Juanita Martinez found her purpose through her battle with depression, which began a journey of healing and self-discovery. More than 50% of people in their lifetime will experience a mental health challenge, according to the Center for Disease Control, and the diagnosis still carries a stigma. For Juanita, what came with fears of abandonment, judgment and shame was a time of self-reflection and confronting her challenges. The process would give her the strength and grounding to embrace her calling to help others.

“One of my favorite quotes is ‘You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending’ by C.S. Lewis,” she reflected. With a sense of purpose and a vision for her future, she completed her BSW degree at Limestone University in her home state of South Carolina in 2020.  

“When I graduated with my BSW, I thought that was it! I’m a first-generation high school and college graduate,” she reminisced. But the encouragement of peers, colleagues and mentors piqued her curiosity, and she found herself researching MSW programs. After hearing from undergraduate classmates about Florida State University, she looked more into the online program. Two weeks before the application deadline and under the guidance of an online advisor, Juanita completed her application, was admitted and became a Seminole. 

Juanita worked as a 911 dispatcher through her undergraduate and graduate programs until January 2022. She responded to countless emergencies and connected people in crisis with invaluable lifelines. A current student in the Advanced-Standing Online MSW Program, she knows firsthand from experience hard it is to be limited in how to help someone really in need. “As much as I wanted to connect with my callers and find peace, we were all trained to disconnect our emotions,” reflected Juanita. “I felt like my voice was all I had to offer during a crisis and I knew I had more to offer.”

Many of the calls she experienced as a 911 dispatcher were related to mental illness and suicide. Knowing how often people hide their mental health issues until they are in distress, Juanita became involved with the Aiken County Suicide Coalition and their 2021 Aiken County Suicide Prevention Summit: Cultivating Hope in Darkness. The summit included an art project called “Colors of Mental Health,” providing awareness and education to the local community about the diverse effects of mental health and substance use.

As a featured participant in the art project, Juanita sat for two hours speaking to a counselor in a therapeutic setting while an artist, Iliana Van Pelt, painted her portrait. “It was a very emotional experience to have that part of my life exposed and documented,” she recalled. “The portraits of participants represent the colors, ‘faces’ behind mental health. It shows we can all be affected by mental health and substance use disorders regardless of race, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation or disability.”

Summit participants discussed the portraits alongside those who sat for the paintings. Juanita remembers feeling nervous and exposed while participating and facing a crowd of strangers, even though most were leaders and fellow helping professionals in mental health and substance use. “I learned from that moment that we may not always have this opportunity to share our personal experiences,” she stressed,” but my compassion, empathy and desire to help is invaluable.”

Even in the Online MSW Program, which she enjoyed for the flexibility to maintain her full-time job, Juanita faced and embraced new challenges. She explained that the program tasked her with coming out of her shell in zoom meetings and recorded role-play exercises, especially interacting with classmates who had more experience in the field. She even had concerns that being a minority and bilingual may limit her ability to verbalize herself due to stigma, barriers, and discrimination. Her experiences throughout her social work educational journey have allowed her to embrace the many parts of herself and experiences that make her unique. 

 She’s even cultivated her Seminole spirit, driving six hours to Tallahassee in 2021 to attend the FSU versus Miami game for her first college football game. “Even though I am an out-of-state student and an online student, I’ve embraced and represented FSU as much as I can because I am so proud to be a Florida State Seminole and to say where I earned my MSW! Juanita especially credits her Online MSW teachers and peers for helping her “learn to accept that we are all individually unique. We all come from different walks of life and are all shaped by different experiences.”

 Now in her field placement in a substance use clinical setting, Juanita has a clear vision for her future. Her placement offered her a substance abuse clinical counselor role, one that she loves and that aligns with her goals. “My next goal is to apply for my LMSW and obtain my Alcohol and Drug Counselor credential. I’m taking it one step at a time,” she concluded. “I’ve put a lot of emphasis on my professional goals, but I’m also going to start focusing on my personal goals.” She also aims to help the Latinx community overcome the stigma surrounding mental illness by raising awareness and removing language barriers in her personal and professional life.