Rachel Sharp recently joined the St. Mary’s Center team as a full-time clinician in the Young Parenting Living Program after participating in the clinical internship program during the second year of her Master of Social Work program at Boston University.

Sharp shares that her time interning with the families in St. Mary’s Center’s Young Parenting Living Program greatly prepared her for becoming a full-time clinician.

“I was able to shadow and learn from the amazing clinicians working in the programs. One of the biggest benefits to St. Mary’s Center’s internship program is the amount of opportunity to build relationships with residents. The trust given to us as interns from the full-time team to engage directly with our own clients helped me gain confidence in my abilities as a clinician, which helped tremendously when I was given the opportunity to step into a full-time role,” she shared.

Sharp continued, “I had the opportunity to get to know so many resilient, determined, and strong young mothers during my internship. Our residents have faced more barriers and setbacks than many of us will ever know in our entire lives, and yet they almost always find a way to persevere for themselves and their children. Being able to support and cheer on the sidelines while our residents achieve their goals will always be my favorite part of working within St. Mary’s Center.”

Now six months into her new role as a full-time clinician in the Young Parenting Living Program, Sharp feels grateful for her internship experience and the opportunity to work alongside a supportive clinical team.

“While our clinical team is on the smaller side, we have big plans and ideas for the future of clinical services at St. Mary’s Center.