Sandra Gomez will be headed to New York City to pursue her PhD after earning her master’s degree in counseling psychology.

Gomez, from Illinois, was accepted to the PhD program at the Teacher’s College at Columbia University. She said the chance to continue her research on LatinX populations and live in the city were deciding factors.

“I’ve been in the Midwest basically my entire life. I thought New York would be a nice change,” Gomez said.

The pandemic allowed Sandra Gomez to expand her clinical experience into telehealth. She has been practicing at the Integrated Behavior Health Center (IBHC) a part of the Family Impact Center, and the resources and support to make the transition made a difficult situation much easier.

“It’s been a little chaotic, but at the same time I think everyone has done a great job of following up with us, checking in with us and giving us resources so that we’re not alone,” Gomez said. “With the opportunities that were provided, it felt like we were part of a community.”