Sister Spotlight: Alina Massey

Countless students at Florida State University benefit from the first-rate network of professional opportunities available, including our own sister, Alina Massey. Alina, from Destin, FL, will graduate with her bachelor’s degree in August and begin her master’s in social work this fall. She has enjoyed a summer internship at the Gulf Coast Therapy Center (GCTC).

With the assistance of an assigned field coordinator within the College of Social Work, Alina accepted the opportunity to intern at GCTC, where she has enjoyed the chance to work in an environment providing services to her desired population, teenage girls. “The girls all have something new to offer in terms of learning experiences,” said Alina. This internship has both enhanced her academic experience and allowed Alina to grow professionally.

Gulf Coast Therapy Center is located in Fort Walton Beach, FL, and serves as a psychiatric residential treatment center for adolescent girls aged 12–17 years old. For one to be eligible for treatment, they must possess one or more DSM-V diagnoses’ and have been previously treated in a less restrictive setting.

Interning at Gulf Coast Therapy Center has presented Alina with countless opportunities to gain experience in social work and to assist clinicians at GCTC in performing clinical assessments, guiding and facilitating group and individual counseling sessions, and case management, as well as performing clinical documentation for any clinical services provided. Despite each day bringing its own unique challenges, “building those relationships with the girls and being able to connect with them on a deeper level makes it all worth it,” stated Alina.

Over the past ten weeks, Alina has experienced immense personal growth. Interning at GCTC has helped strengthen her sense of patience and resilience as well as inspired moments of reflection, particularly on Gamma Phi Beta’s core values of love, labor, learning, and loyalty. Alina states, “I learn something new every single day,” and "really, at the end of the day, all the girls want is human connection, and I believe that is a huge part of their recovery.”

Congratulations, Alina. We are beyond proud of your accomplishments and can’t wait to see what you’ll achieve next. Keep up the great work!