Ms. Olivia Ann Fadul, a 2011 graduate of the JSU Counseling Program is a proud graduate of the master-level program. During her time as a counseling student, Ms. Fadul was active in Chi Sigma Iota. She served first as public relations, President-elect, and finally President. Chi Sigma Iota taught her foundational skills of how to market herself, organize a counseling workshop, volunteer in the community, and the importance of advocacy in the field.
When reflecting about her time her time at JSU she feels that the selling point of the program was the person-centered environment. Ms. Fadul recalls faculty members planted seeds and emphasized the importance of leadership and advocacy.
Her favorite moments as a student were watching her professors Drs. Nancy Fox and Melanie Wallace lead the state as back-to-back Alabama Counseling Association Presidents.
One thing she remembers from this program is being asked to write down her goals for the future. Ms. Fadul, 26 years old at the time, recalls writing in her midpoint and graduation portfolio that she was going to go to school for a Ph.D. and become a counseling professor.
Her training at JSU was foundational. When asked what JSU means to her she feels as if this school fostered her love for counseling. Ms. Fadul reflects on her admiration for Drs. Nancy Fox, Melanie Wallace, and Kathleen Friery in inspiring her to become a counselor educator. It was not the knowledge they imparted, but the relational way that empowered her in her early career. Today Ms. Fadul is at the University of New Mexico working towards her dream of becoming a counseling professor She holds gratitude to the women who planted those seeds 14 years ago.
After graduating, Ms. Fadul worked as an inpatient substance abuse counselor, an adolescent counselor at a residential treatment facility, a halfway house, and finally telemental health. Additionally, she served as the youngest board member on the Alabama Counseling Association executive board as Chi Sigma Iota Liaison and President of the Alabama Association of Addiction and Offender Counselors.
Currently, Ms. Fadul serves as the President-elect of the New Mexico Advocacy and Social Justice, a branch of the New Mexico Counseling Association, and a Member of Albuquerque Mayor Keller’s American with Disability Advisory Council.
Since graduating from the JSU program a major accomplishment she is most proud of is being one of the founding members of the American Rehabilitation Counselor Association Accessibility Taskforce. Ms. Fadul was one of the writers for the first Conference Accessibility guide for the counseling profession. This guide was written with the intent to guide the American Counseling Association and its divisions on ways to create equitable programming for students, professionals, and clients with disabilities. The initial underlying goal is to increase the pipeline of disabled providers and professors in the counseling field.
