Dev was born in California but spent a majority of her childhood living in Colorado where she graduated high school. Moving to Alaska was a huge change, but she has always loved rainy weather and beaches so settling in didn’t take long at all. She has found Alaska to be a place of healing, comfort and growth and is so grateful to be here today.
Dev is currently studying psychology and in July 2024, both a family friend and a family member recommended Community Connections to Dev as a great place to gain field experience on her road to becoming a therapist and to establish a sense of community belonging, since she was still new to Alaska. She applied to become a Support Specialist and since starting, hasn’t once second-guessed her decision!
One thing about her job that she thoroughly enjoys is finding new activities and projects for the children she works with and watching everything unfold, even if it doesn’t go the way she envisioned it would because as a “psychology nerd”, as she puts it, it represents the complexity of the human mind and how everyone perceives things differently. She also loves seeing others working towards their goals in a positive, fun and engaging way. She has always enjoyed being around children because they find entertainment and exercise creativity in areas that a lot of us adults don’t think about anymore because we are so wound up on the “real-life” things, like finances. She finds it amazing that even in something we consider “simple”, kids can not only be engaged but also practice problem solving and building social skills.
Something that she finds challenging in her position is remembering to take care of her own mental health outside of work. She says, “Work is very stimulating and enjoyable for me and once I’m off the clock, my brain is still would up with ideas. Before working at CC, I knew that mental self-care practices were an important part of life, but I think that we tend to downplay its significance until we’re in the thick of everything.” One way she addresses this challenge is carving out specific times for herself for “mandatory relaxing” like doing things she loves without stressing about everything in the peripheral and she also highly recommends reflective journaling and goal-based journaling.
One of Dev’s supervisors says, “She has been with us for 6 months, but her work ethic is outstanding. She is consistent, dependable and really embodies the Core Values of Community Connections in her delivery of services to clients and her engagement with the team. She is also working toward becoming a therapist and has shown that she is in this for the long haul.”
Another of her supervisors says, “She is patient and has a kind heart, she’s a quick learner and a pleasure to be around. She takes pride in her work, and it shows.”
In her free time, she likes to spend time with her family playing board/card games and engaging in outdoor activities such as hiking, harvesting, and beach seining. She also enjoys hobbies such as reading/writing, storytelling, baking, cooking, gardening, art and playing the violin. But, above all of these things, she loves studying psychology, fostering a spiritual mindset and spending time with her dog Maisie.
