Posted by Marisa Flores on Tuesday, September 13, 2016 in Current Students.

Dawn is a second year CDA student. She will complete her CDA coursework in December 2016. We asked Dawn a few questions to get to know more about her passions, her work and her plans for the future. Thank you, Dawn, for sharing your story with us!

Q. Where are you from?
A. I’m a west coast girl! I was born in southern California, and spent my early teen years in Astoria Oregon, but spent over 75% of my life in the Biggest Little City in the World, Reno, Nevada!

Q. What did you do before CDA?
A. I worked in two primary areas: environmental justice and grief and loss.
I was very involved in raising awareness about hydraulic fracturing through a group I founded called Frack Free Nevada. We were involved in the political process through the Nevada Legislature, held protests and rallies at the Bureau of Land Management and the state capital, held film screenings, and lead a three day event series which featured a Native American water ceremony, professor lectures, and Q&A sessions. One outcome I am proud of is that we were instrumental in securing new regulations for the fracking activities in Nevada.
My work in grief and loss entailed working as a Bereavement Coordinator with Circle of Life Hospice. Being present with patients and families when they are going through the dying process is difficult, but also a privilege. My role involved facilitating grief workshops and walking along side loved ones and families as they journeyed through loss. A saying we have in hospice sums up my view of this work: We help people unpack for the journey—unpack fear, pain, and regret.

Q. Why did you choose CDA?
A. The main component of the CDA curriculum that caught my eye was Being a Change Agent. Truly, that is the main reason I chose CDA. I was eager to be engaged with others who strive to be change agents in the world.

Q. What are your major interests?
A. Environmental justice issues are a top priority for me. And, often, these parallel Native American oppression and exploitation such as the current movement to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. This began as a call to action for protecting water, but has emerged as the largest mass gathering of tribes since Little Big Horn. To date, tribal leaders from Peru, Ecuador, Hawaii, Canada, and all over the United States have gathered together. The seven fires have gathered and are standing up to protect our sacred water.
I am also passionate about program development and recently designed a grief and loss program. I hope to merge my passions of environmental stewardship, social justice, and grief and loss into retreats and monthly workshops raising awareness and providing tools to help people be better stewards of themselves, the planet, and each other.

Q. Where did you do your practicum?
A. My practicum involved designing an online train-the-trainer program for a community intervention project through the Pediatric Clinical and Translational Research Division of General Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Q. What has been your favorite class & why?
A. My favorite class was ProSem! I loved that it got me involved in the community and was focused on us being change agents!

Q. What do you want to do post-graduation?
A. I have been accepted into the Vanderbilt Divinity School and will be pursuing a Master of Divinity. My goal is to become a Catholic Chaplin and integrate my Master of Education with my Master of Divinity in order to counsel and develop curriculum for retreats and workshops in the areas of personal, social, and environmental stewardship.

Q. What are you involved in on campus? Off campus?
A. I recently joined PGSA as a Representative At Large and in October I begin serving as a Cheatham County representative with the Transit Citizen Leadership Academy where we will engage in leadership training to lead conversations about transit solutions in Middle Tennessee.
I’ve also been active in developing collaborations with environmental and social justice student groups on campus, which led to becoming involved with a group called Stand Up for Racial Justice. We are in the planning stages of a hosting a film screening/fundraising event to support the Standing Rock/Sacred Stone Camp.

Q. What do you do for fun?
A. I love my garden and spend most of my free time there. Right now I have sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley, peppers, mint, strawberries, and more! Besides that, I herd cats! We recently took in a kitty that ended up having six kittens so we now have 8 cats. They are actually really awesome and I’m thinking of getting them certified to be therapy kitties for grief and loss work!