President's MessagePresident’s Message  It is hard to believe that I am already writing my Spring President’s Message as I near the end of my President’s year with WSASP. Spring is always such an interesting time for me. In my Fall President’s Message, I shared that I start each year with mixed emotions (fear, anxiety, joy, excitement), and the same is true for how I end each year. I reflect back on whether or not I have met my goal to maintain a positive outlook and if I have truly found opportunities to fuel my passion for being a school psychologist. I think about how to close out the year in a positive way while also looking forward to the next year. There is so much cognitive dissonance in feeling both that the end of the year cannot come soon enough and that I am not ready for the year to end! This year has provided me with much to be grateful for, both professionally and as President of WSASP. I found many ways to fuel my passion for being a school psychologist. I did this through involvement and connection with other school psychologists, professional development, traveling to Chicago and New Orleans for conferences, making new connections and reconnecting with school psychologists from around the state and country, and mentoring school psychologists in my district. The highlight of my year has of course been serving this amazing community of school psychologists in Washington state. In the Fall and Spring, I encouraged you to find ways to become more involved and connect with other school psychologists, such as joining one of our virtual conversations, attending the conference, joining a WSASP committee, mentoring another school psychologist, attending your Area event, and keeping up to date on WSASP publications such as the PWN and SCOPE. I hope you were able to take advantage of some of these opportunities, and I hope you will consider them again next year. It has been great to see some new faces getting involved with WSASP this year! I also encouraged you to take care of yourselves while you find the time to do more of what brings you professional joy and fuels your passion. I am hopeful that you were able to do so, and that as you reflect on how this year has gone, you found true opportunities for self care and professional growth. If you are anything like me, Spring is a time of exhaustion, reflection, and hope. We have spent our year bringing our unique areas of expertise to our students, families, and colleagues. Doing so can be draining. So, as you move through the end of this school year and begin planning for both your summer and the next school year, I hope you do whatever it is that brings you personal joy so that you can greet the new school year with renewed optimism and passion to provide school psychology services to others. I am truly honored to have served as your President this year. It has brought me immense satisfaction to give back to this incredible profession and to the amazing school psychologists in Washington state. I am so proud of the work you do every day. |