Teen of the Week: Big Spring senior aspires to become child psychologist

Mar. 30--Helping kids learn how to swim made the biggest splash for Carly White.

The Big Spring High School senior went into the internship knowing she wanted to pursue a career in clinical psychology.

Last fall, White was an instructor in a program where groups of students in grades one to three spent a week at a time at the high school pool receiving lessons in safety and basic swimming skills.

"There was a memorable child in every group," White said. "There were a few kids that were really scared about being in the water." Part of her job was to help ease their anxiety. In the process, White learned something about herself.

"I have to be a person who helps kids," she said. "That's the group of people I really want to work with. The energy they have for everything was really cool to see. They always want to do more and learn more. I enjoyed being in the water with the kids. It was a nice part of my day."

That experience provided a focus for White. She wants to specialize in clinical child psychology. The first step in the journey is to go to college and earn a bachelor's degree in psychology with a minor in Spanish. Her first choice of a school is James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

As an eighth-grader, White took advantage of the opportunity to study Spanish as a world language. She thought it was more practical than French.

"The first class was really interesting," White said. "I not only learned about the language but all the different cultures of Spanish-speaking nations."

By her senior year, White had advanced her language skills to Spanish Independent Study VI. She was scheduled to go on a trip to Spain this June until it was postponed a year by the coronavirus pandemic.

In August, White became the student intern of Spanish teacher Ashley Oldham. In that role, White has worked with an eighth-grade class of Spanish I students to supplement their education and keep her own skills fresh.

"I was definitely nervous but I was also really excited about it," White said of her first time teaching in front of a classroom. "It got easier as I worked with the class and got to know the students. I wanted them to learn as much as I did and to be interested in Spanish. Having more than one language is an important skill to have."

Her internship with Oldham was supposed to last her senior year but it was disrupted in mid-March by the mandated closure of schools to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Outside of school, White is active in the Speranza Animal Rescue, a nonprofit all-volunteer rehabilitation center and sanctuary committed to saving the most abused and neglected animals including dogs. Located on a farm outside Mechanicsburg, Speranza provides care with the goal of finding a loving home for as many animals as possible.

"What they do is awesome," said White, who volunteers at fundraising events. "This is a way to help my community. I grew up with dogs my whole life. It's nice to be around them. They are so playful. They want to be with you."

Her family has adopted three dogs through Speranza, which is the Italian word for "hope." One of the dogs is a four-year-old pit bull mix named Reagan who can be very shy around strangers but super sweet around his humans. Volunteers found Reagan as a puppy with his mother and siblings under an old building,

There is also LT, an American bulldog who was found in Georgia and lost the use of his hind legs after being hit by a car. The third Speranza dog taken in by the White family is an English bulldog name Rowyn who was born without the full use of her hind legs probably because of a complication at birth. The family has eight dogs.

Email Joseph Cress at jcress@cumberlink.com.

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