Dreams Realized!

Dear Sharrie,

Good afternoon!  It seems so surreal to see the first portion of my dreams being realized!  I received my MSW Diploma on last month, and I held it so proudly.  It is such a magnificent feeling to see all of the sacrifice, hard work, diligence, and passion that I’ve invested in my dreams reap such tangible and spiritual rewards. As I reflected on my journey, I thought of you and Allison and of the support and well-wishes that you and the YWCA family has provided to me over the years. I extend to you all my most ardent and sincere thanks...

These last few months have been glorious. I was inducted into the Phi Alpha Honor Society on June 3, 2013. I was nominated for and received the Outstanding Post-Baccalaureate Student of the Year award from CSUB-AV at the annual Graduate Student Reception on June 9, 2013! I was able to make a 5 minute speech to the undergraduate and graduate classes. I also received a final GPA of 3.97! Although the graduate programs do not officially acknowledge honor level, I graduated Summa cum Laude according to the GPA qualifications. And of course, I graduated at the main campus on June 11, 2013.

I still intend to pursue my Doctorate degree at some point in the future. I think that I am leaning toward the PhD in Sociology (before, my choices were counseling psychology, social work, and sociology). I enjoyed my time off over the summer! I have begun applying to counseling positions. Jayson and I are also going to leave our options open as we entertain the possibility of starting our family. 

I want to thank you, as I always have, for your continued support and encouragement! I love that you have had such faith in me and that you have always taken the time to maintain contact with me after all of these years. Can you believe that it has been about 8 years since I graduated from the program? It is amazing to see all of the changes that all of us have made over the years.

I am enclosing some of my graduation pictures. I will see if I can send you a hard copy of my graduation pictures via snail-mail in the coming weeks. Again, I thank you for everything, every kindness, every scholarship, every opportunity to share my story. You will surely reap rich rewards for the good, sacred work that you do for former foster youth-please remember this.

With Love and a Million Thanks,

Sarah Perry Johnson, MSW