W&M graduate students receive counseling fellowships
Four William & Mary graduate students in the School of Education were recently selected for fellowship programs with the NBCC Foundation, an affiliate of the National Board for Certified Counselors.
Sharon Kim and Pamela N. Harris, doctoral students in W&M’s counselor education and supervision program, were selected for the National Board for Certified Counselors Minority Fellowship Program (NBCC MFP). Edith Gonzalez, an incoming student in the counselor education and supervision program, was selected for the NBCC Minority Fellowship Program-Youth (MFP-Y).
As NBCC MFP Fellows, Kim and Harris will receive funding and training to support their education and facilitate service to underserved minority populations. Gonzalez will receive funding and training to support her education and facilitate her service to underserved minority populations, with a specific focus on transition-age youth (ages 16-25).
Also selected is Susan Hughes, a master's degree student in W&M's alcohol and drug counseling program, for the NBCC Minority Fellowship Program-Addictions Counselors (MFP-AC). As an NBCC MFP-AC Fellow, Hughes will receive funding and training to support her education and facilitate her addictions counseling service to underserved minority transition-age youth (ages 16-25).
The NBCC MFP-Y is made possible by a grant awarded to NBCC by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in August and September 2014. The foundation is contracted by NBCC to administer the NBCC 
MFP, as well as training and collaboration activities, such as webinars, that are open to all National Certified Counselors (NCCs). The goal of the program is to reduce health disparities and improve behavioral health care outcomes for racially and ethnically diverse populations by increasing the available number of culturally competent behavioral health professionals.
The NBCC MFP will distribute $20,000 to Harris and Kim, $11,000 to Hughes and $5,000 to Gonzalez.
NBCC is the nation’s premier professional certification board devoted to credentialing counselors who meet standards for the general and specialty practices of professional counseling. Currently, there are more than 55,000 National Certified Counselors (NCCs) in the United States and more than 50 countries. The foundation’s mission is to leverage the power of counseling by strategically focusing resources for positive change.
