Unlike many WHIP internships, senior Lisa Graham’s work had nothing to do with politics, but brought together two things Graham is very passionate about: art and therapy.
“Art is an enjoyable experience,” said Graham, an art major whose work at CREATE Art Center in Silver Springs, Md., used art to provide therapy to children this past summer.
Since she is not a licensed art therapist, Graham didn’t provide clinical art therapy, but came as close as legally allowed: helping kids at art camp work through issues. The art camp worked with a wide variety of children in the D.C. area, ranging from ages 5 to 13, out of all ethnic backgrounds, some having mental disabilities.
Though the setting was informal and the work was simple, Graham described the internship as very mentally taxing. Generally, the work involved having a child at the camp create a painting describing how they felt. The child would then interpret the painting, which would give camp counselors insight into what the child was subconsciously feeling and how they could ultimately help that child.
Graham’s WHIP roommate, junior Bronte Wigen, knew Graham was cut out for the internship, despite the mental rigor.
“Lisa has the perfect personality for working with children,” she said. “She is compassionate and enthusiastic. Not to mention, she is an incredible artist herself.”
As a child, Lisa enjoyed creating and viewing art of all kinds, though she was particularly impacted by the works of the late Norman Rockwell. As she grew, so did her talents in art, as demonstrated by the many awards she has won, including the 2013 R. Joy Stewart Award of Excellence in the Art Department’s annual thematic competition.
Assistant Professor of Psychology Collin Barnes echoed Wigen’s praise.
“She cares for people and is willing to sacrifice her own comfort and peace of mind to serve them,” he said.
Graham’s experience at the CREATEArt Center was so good that she struggled to choose one favorite thing that she could take away from the internship. After some thought, she said her biggest takeaway was learning to communicate with children, and seeing “that light bulb moment” when she knew she made a difference.
Prior to her summer internship, Graham didn’t have her sights set on a career in art therapy. She said when she first heard of art therapy she thought it was “the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
It took Graham some time and urging to look into the field, especially giver her initial reaction. “I didn’t know what to think,” she explained, so she started to research the field. Not satisfied with only the information that she found in her research, Graham pursued an art therapy internship with WHIP to get real world experience in the field.
Graham raved that her internship was filled with great experiences and refined the questions she was asking about art therapy, yet even after her rewarding experience last summer, she isn’t sure what her future holds –– she is keeping her options open, also considering becoming a Christian counselor.
“We’ll pray and we’ll see about it,” she said.
