Maiyra graduated in June 2013, with a BS in family and human services (FHS) and a minor in Spanish. During her senior year, she earned a year long internship at the Center for Family Development. Through collaboration with the therapists at her internship, she became interested in continuing her education at the graduate level. One therapist in particular had graduated from UO’s Couples and Family Therapy (CFT) program and highly recommended it. After looking into it, she fell in love with its mission statement and everything else the program offered. Maiyra recalled, “What caught my attention the most was their commitment to diversity and inclusion. As a Latina, being part of a welcoming environment was very important to where I would be applying for my graduate career.”

Maiyra successfully obtained a graduate degree in Couples and Family Therapy in 2015. She was hired by Looking Glass Community Services in Lane County Oregon where she worked for 2 years in the Intensive Outpatient Support Services (IOSS) Program, formally known as Intensive Community Treatment Services (ICTS). She then became the Latinx/e Outreach Coordinator, where she was instrumental in developing Looking Glass’s Bilingual/Bicultural counseling services (her career aim). Additionally, she serves as the Internship Program Supervisor and – now for 3 years – as a Clinical Supervisor. “I’m able to work with my community, not only leading an effort to provide bicultural services in Spanish, but bridging access gaps for BIPOC clients in general,” says Maiyra. I love supervising graduate student interns and it’s come full circle – I’ve now supervised three UO Couples and Family Therapy students.”

Maiyra believes that the CFT program sets a strong foundation for developing areas of specialty and for working with the populations of your interest where your career can be taken in multiple directions. “The CFT program culture is supportive, and the faculty genuinely care about you individually and academically. It’s a community that you can take with you; I’ve developed lifelong friendships with members of my cohort.”