Rebecca Alexander grew up in New England. She received her bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in environmental studies.
Later, in life, she decided to go back to school to receive her master’s in counseling. Her master’s was obtained at ETSU and she has been working at the ETSU counseling center for nine years.
“What I love about being at ETSU and on a college campus is that, I think that this is an amazing age group,” said Alexander.
She states this because students are leaving home for the first time and finding themselves.
Most of the time students have been told what to think and who to be. Then they start to explore who they want to be, what they want to grow into and what excites them.
She is a licensed marriage and family therapist by trade but, counsels both couples and individuals.
“I like to think of myself as an outdoor adventure guide. I’m like where do you want to go? Who do you want to be? And I have the skills and training to make sure that they are safe and can move forward and have the experience they want to experience but; they get to decide what kind of experience that is,” said Alexander.
Speaking of outdoors, she enjoys hiking sections of the Appalachian trail and backpacking. She loves to travel to “off the grid” locations without technology. That way she can have the full experience of cultural emersion and bond with the locals.
She is one of the three “Let’s Talk” staff members. “Let’s Talk” is a program that offers an informal drop-in service, no commitment, form of consultation with an ETSU counselor.
This program was developed at Cornell University to serve hard-to-reach students. It has been successfully implemented at nearly 50 universities because the research concludes that modern students want more options than the traditional counseling sessions.
“Let’s Talk” is free to ETSU students, confidential and on a first come, first served basis.
On Tuesdays from 2:00pm to 4:00pm it’s located in the MultiCultural Center. On Wednesdays from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. it’s held in Bucsports, this location is only for athletes. On Thursdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., the event is stationed in Yoakley Hall, room 221.
“It’s one of my goals as an Assistant Director to make sure that we all practice wellness,” said Alexander.
Alexander wants students and staff to take charge of their wellness; this means being aware of the lifestyle one lives. Are you eating healthy, sleeping, pursing your passions, being physically activate, and socially connecting with others?
If not there’s always someone to talk about it with at the counseling center, the place focused on student wellness.
