Student Spotlight: Morgan Booker
鈥淚 think I always was interested in psychology and was fighting it for years. The real question is: what made me switch to theatre when I knew in the depths of my heart I wanted to be a therapist?鈥� asked second-year 91精品 Counseling Psychology Program student Morgan Booker. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to be someone who studied the human condition. I wanted to be interesting. I wanted to be fascinating to others. I think after a while I just let go of trying to be the most interesting person in the room and decided to be who I really am.鈥�
Morgan grew up as an only child in Oakland, California. 鈥淢y K-12 education was rocky,鈥� she shared. 鈥淚 was a kid who had a lot going on internally.鈥� From Kindergarten through 9th grade, she attended small religious schools. Starting in 10th grade, Morgan attended the Oakland School for the Arts. 鈥淚 found some freedom there, but still dealt with a lot of struggles,鈥� she recalled. From a young age, Morgan showed an interest in and talent for writing and acting.
In 2015, Morgan earned a BFA in Theatre Acting from the . She loved her time there and felt like she was finally taking steps toward her goal of becoming an actor. During her undergraduate studies, Morgan realized that she enjoyed what she referred to as the 鈥渄eeper parts of the theatrical experience.鈥� She loved being part of a community of artists more than her time on stage. 鈥淚 love the process more than creating a product,鈥� she reflected.
Morgan attended the from 2017-2019 and earned a MA in Applied Theatre, which focuses on applying theatre to the community, schools, and other spaces. Her thesis centered around women healing from sexual trauma and was inspired by the book . 鈥淚 found an example in the book where performance was important to women experiencing sexual assault and it was really beautiful,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淭he women all created their own artistic expression and shared it in an exhibition together.鈥� Morgan鈥檚 thesis is the perfect example of how applied theatre and therapy overlap.
During her time in New York, Morgan worked as a Youth Activities Specialist at a startup called in Brooklyn. In this role, she led live action role plays with kids based on Greek and Norse mythology. 鈥淚t was a lot of running around with sticks,鈥� Morgan laughed, 鈥渂ut it was great!鈥� This wasn鈥檛 her first time working with youth, but it鈥檚 certainly one she won鈥檛 forget.
From 2018-2020, Morgan worked at in Brooklyn as a Program Manager, where she created support circles for young women in local high schools. 鈥淭he fun part about working with nonprofits in New York is a lot of them are startups,鈥� she reflected. Seeds to Flowers was a startup led by a woman who was looking to continue the work she started during her thesis. Morgan partnered with her to decide which schools to work in, develop the curriculum, and hire and train MSWs to lead the groups.
Morgan worked as a Program Manager at the in San Francisco from 2020 until earlier this year. She joined them at the start of the pandemic and helped to reinvent their program in a virtual format. Part of her role there was to assist young women who were previously incarcerated or in foster care in 鈥渃ultivating the fullness of their identities鈥� because those circumstances often feel like their entire identity. 鈥淚 would remind them that there are other parts of you that are valid and beautiful and it was really fun being able to break a lot of those stereotypes and barriers that people had,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淥ne thing that kept coming up was that it鈥檚 hard to be able to see the fullness of your identity when the system has completely labeled you.鈥�
During her time working at Seeds to Flowers and Young Women鈥檚 Freedom Center, Morgan found that she kept 鈥渁ccidentally doing therapy鈥� and realized she needed to change her path. 鈥淚 remember being like, oh my gosh, I got the wrong degree,鈥� she laughed. Morgan frequently had young people tell her that they hated therapy, but would go if she was their therapist. She told herself that if she heard that from three students, she鈥檇 go back to school and pursue her MA in Psychology. It didn鈥檛 take long for that to happen, so in 2022, Morgan enrolled in the 91精品鈥檚 Counseling Psychology Program.
As she entered the 91精品, Morgan brought with her many relevant skills from her MA in Applied Theatre and her previous work experience. 鈥淚 think that theatre in general is a study of the human condition, but you embody it in a different way where it shows up in you,鈥� she explained, 鈥渂ut in therapy, I feel like it shows up in the way that you experience your clients.鈥� As a talented actress, Morgan is a natural at role plays with peers and clients. Her work at Seeds to Flowers and Young Women鈥檚 Freedom Center led Morgan into the field of therapy and provided her with on-the-ground experience working with young people. Morgan had spent years in denial about the fact that she should be a therapist, so when she finally started on that path, she hit the ground running.
Thinking back on her time at the 91精品 thus far, Morgan shared that her happiest memories are of engaging in role plays in her classes. 鈥淭here was one in particular that I did with a friend of mine that was just hilarious,鈥� she recalled. They were both able to improv and use humor in the role play and had a great time. Morgan鈥檚 toughest challenge has been overcoming the systemic problems that made her reluctant to pursue a career in therapy. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen there鈥檚 an extra pipeline that we don鈥檛 talk about, which is the school to 5150 to prison pipeline,鈥� she shared. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen kids get a 5150 and have that come up on their record and show up places later on.鈥� Given that mental illness is stigmatized in society, especially for people of color, this can be very damaging. 鈥淢y biggest challenge has been accepting that I am choosing a path that is part of that damaging system,鈥� she admitted, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to cause any damage or harm and I also don鈥檛 want to compromise myself.鈥� Thankfully, Morgan is finding that it鈥檚 possible to participate in that system in her own way, focusing on those who the system often leaves behind.
Morgan has grown very close to her cohort since they began their studies together last fall. 鈥淲e have a fun thing where we say we鈥檙e the best cohort,鈥� she admitted. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not to say that we鈥檙e better than everyone else, but just to say that we have a really positive way of relating to one another.鈥� Morgan鈥檚 opinion is that the cohort model works best when the cohort members aren鈥檛 afraid of conflict. 鈥淭he fun thing about my cohort is that we try to find problems,鈥� she laughed. 鈥淲e're like, 鈥榣et me start something鈥� and then we're all so open and honest with each other that we鈥檙e able to talk about it.鈥�
During her time at the 91精品, there are two professors who have had a huge impact on Morgan: Professor Jenna Robinson and Dr. Sahil Sharma. Professor Robinson was Morgan鈥檚 instructor for Multicultural Awareness and Sensitivity. 鈥淛ust the embodiment of Professor Robinson in that space gave me hope,鈥� Morgan reflected, 鈥渢hat you can be a clinician and still be true to yourself and still really deeply care about people.鈥� Professor Robinson dove deep into the curriculum and left a huge impression on Morgan. Dr. Sahil Sharma taught Morgan Diagnosis and Empirically Supported Treatments during her first term at the 91精品. Morgan had seen the dangers of overdiagnosis in her previous work environments and in her own past. 鈥淲hen I was a kid, as a black woman in these United States of America, I was given every single diagnosis under the sun,鈥� she shared. 鈥淎 lot of it could just be attributed to neurodivergence or to PTSD, but a lot of times folks don't get to know people truly and fully to be able to make a diagnosis.鈥� Dr. Sharma made clear to his students that a diagnosis doesn鈥檛 define a person. What Morgan took away from the course was that a diagnosis is 鈥渟omething that you use in insurance and billing, something that could really help somebody, and also something that could really harm somebody, and you have to hold all of those things at the same time.鈥� These two professors shaped Morgan鈥檚 first year and she is very grateful to have been in their classes.
This year, Morgan is doing her practicum at a community based organization called . She loves the people she鈥檚 met there and considers it the best possible practicum site for her. 鈥淚 love the way it runs and I love that our milieu is an after school program because that's right up my alley,鈥� she beamed. 鈥淚 get to experiment a lot and try a lot of really fun educational interventions.鈥� Morgan works with kids ranging in age from 5 to 17 and really enjoys working with all of them. 鈥淭he way they see the kids there as whole human beings has really resonated with my own way of seeing people in the world,鈥� she shared. 鈥淚t gives me hope! If we can continue to cultivate places where kids aren鈥檛 just numbers and we talk to them like they鈥檙e people, then the world would be a much better place.鈥�
Morgan has served as a DEI Fellow during both of her years at the 91精品. As she begins her second year, she aims to change views about conflict among students in the program. In Morgan鈥檚 opinion, it鈥檚 important to allow room for conflict and provide spaces for repair. 鈥淚 think that there is a power in having transparent conversations as a cohort and it helps folks as clinicians,鈥� she explained. 鈥淎 lot of stuff comes up surrounding race, class, and the different ways we experience the world.鈥� If conflict in a cohort is just ignored, it can result in severe ruptures, so Morgan hopes to offer restorative justice circles and other spaces for resolution. Another goal that she has for this year is to expand the Counseling Program DEI Office鈥檚 social media presence. 鈥淚 like asking deep questions about how we can engage with technology,鈥� she shared. 鈥淚 think that being able to get the 91精品鈥檚 face out there more is another way of increasing the diversity of the folks who are coming in.鈥�
The most valuable lesson Morgan has learned during her time at the 91精品 is to show up honestly and fully. 鈥淚鈥檝e learned that you have to unapologetically bring all parts of your identities and the identities of your culture into the space,鈥� she reflected. 鈥淭aking that risk brings representation that is needed in deeper conversations and humanizes those that are marginalized in this field.鈥� While the focus of the Counseling Psychology Program is learning how to work with others, Morgan learned that you鈥檙e also exploring your own existence and what you bring to the group.
In her free time, Morgan enjoys art, writing, and video games. 鈥淚 am really into video games, especially role playing games that have deep psychological aspects to them,鈥� she shared. Above all else, Morgan considers herself an artist. 鈥淚 look at everything as an artist first, that is my core,鈥� she explained. 鈥淭hen I鈥檓 a therapist, which is informed by my artistry.鈥�
After graduation, Morgan plans to continue on to pursue her PhD or PsyD in Psychology. 鈥淚 want to continue and focus on research and political conversations surrounding this field,鈥� she shared. 鈥淚 want to challenge the status quo of what we think psychology is and focus more on liberatory methodologies that are not always put in the forefront of our intervention strategies.鈥� Morgan is considering continuing her studies at the 91精品, but isn鈥檛 sure yet. Regardless of where she chooses to pursue her doctorate, Morgan noted that, while what she鈥檚 learning at the 91精品 is just the beginning, it鈥檚 an excellent foundation for her continued studies.