UWP graduate student serves as diversity consultant for Red Cross
PLATTEVILLE - After seeing the suffering of Hurricane Katrina victims on the news, David Sanchez, a University of Wisconsin-Platteville graduate student, decided to volunteer for the Red Cross as a mental health counselor. Recently, Sanchez became the only diversity consultant from Wisconsin on the Midwest Red Cross Diversity Task Force. The group meets monthly to discuss issues of diversity and inclusion in the organization. Sanchez currently works with several large Red Cross chapters in the Midwest that wish to reach out to their diverse communities.
Presently a Master of Science in Adult Education student, he said that the Community Counseling Program at UWP prepared him for the Katrina work.
"Brief counseling was particularly helpful during my time in Texas working with survivors of the Katrina floods. In the work with the Red Cross Diversity Task Force, the public relations course has been helpful at getting a more informed look at the various relationships within community organizations. The course also helped me become more sensitive to the many issues involved in the dynamics between individuals. Actually, all of the MSE courses have prepared me to move ahead in my chosen field," Sanchez said.
He has found his time with the Red Cross personally rewarding. "I get to perform a service for a humanitarian organization that I care about. The time spent in Texas after Katrina was a humbling experience for me. I worked in the mental health area, visiting shelters and performing case management, mostly with entire families. I received more than I gave. It is one thing to think about victims as a group, in the abstract; it is another to be with them on an individual level, with their pain," said Sanchez.
Already a licensed clinical substance abuse counselor and an independent clinical supervisor, Sanchez has also found the Red Cross experience professionally rewarding.
"Sitting on a regional diversity task force has expanded my worldview and how each one of us can make a difference in people's lives. The many insights and experiences I gained can only make me a better counselor," he said.
Sanchez formerly served as founder and executive director of Fox Valley Diversion and Prevention Associates Inc. for four years in Appleton. He currently resides in Appleton.
For more information regarding UWP graduate programs in adult education, those interested may contact Patricia Bromley at (608) 732-1251 or bromleyp@uwplatt.edu.
Contact: Patricia Bromley, coordinator, UWP Master of Science in Adult Education Program, (608) 732-1251, bromleyp@uwplatt.edu Prepared by: April M. Schmidt, UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1194, schmidap@uwplatt.edu
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