Staff Highlight: Karina Gonzalez

• Position: Clinical Supervisor for UE Light the Change 
• What led you to your current position: One of my aspirations after becoming a clinician was to become licensed so that I could become a Clinical Supervisor to help guide the next generation of clinicians. I wanted to use my social justice and cultural lens to be able to provide mentoring and guidance in working with our BIPOC students.  
• What inspires you to do this work: I am inspired by the young people and families in the community.  Mental health was not a resource in my community growing up and I feel passionately about healing. It's an ongoing process and each time, we heal a little more for our Ancestors and loved ones who did not have the opportunity to heal themselves and we heal for our future generations -so they carry less in their lifetime. 

What is a recent highlight you’ve experienced in the work or an important lesson you’ve learned in this role: My highlight is always when folx get licensed and they feel more confident about their clinical work. I think we all come into this world with our gifts. It's a privilege to be a witness to someone else's journey and magic. I am always learning and inspired by others. I am learning how to lean in more and how to move in this work with intention. I'm also learning to have more patience with myself as I stretch and grow in this role. 
​
Share your life motto or something unique about yourself: I love the Mayan philosophy, "In Lak'ech," - "tu eres mi otro yo" in Spanish and "You are me and I am you" (in English) because we are a reflection of each other.  
 
My favorite quote is "they tried to bury us, they didn't know we were seeds." (Mexican proverb). You can't bury our people, we survive, and we grow and we plant other seeds.

---