Names of Note: Grants will train Stanislaus-area students in mental health therapy
EMC Health Foundation is paying the education costs for five local students studying to be mental health therapists.
Recipients will receive full funding to cover the degree they are working toward through the Linda M. Stuhmer fellowship in exchange for serving 19 zip codes from south Modesto to north Merced County. It’s an effort to expand mental health services in the area.
The grant honors the former general counsel and now president and CEO of EMC Health Inc. for her dedication to bettering the lives of those with mental health issues in the Central Valley.
“It’s an area where you see you can make a difference,” Stuhmer told recipients at a lunch that celebrated them Tuesday, July 27.
Out of 11 applicants, Sergio Perez, Brenna Torres, Lizbet Delgadillo, Lina Maria Villegas and Marina Petersen were selected.
Delhi-reared Perez, who is working toward his masters in counseling at California State University, Stanislaus, said he felt happy knowing that not only his wife is supporting his dreams, but people in his community. The soon-to-be-father said he wishes his mom, who passed away from COVID-19 in February, were alive to see his accomplishments.
Torres, a masters student in counseling at CSU Stanislaus, said she’s grown up seeing her mom and grandma making a difference at the county’s behavioral health center and is ready to start, too. “It’s great being able to impact the community I was raised in,” said the Ceres native.
Originally a teacher from Colombia, Villegas desired to learn more and is pursuing a doctoral program at CSU Stanislaus. The mother of two said the grant means she no longer has to put her dreams on hold so she can send her 19-year-old daughter to college. She can do both.
Delgadillo, a Ph.D clinical psychology student at Palo Alto University, said she chose to go into psychology because she saw a lack of clinicians in her hometowns of Turlock and Modesto. She said she looks forward to breaking down the stigmas Latinos have about seeking mental health services and couldn’t do so without the support of her family.
Petersen is a Modesto native. The first-generation student has a bachelors in psychology from CSU Stanislaus and is continuing her education there to work towards her masters.
This story was originally published August 2, 2021 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Names of Note: Grants will train Stanislaus-area students in mental health therapy."
