Horizons Fall 2016

18 NSU HORIZONS Jacksonville C I t didn’t take long for Lauren Streett to put her master’s degree in mental health counseling to use in dramatic fashion. After 49 people were killed last summer at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Streett volunteered her services to offer crisis and grief counseling to people directly, or indirectly, impacted by the shooting. “The massacre touched people in different ways,” said Streett, who graduated from the Nova Southeastern University Jacksonville Campus in 2015. “There was an immense amount of trauma, pain, grief, anger, and helplessness.” A therapist at the Youth Crisis Center in Jacksonville, Streett is no stranger to the needs of people facing trying times. She credits her graduate-school education from NSU in preparing her with the practical skills needed when working with anyone in crisis. “The NSU program was more hands-on,” Streett said. “It wasn’t about writing 20 research papers. It was learning interpersonal skills, learning how to be a counselor.” The university also encourages community service. The NSU Jacksonville Campus staff and faculty members and students donated hundreds of hours, as well as financial resources, to support more than 30 community projects in the area last year. The physician assistant program at Jacksonville, through NSU’s College of Health Care Sciences, offers a variety of community services—such as hearing and vision screening exams for elementary school students, physical exams for athletes, pre-vocational physical exams for the homeless in downtown Jacksonville, and other assistance. The program is also developing a community health day at a local migrant farm in Hastings, Florida. “This is a very tight-knit community, and we’re very supportive,” said Brooke Goehring, director of NSU’s Jacksonville Campus, located in Southpoint. “It’s our obligation to be part of the community and give back,” added Goehring, who has a master’s degree in college student affairs from NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Tight-knit NSU campus encourages giving back to community BY ROCHELLE KOFF Continued on page 20