Summer Externship 24 Memory Book

kinder 1-A

Summer Externship Program

Letter from Executive Director Lisa Albert In 2020, The Network of Behavioral Health Providers (NBHP) developed the Behavioral Health Workforce, Recruitment, Education, and Development Initiative (WREDI) as a collective response to the dire behavioral health workforce shortage in the greater Houston area. WREDI aims to increase the number of mental health and substance use providers that are representative of Houston's diverse cultural and linguistic landscape by providing educational presentations to local high school and college classes, offering experiential 4 week externships, and providing scholarships to college students pursuing behavioral health degrees.

WREDI's 2024 Externs spent 4 weeks (20 hours per week) at one or two behavioral health sites and had the opportunity to experience what working within the behavioral health field is like.

From shadowing different professionals, engaging in clinical team meetings, organizing and distributing basic needs items, assisting with intake paperwork, to participating in the organization's strategic planning and attending meetings with the organizations Board of Directors; each day and each placement provided an abundance of experiences, opportunities, insights, and professional connections to help guide each student. WREDI also provided additional training, tours, and professional development opportunities including small group discussions with varying levels of professionals from Peer Support, CHWs, Clinicians, and Nurses to Psychiatrists and CEOs. As I reflect on this past Externship season, I can’t help but feel an enormous sense of excitement and hope not only in the future of our behavioral health workforce, but in the future of these bright and focused individuals who had the courage to embark on this journey.

To our Externs, Thank you for your commitment, dedication, professionalism, and enthusiasm.

You went out of your comfort zones, managed real-life circumstances and obstacles, including a hurricane and the disastrous aftermath, all while maintaining focus, grace, and commitment to serve others.

To our Host Sites, This program could not be possible without your time, work, dedication, and commitment to the program. You provided some of the most incredible experiences and opportunities for your Externs that will surely not be forgotten.

I also want to thank NBHP’s WREDI Program Manager, Chelsey Gutiérrez, whose work, dedication, vision, enthusiasm and creativity has been instrumental in the success and continued development of this program.

Thank you to Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia for providing buses for our field trips

Extern Marisabel, live on the radio, with her site supervisor, Gussie Fuller from NAMI Greater Houston

20 behavioral health extern host sites 6 field trips: Healthcare for the Homeless-Houston West Oaks Hospital The Menninger Clinic Alexander JFS The Women's Home The Montrose Center

30 student externs from 20 different schools in 9 school districts 20 bilingual/multilingual students who speak: Spanish, Chinese, French, Urdu, Mandarin, Gujarati, Marathi, and Hindi

The summer of a lifetime!

People may forget what you did, they may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel —Maya Angelou

Externs Marissa and Gabriel delivering a presentation to the Family Houston leadership team

Thank you to our generous supporters:

Store C514

Session 1

Externship Orientation

With Shelina Lee and Kathryn Rogers at Healthcare for the Homeless Houston

Aaliyah Horn will be entering her senior year at Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy in August. A native Houstonian, Aaliyah enjoys art, drawing, reading, playing music and writing. Her favorite WREDI highlight? Getting to know all of the people at The Tejano Center and working alongside them. She thoroughly enjoyed learning about different aspects of behavioral health. When she pictures her future, Aaliyah sees herself as an Art Therapist because it ties her passion for art with behavioral health.

Favorite Quote: “Learn to embrace, not just tolerate” - Author Unknown

Aaliyah Horn

Cecilia Castaneda-Sanchez

Cecilia Castaneda-Sanchez is a rising senior at Pearland High School where she competes for their HOSA Club and advanced to Nationals this summer for the Behavioral Health competition. Cecilia completed AP Psychology as a sophomore and received a 5 on her exam. She was born in Houston and raised in Pearland. In her spare time, she is a full-time volunteer with D&A Animal Rescue. Cecilia spent her summer at Career and Recovery Resources and her favorite part was the opportunity to independently practice valuable skills in a workplace setting whilst interacting with people in need of support. Cecilia enjoyed learning about the diversity of people in Houston who need aid in addiction recovery, job search, or home search. One day, Cecilia hopes to become a Psychiatrist because she’s interested in learning more about he causes and effects of mental illnesses.

Favorite Quote: “Don’t wait for miracles. Your whole life is a miracle” - Albert Einstein

Christine Marinho is a graduate of Jordan High School and will be attending Texas A&M University to study psychology. A Houston native, Christine enjoys graphic design, soccer, and crochet. Christine was our first extern to be placed at Houston reVision and assisted with their summer programming. Visiting all of the different behavioral health organizations on field trips was Christine’s favorite aspect of the WREDI Program. She enjoyed learning about the various paths available in the behavioral health field. In the future, she hopes to enter a career in law or policy because she enjoys advocacy and administrative work.

Favorite Quote: “Everyone has a gift to share with the world” - Author Unknown

Christine Marinho

Gabriel Herdocia

Gabriel Herdocia wrapped up his junior year at Memorial High School and is entering his last year in August. Born in Paris, France, Gabriel moved throughout his childhood including Brazil, London, and Texas. He enjoys drawing, art, debate, and taekwondo in his free time. His favorite part of the externship experience was meeting all of the wonderful people he worked with at Family Houston and through WREDI and connecting with them personally and professionally. He enjoyed learning about the ins and outs of social work and how people use it in their various lines of work and how they got there in the first place. One day, Gabriel hopes to become a Social Worker because of it’s versatility. He will be able to use it in any field he plans to go into (law, marketing, etc.) and also use it to help give back to the community.

Favorite Quote: “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to so do with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style” - Maya Angelou

Giselle Wittenberg is a recent graduate of Dobie High School in Pasadena.

She will be entering her freshmen year at University of Houston to study Biochemistry. She was born and raised in Houston and enjoys reading, creative writing, drawing, and cooking. Giselle was placed at UTHealth Dunn Behavioral Health Sciences campus. Her WREDI externship takeaway was meeting new peers and professionals in the field. She enjoyed learning about patient care and how to take care of her own mental health. Giselle sees herself as a Psychiatrist because she enjoys diagnostics and the clinical aspect of chemistry and medicine.

Giselle Wittenberg

Favorite Quote: “If you can’t say anything nice, come sit next to me.” - Alice Roosevelt Longworth

Iysatu Kargbo, affectionately known as Icy, just finished her junior year at George Ranch High School. She was born in Maryland and raised in Rosenberg, TX. The activities she enjoys most are reading and spending time with her friends. AccessHealth, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), hosted Iysatu during her time with the WREDI Program. Her favorite experience was a field trip to the Alexander Jewish Family Service and seeing how people with different abilities function and live independently. Iysatu enjoyed learning about behavioral health and all of the different topics providers can specialize in. One day, she hopes to become a psychiatrist because it delves into both medicine and psychology which are equally her favorite!

Iysatu Kargbo

Favorite Quote: “It can happen to you” - Iysatu Kargbo

Kody Chen graduated from Jordan High School and will be enrolling at The University of Texas at Tyler to pursue a major in Psychology. Kody was born in Opelousas, Louisiana before moving to the Greater Houston area. Kody’s hobbies include drawing, writing, reading, video editing and gaming. Kody spent his externship at The Montrose Center, a cultural hub for the LGBTQ+ Community. His favorite part was playing Ethics Jeopardy with his supervisor, Hawk. He loved getting into the details of specific issues and the reality of those who struggle with them. Kody’s dream career is to become a therapist.

Kody Chen

Favorite Quote: “Art is meant to comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comfortable.”

- Cesar A. Cruz

Madisyn Reddic completed her junior year at Texas Southern University and her major is Psychology. She was born and raised in Southwest Houston. When she isn’t studying, Madisyn enjoys watching television and reading books. Her best-loved WREDI experience was connecting with her coworkers at Career and Recovery Resources and learning all about substance use recovery. She gained knowledge on what it takes to be a counselor and how vital it is to have support and resources when helping others. Madisyn hopes to support her community in a leadership or administrative role.

Favorite Quote: “Be yourself and never be afraid to ask for help.” - Madisyn Reddic

Madisyn Reddic

Marissa Ortiz will be a Milby High School senior this fall and is a native Houstonian. In her free time, Marissa enjoys playing soccer, dancing and participating in community service activities. Marissa was placed at Family Houston and enjoyed getting to meet so many amazing people!

She loved getting hands on experience in the behavioral health field. In the future, she comes to become a Pediatric Psychiatrist because she loves the medical side of things and wants to work with children. She believes behavioral health is a rewarding career field.

Favorite Quote: “If you can dream it, you can do it” - Walt Disney

Marissa Ortiz

Minahil Junaid

Mindy Nguyen

Minahil Junaid is entering her senior year at Kempner High School. Born in Lahore, Pakistan and raised in Texas, she hopes to study Public Health when she goes to college. Minahil has quite a few pastimes she enjoys including painting, watching Formula One, making bracelets, reading, writing and going out for brunch. Minahil spent her externship at West Oaks Hospital where she learned about the inner workings of hospitals and community centers and how they fund and provide for their communities. Her WREDI highlights include meeting a variety of behavioral health professionals and hearing their stories, experiences and journeys and gaining the reassurance that your career is never set in stone. Minahil’s dream career is psychiatry because she enjoys patient interaction in a clinical setting and wants to be able to diagnose and prescribe medication to patients.

Favorite Quote: “Know what's important and what isn't. Have the wisdom to know the right thing to do, the integrity to do it, the character to stand up to those who don't, and the courage to stop those who won't.” - Mark Goulston Mindy Nguyen graduated from Tompkins High School and will be enrolling at The University of Texas at Austin to pursue a major in Biology. Mindy was born here in Houston, TX and raised in Katy. She enjoys swimming, rollerblading, reading, traveling, and watching her favorite television shows.

Her favorite part of the externship was exploring the cafeteria options UTHealth’s The Dunn Center campus (just kidding). In reality, she loved meeting all of the employees and witnessing the human side of a hospital.

She loved hearing the stories from the administrative staff. Mindy hopes to enter pediatric medicine, inspired by her younger brother, and she enjoys interacting and learning about the perspectives of children his age. She hopes to combine her behavioral health knowledge, especially from this externship, with her interest in medicine to enhance her ability to provide care for children.

Favorite Quote: “Remember, it’s all relative.” - my AP Physics 1 teacher after we receive our test grades A native Texan, Olivia Igwegbe will be entering her senior year at William B. Travis this fall. She is involved in quite a few extracurricular activities such as: JROTC, Drill Team, National Honor Society, and National Society of High School Scholars. Olivia’s highlight of the WREDI Program was being to meet new people and peers that are interested in the same career path. Olivia was placed at Catholic Charities: Archdiocese Of GalvestonHouston where she assisted in the food pantry. She enjoyed learning about mental health and the details of different types of disorders. Olivia hopes to become a future nurse because she loves to be hands-on with patients and experience new things.

Olivia Igwegbe

Favorite Quote: “Be yourself and don’t let others tear you down” -Author Unknown

Roxsana graduated from Channelview High School and will be attending The University of Texas at San Antonio to pursue a nursing degree. She was born and raised in Houston, TX and enjoys swimming, painting, and going on walks with her puppy, Luna. Her WREDI highlights include getting on hand-on experience, working with Ms. Natalie, and going on field trips. She learned so much at West Oaks Hospital including learning the difference between Partially Hospitalized Programs (PHP) and Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP), how outpatient programs work, and learning what patients go through and their reason for seeking help. Roxsana hopes to become a Psychiatric Nurse because they do so much and they help greatly. “I’ve always known I wanted to be in the medical field, but with this externship it steered me to the behavioral health field” said Roxsana.

Roxsana Duque

Favorite Quote: “Even a tiny glimmer of hope can grow into a blinding light and shine on the entire world.” - Author Unknown

Nosazena ”Zena” Ogbeide has recently finished her senior year at Jordan High School and in the fall will be entering the Psychology program at The University of Texas at San Antonio. Zena was born in Nigeria and was raised in Texas. Her hobbies include drawing and running. Katy Christian Ministries hosted Zena during her time with WREDI and she assisted with social services, the crisis center and the community food pantry. Her favorite part of the externship was the Educational and Professional Development sessions on Fridays where she learned about mental health, substance use, and how to reach out to friends who may be struggling. Zena yearns to be a counselor one day because she wants to help people.

Nosazena Ogbeide

Favorite Quote: “Be yourself, don’t let others change you” - Zena Ogbeide

There is no health without mental health

Session 2

Field Trip Day

With Kyle Leisher The Montrose Center

Abigail Araya

Alyssa Maldonado

Astrid Tillberg

Abigail Araya will be entering her senior year at Dulles High School. Born and raised in Houston, TX, Abigail enjoys volleyball, music, reading, and spending time with friends and family. HGI Counseling was Abigail’s host site. Her favorite part of the WREDI externship was seeing various parts of mental health care come to life. She said, “I got to experience how mental health is perceived among my friends, family, and mental health professionals. I loved getting to connect with different therapists and professionals in the behavioral health field!”. She particularly enjoyed learning about the stigmas in mental health that so many people subconsciously hold on to. One day, she hopes to enter the field of psychiatry because she enjoys working with people and understanding the human brain. She wants to better society using medicine and breaking the mental health stigma.

Favorite Quote: “Do everything in love” - 1 Corinthians 16:14

Alyssa Maldonado completed her junior year at Spring Woods High School and is excited to finally be a senior in August. She hopes to attend The University of Texas at Austin for Child Development. A native Houstonian, Alyssa enjoys debate, volleyball, reading, cooking, and drawing. Alyssa was placed at The Women’s Home at their Mabee WholeLife Service Center where she enjoyed learning about all types of issues in the mental health community including barriers that providers face such as lower pay and stigma. Her favorite part of the WREDI program was the Friday educational and professional development sessions, especially when she got to visit The Montrose Center. Alyssa is still deciding her future career, but hopes to be a Child Life Specialist or Pediatric Therapist because she wants to help children who have experiences similar to her own.

Favorite Quote: “Two brains are better than one” - Author Unknown

Astrid Tillberg is a rising senior at Jordan High School. Originally born in Raleigh, NC, Astrid enjoys reading, listening to music, watching movies/TV series, playing lacrosse, and spending time with family and friends. Astrid was placed Fort Bend Women’s Center and her favorite part was learning more about her host site and sitting in on sessions with clients. She enjoyed learning about the impact of substance use, domestic violence, and mental illness on people, and the ways that our community and programs try to help. Her dream job is to provide counseling because she wants to help people and she finds the mental health field interesting. She’s also discovered that she likes to listen to people.

Favorite Quote: “I had the epiphany that laughter was light, and light was laughter, and that was the secret to the universe.” - Donna Tartt

Audrey Zheng is entering her senior year at Kinder High School for the Visual and Performing Arts. She was born in Phoenix, AZ and raised in Houston, TX. Her hobbies include piano, watching Chinese variety shows, and playing with her dog. She spent her externship at Fort Bend Women’s Center and her favorite part was getting to walk about the Rio Bend Community and learning all about it. She enjoyed learning about different types of therapeutic approaches. Audrey is planning for a future career in Psychiatry because she’d like to explore and understand the most difficult and rarest cases and find ways to work with them.

Favorite Quote: “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” - Winston Churchill

Audrey Zheng

Elise Haskins graduated this spring from Hightower High School and will be attending Clark Atlanta University in the fall to study Psychology.

Elise was born in California and raised in Houston. When she’s not in school, she enjoys doing hair and watching crime shows. She also trains for Track and Field daily. Elise spent her summer at Open Door Mission and she enjoyed meeting other like-minded people who care about making a change around the mental health and substance use stigma. In particular, Elise learned ways that individuals can feed into gender stereotypes. Her dream career is to be a Psychiatric Nurse or become a Psychiatrist because she wants to be help individuals with mental health issues while working in the medical field.

Elise Haskins

Favorite Quote: “He who doesn’t love, doesn’t know God.” - 1 John 4:8

Haleema is a rising senior at Jordan High School in Katy. She was born in Illinois and raised in Texas. Her favorite pastimes include debate, reading, and watching movies. Haleema was placed at AccessHealth where she assisted in the clinic. Her favorite part of the WREDI program was the Friday educational and professional development sessions and learned about different branches of behavioral health. Haleema hopes to become a Psychiatrist one day because she’s passionate about helping people who struggle with mental health disorders.

Favorite Quote: “If you never try, you’ll never know”. - Author Unknown

Haleema Bawany

Marisabel Salcedo has completed her junior year at Stratford High School and hopes to attend the University of Houston after graduation. Marisabel was born in Venezuela before coming to Houston, TX. Her hobbies include Cologuard and exercising. Marisabel had the opportunity to split her time between two externship host sites: SEARCH Homeless Services and NAMI Greater Houston. Her favorite activity was shadowing the SEARCH outreach team. She enjoyed learning about the different types of help that there is for people. Her dream career is in industrialorganizational psychology because she wants to help the workers that help us.

Marisabel Salcedo

Marraine Lewis

Favorite Quote: “Free as the ocean.” - Jenny

Marraine Lewis is a rising senior at Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy. She calls Houston her hometown and in her free time she enjoys volunteering, field hockey, learning Korean, and spending time with friends.

Bread of Life, Inc. was lucky to have Marraine as their first WREDI extern.

Her favorite part of the experience was taking calls with the Community Care Team and she said she felt like she was really making a difference and hearing how grateful the callers were made her feel fulfilled. She enjoyed learning about the variety of career paths in behavioral health and all of the different ways that organizations try to help their clients. Marraine hopes to study Psychology and become a therapist because she loves helping people and she feels as though she has a gift for listening and connecting with others. She loves learning about why people do the things they do. Marraine said, “I also want to help people like me who have struggled with anxiety and depression.”

Favorite Quote: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” - Wayne Gretzky and my hockey coach

Munachi Duru

Munachi “Muna” Duru is an upcoming senior at George Ranch High School. Born in Sugar Land and raised in Houston and Richmond, TX, she enjoys volunteering, art, HOSA, Health Science, and watching movies and anime. Muna was placed at HGI Counseling where she worked on research projects and interviewed therapists. Her favorite part was attending the Friday professional development sessions where she got to socialize with other externs and go on field trips. She particularly enjoyed The JED Foundation’s presentation on How to Help a Friend to improve her communication skills with people going through a mental health struggle. One day, Muna hopes to be a psychiatrist because she loves medicine and wants to work with the human body while also treating behavioral health.

Favorite Quote: “People change at the same rate that they want to stay the same” - A therapist at HGI Counseling

Nat Head is an incoming senior at George Ranch High School. She’s always lived in the Greater Houston area and was born in Pasadena and raised in Richmond. Some hobbies she enjoys are volunteering at River Point Church and tech theater. Nat was placed at Fort Bend Women’s Center where she helped with a variety of tasks including assisting with a mocktail social hour with clients and back to school event. She enjoyed learning how many people work together in the behavioral health field.

She hasn’t landed on exactly which behavioral health career she’ll pursue, but Nat knows that she wants to help children.

Nat Head

Sabrina Warden

Favorite Quote: “When people say impossible, they usually mean improbably.” - Leigh Bardugo

Sabrina Warden finished her junior year at Stephen F. Austin High School and will be a senior. She was born and raised in Sugar Land, TX. Sabrina loves to try new things like skateboarding. Her host site was Mental Health America of Greater Houston and Sabrina was lucky enough to be supervised by former NBHP Executive Director, Andrea Usanga. Sabrina enjoyed learning about Advocacy from NBHP’s Programs and Policy Manager, Sydney, and attending a presentation by The JED Foundation because they were both really eye-opening. She really enjoyed her research projects at her site, attending the Lived Experience Panel, and meeting with her supervisor. Sabrina sees herself as a psychiatrist in the future because she was referred to one for her obsessive compulsive disorder and she thinks it’s important for clients to find someone they are comfortable with.

Favorite Quote: “Be kind. You never know what someone is going through”. - Author Unknown

Sarahi Vazquez was born and raised in Houston, TX and will be entering her senior year at Sharpstown High School. In her spare time, she enjoys journaling, gardening and crafts. Sarahi was placed at Catholic Charities: Archdiocese Of Galveston-Houston and assisted in the food pantry. Her favorite part of the externship was all of her coworkers that were supportive and kind during her time there. Helping others was the best experience for Sarahi because it showed her that everyone leads a different life and everyone needs help sometimes. Sarahi aspires to be a psychologist because talking to people and having “normal” one-on-one conversations help so much and is something she’s truly passionate about.

Sarahi Vazquez

Favorite Quote: “Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

- Ephesians 4:2-3

Shazia Mustapha will be starting her senior year at Dobie High School this fall and hopes to study Biology/Psychology when she enters college. She was born and raised in Houston and loves to read and listen to music. Shazia was placed at The Council on Recovery where she was able to connect with different people and learn about different areas of behavioral health. She enjoyed learning about what behavioral health entails and learning more about substance use disorder. She has her sights set on becoming a child psychiatrist one day because she loves working with children and will find it fulfilling if she can be the one to give them a voice.

Shazia Mustapha

Shreya Thakekar

Sumaiya Jeevan

Favorite Quote: “We accept the love we think we deserve” - Stephen Chbosky

Shreya Thakekar was a junior at Lamar High School and is entering her senior year. Originally born in Mumbai, India, she initially moved to Louisiana and is now in Houston. She enjoys swimming, reading, shopping and volunteering at elementary schools. Her host site was Career and Recovery Resources and she loved talking to and listening to providers on their experiences. It opened her eyes to healthcare that we don’t usually see. She loved the Lived Experience Panel, where two folks in long-term recovery from substance use disorder shared their stories, because it broke the stigma around what is usually seen. Shreya hopes to become a child psychologist or psychiatrist because mental health is something that many people do not take care of. She wants to help children for a brighter future.

Favorite Quote: “Rehabilitation centers are like gumbo, everyone has their own recipe” Phillip Vaughn, Open Door Mission

Sumaiya Jeevan is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin High School and is entering her freshman year at the University of Houston. Born in India and raised in Texas, she enjoys exercising, reading, hanging out with friends, going on walks and shopping. Sumaiya’s host site was West Oaks Hospital and spent her time learning about how medical records work and assisting with file organization. Her favorite part of the externship was the field trips on Fridays and she was able to learn about things she’s heard of, but was able to experience and view them firsthand. Sumaiya also enjoyed meeting new people with similar interests. Sumaiya hopes to enter the field of psychiatry because she’s really passionate about understanding the complexities of the human mind and wants to help people overcome their mental health challenges.

She believes that through this field she can make meaningful difference in individual lives.

Favorite Quote: “Half of your beauty comes from the way you speak” - Iman Ali (Peace be upon him)

Zuleyka Negreros is entering her final year at Spring Woods High School and is a native Texan. She enjoys art, tennis, photography and collecting Smiski/Sonny angels. Zuleyka was placed at The Parris Foundation and she loved all of the connections she made there. She enjoyed learning about how addiction differs from each person. One day, she hopes to be a psychiatrist because she can look into different mental illnesses and help based on an analysis, as well as create connections with boundaries.

Favorite Quote: “Work towards your goal no matter what obstacles may occur, because the end result will be so worth it.” - Zuleyka Negreros

Zuleyka Negreros

Both of our externs were great! Very reliable and a big help to their assigned departments.

-- Tracy Hosea Fort Bend Women’s Center

Our extern is a phenomenal young lady which such humility, grace, and will go to great places!

-- Ivy Nguyen NAMI Greater Houston

Our team at La Tiendita was very impressed with our extern and was a learning experience for us all.

-- Ramiro Fonesca The Tejano Center

It was amazing. I had an absolute blast and it will be an experience I cherish forever.

--Marissa Ortiz

The greatest lesson that I learned was that the littlest actions, can be a big step or help in someone else’s life. The WREDI Externship challenged myself to always be intentional because you don’t know what could happen.

-- Aaliyah Horn

This experience has expanded my worldview and introduced me to occupations I hadn’t considered before. I learned a lot, and I highly recommend this externship.

-- Mindy Nguyen

This experience was amazing. I got to connect with the clients and work hands on. I would recommend it.

-- Madisyn Reddic

My most meaningful WREDI moment was when a lady came up to me when I gave her kid food and she stared thanking me because she’s been struggling.

-- Iysatu Karbo

[The Externship] was a learning experience for things I didn’t know I could learn about. It opened my eyes to social work and the ins and outs of mental health non-profits.

-- Gabriel Herdocia I’ve gotten so many resources to look into, and so much information on how the industry works, to the point that I can envision the future and steps to take.

-- Kody Chen

One of my most meaningful moments was when I saw clients laughing and joking around at the mocktail communication class. It made me realize how important the tiny moments can be.

-- Nat Head

This externship was such a unique and amazing experience. Being able to step into a world of mental health was beyond anything I could’ve imagined!

-- Abigail Araya

This experience was incredible. I would say it is a raw and authentic experience of what goes into this field. It’s a great way to explore new careers.

-- Marraine Lewis

The greatest lesson I learned was just letting people know you are there for them is the biggest support anyone can have.

-- Shazia Mustapha

My most meaningful WREDI moment was operating the food drive at The Women’s Home after Hurricane Beryl.

-- Alyssa Maldonado

The Lived Experience Panel was probably my favorite because I got to see and listen to real stories from real people who have gone through hardships in mental health.

-- Sabrina Warden

Would I recommend WREDI to a friend?

10000% yes! It is very informative and brings out the best in you to work hard and give it your all.

-- Marisabel Salcedo

This externship was a surreal experience. It allowed me to see another side to the healthcare field. Overall, amazing experience and great glimpse at behavioral health.

-- Shreya Thakekar

Thank you to our externship sites!

AccessHealth Community Health Center

Bread of Life, Inc.

Career and Recovery Resources, Inc.

Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

Family Houston

Fort Bend Women's Center

HGI Counseling

Katy Christian Ministries

Mental Health America of Greater Houston

NAMI Greater Houston

Open Door Mission

Houston reVision

SEARCH Homeless Services

The Council on Recovery

The Montrose Center

The Parris Foundation

The Tejano Center

The Women's Home

UTHealth - UTHealth Houston Behavioral Sciences Campus

West Oaks Hospital