A Heart for Helping: Paulina’s Impact as a Development Counselor
When Paulina left her native country of Mexico to immigrate to the United States, she never could have imagined where she’d end up. She had been successful in her college accounting program in Mexico—and enjoyed the subject—but as she resumed the curriculum in her new country, something had changed.
“When I took my first accounting class in the United States, it didn’t feel right,” Paulina recalls. “I was like, ‘This is not for me.’”
In response, Paulina changed her major to social work—a degree she had only recently learned of after arriving in the country. The program aligned with her interests, and she saw it as a door to making her goals a reality.
“All my life, I wanted to do something with people,” Paulina shares. “I wanted to help them, and social work sounded like what I wanted to do.”
Her educational path led her to receive a master’s degree in social work with an emphasis in refugee and immigrant support.
“Refugees and immigrants sometimes fall through the cracks because they don't speak the language, and they don't know their way around,” Paulina says. “That breaks my heart because I was like them when I moved to the country. I know their struggles, so I want to be a person who they can rely on.”
Upon graduating, Paulina learned of an opening for a development counselor position at her local Deseret Industries. Her expertise and passion made her an ideal candidate.
“I found the job online and was like, ‘Oh, that is something I would like to do,’” Paulina says. “I got a fast response from the hiring manager, and the rest is history.”
During her six months in the job, Paulina has leveraged her training and personal experience to help DI associates and others improve their situations. She emphasizes that helping individuals create better lives for themselves is a crucial part of her work.
“A very general and especially short answer about what development counselors do is that we help associates become self-sufficient,” Paulina says.
While a big aspect of development counseling is clinical work, Paulina is very interested in case work as well, such as finding community resources that can help associates.
“We want associates to learn how to do things themselves when they leave DI, so we give them tools to do so,” Paulina says. “But sometimes you have to go above and beyond to help.”
Paulina is grateful to work alongside other professionals who have a passion for supporting individuals in their goals to grow.
“All development counselors care for their associates,” Paulina says. “We each have different strengths, and I feel that’s what makes us unique. I’m very professional, but I’m always funny and outgoing with associates. I like to point out what their strengths are.”
As one could guess after talking with Paulina, she loves what she does for a living. When asked about her favorite part of the job, a big smile breaks across her face.
“I don’t know if I already gave it away, but everything,” Paulina says with a laugh. “It doesn't feel like a job sometimes because this is what I wanted to do.”
Would you benefit from working at Deseret Industries and meeting with a development counselor like Paulina? Visit your nearest Deseret Industries location to learn more and to apply for our job training program.
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