Complete PhD; teach; conduct and publish research; publish a book or two. Research emphasis: cognitive distortions within female perpetrators of intimate partner violence to enhance understanding of women who attend the same IPV perpetrator programs as men; screening school-aged children and youth for suicide risk and mental illnesses such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and bipolar disorder

My sister and I had an immediate family member that struggled with a mental illness throughout her entire life. During the 1970's to 1990's, she traveled around the United States and wrote dozens of letters to each of us (raised by different relatives). My sister and I want to publish these letters with the hope that others can learn more about mental illness, including how such illness affects the lives of children involved.

What are your hobbies? Reading, especially books on tape or CD while driving; landscaping; rock hunting with my kids; watching family members race at Callaway Raceways (Street stock and B-Modifieds); watching Carl Edwards race.

What has been your greatest challenge while at MU? Parking.

What would you like people to know about your disability? Preconceived notions can be very wrong. Hollywood tends to show worst-case scenarios when depicting someone with a mental illness. The statistics say anywhere from one-in-four to one-in-five people have a diagnosable mental illness. The time to seek treatment is when it negatively affects one or more aspect/area of one's life. Thanks to modern advancements in science and medicine, people living with mental illness can accomplish almost anything they want to accomplish. These days, the only barriers to learning are self-imposed because the Office of Disability Services is there to assist you.

Although the best treatment for OCD includes psychological counseling and medication, I have found that if I completely get rid of an obsession or compulsion with counseling, I simply develop a different obsession or compulsion. This may be based on how many years I have had the illness. OCD does not affect my I.Q. OCD appears to be a compensatory mechanism, as well as a chemical imbalance within the brain. As everyone is different on a chemical, molecular level, medication takes the edge off, but the illness doesn't always disappear for all people. OCD also gets worse during stressful events.

What would you tell a student who has a disability like yours? If a mental illness is negatively affecting your life and the outcomes within your life, go to a doctor or nurse practitioner and get help. You do not have to live like that. My dean, professors, staff and many friends at Sinclair School of Nursing are awesome and understanding about the slight tweaking of my educational experience because of this illness.

What advice would you give to a new student at MU? The quicker you recognize that you need assistance, the easier your life will become. I also learned a long time ago that I chose the people I associate with in my life. I am not defined as an illness that I didn't ask to have. If someone doesn't like me or treats me badly because of this illness, I do not include them within my life because they bring too much negative energy into my life. This energy takes time away from reaching goals!

In what way did the Office of Disability Services make a difference in your education? 

I receive very limited accommodations of “time and a-half ” on written tests because of my difficulty with advancing to the next question due to perseveration, as well as problems with handwriting looking a particular way. The extended time levels the playing field so that I have an equal chance of success as a student. I no longer worry about time running out while erasing and rewriting a sentence or getting lost in a question that I will hear repetitively (30+ times) in my head until many minutes pass. My physician worked with the Office of Disability Services to create this plan. I do not need or utilize this service for any other type of test, assignment or class because of my particular type of OCD.