My name is Shelby Lawrence, and I was born and raised in San Diego, California. I am completing my master’s program at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, focusing on school counseling. In 2023, I graduated from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles with a bachelor’s in psychology and dance. During my undergraduate education, I had the opportunity to volunteer at WISH Charter Academy in an integrated classroom setting under the supervision of the school’s speech pathologist for the course, Autism: Mind, Behavior, and Education. Though inspired by the work and responsibilities of the speech pathologist, supporting the social-emotional needs of the students was an aspect of education I was invigorated by.  The connections and relationships I built with the students in my short time supporting speech encouraged me to continue forward with a career in education, pointing my efforts towards school counseling. 

In my fieldwork experience, I was able to intern at my alma mater, Albert Einstein Academies Charter School at the elementary and middle school levels, respectively. At the elementary school, I created guidance lessons and facilitated the social-emotional learning curriculum, Zones of Regulation for TK and Kindergarten. I collaborated with the teachers to select students for Tier II group counseling sessions, where they were able to practice the coping skills and self-regulation concepts taught to the whole class in a more individualized setting. In these sessions, I was able to integrate my love and passion for dance and movement for students to engage with. During my research methods course before my first semester of internship, I wrote a research paper regarding the impact of dance-movement therapy on the executive functioning of elementary students and how executive function contributes to future academic success. This integration of my art form of dance, coursework, and fieldwork solidified my holistic, student-centered, somatic approach to counseling.