of sobriety and others having reached over a year! Experiencing people press forward and accomplishing the goals that they set out to do - finishing school, getting a job, staying away from negative influences, and much more. Seeing people move to a place where they can recognize there strengths and weaknesses and not live into the negative labels that have been put on them. And today I saw 7 of these students graduate from High School. I can't even come close to sharing the emotional rollercoaster it was to see! I love these kids, I am so proud of them, and I am so excited to see where they will go from here!

So with all of that said I would like to personally thank everyone at the academy [Eastside Academy] and its graduating class of 2005 for the many blessings that you have given me! I count it a complete honor to have gotten to know you, learn with you, and most of all to journey with you in all that was an incredible school year! Thank you for providing a place in which authentic living can occur and the redeeming power of the Gospel is felt! May God bless you and keep you and may His face shine upon you and give you all peace!