A second-year doctoral student in the UNC Greensboro Department of Counseling and Counselor Education, Emu Aragon was recently selected as a recipient of the National Board of Certified Counselors Minority Fellowship, earning a $20,000 stipend.
As a recipient of the fellowship, Aragon will also have access to professional development and mentorship opportunities as well as travel to select conferences.
Aragon says that the fellowship award will help to relieve some of the financial stressors that graduate students face. He says, “Support from this fellowship will allow me to divert more of my time and energy to my scholarship and learning while at UNCG. Additionally, the training, mentorship, and support from this fellowship will help set me apart as a future candidate for positions in higher education.”
The fellowship program will provide Aragon a platform “to continue centering the experiences of individuals with marginalized identities through my work as a counselor, educator, researcher, and supervisor.”
After earning his doctoral degree, Aragon wants to pursue a career as a counselor educator at a university while continuing his training and research. He says, “I intend to think critically about ways to address systemic inequity and injustices that impact marginalized communities, especially Queer and Trans People of Color.”
Aragon chose to pursue those goals at UNCG, and in North Carolina’s top-ranked counseling program, due in part to the faculty in the department who he says are “committed to intentional, innovative, and culturally responsive approaches to preparing counselor educators, researchers, and supervisors for fruitful careers in counseling and counselor education.”
He continues, “More impactful than that, however, was the relational experience that I had interacting with faculty all along the process of inquiring about the program, interviewing with faculty, and being offered a place in the program.”
A common refrain from CED students is the relationships that are formed not only between the students and faculty members, but among the students within the cohort itself. Aragon echos those sentiments as he feels that the connections he has made with both faculty and students have been “the most rewarding and impactful part of my journey at UNCG so far.”
Aragon feels that potential CED students should know that “accpetance into the program means you are poised to embark on an incredible journey with a balance of challenge and support by faculty that care about you as a person first. Take the time you need to consider whether you are as committed to the work this journey entails as the faculty are committed to your learning and success.”
