Thank you for your time today, my name is Valerie Jensen. I was raised in the South Eastern Tlingit community of Yakutat, Alaska. Growing up in a L’lingit community with no L’ingit blood running through my veins left me with a disconnected feeling in a confusing time of my adolescence trying to fit into a culture that was not mine while trying to understand my place in this world. However, it helped me discover my empathetic and resilient self. I am honored to have graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks with my certificate in Rural Human Services (March 2018), my Associate of Applied Science in Human Services (May 2020; Institutional Honors: Cum Laude), and I am continuing this fall to obtain my Bachelors of Social Work Degree, expected to graduate 2027. The program modules I have been blessed to participate in incorporate Westernized structures of education with cultural and indigenous methods of learning. By providing us this specific learning environment, our instructors are essentially allowing us to learn from one another through this program. Each individual is building their own groundwork for healing and an understanding of what is needed in this field through experience. We are healing ourselves by working the material and the resources so that we can speak from experience when we explain to our clients it takes patience and hard work, but that change is possible. I have learned so much and am excited and eager to continue learning how I can better myself to advocate for and empower others. I am currently 1000 hours away from my BHA II Certification and am in communication with the organization for credentials to become certified as a Chemical Dependency Counselor. These certifications will allow me to work with individuals in my community with the proper educational and experiential background with confidence in my skills when encountering certain mental health barriers associated with alcohol and chemical alterations to their mental and behavioral composition. I will have developed a confidence to present circumstances in a way that will productively engage the individual to generate change. I plan to live and work in my hometown to encourage positive mental health for my fellow community members. I come with a vision of establishing a supportive and a trustworthy environment for families and community members of all ages. I hope to revive community spirit through culture, creativity, vision, partnerships, and integration of traditional behavioral health skills to inspire expression and awareness. As a single, indigenous mother, I feel it is my responsibility to lead by example that with persistence and dedication, I have made valiant efforts to understand my personal and historical traumas and their effects on my behaviors, my thoughts, my interpretation of concepts. I refuse to allow these triggers to be passed on to my daughters, my grandbabies, my nieces and nephews. I want to be known as a strong woman that stood up to inspire change for the generations that are to follow.

Thank you for your time today, my name is Valerie Jensen. I was raised in the South Eastern Tlingit community of Yakutat, Alaska. I have always been a very engaged individual. I love learning. I love learning about myself and my surroundings and learning about other people’s journeys. I started on the path of higher education in the fall of 2007 through the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau. A few months after beginning school I found out I was pregnant and withdrew from college. I returned to college in 2011/2012 pursuing a degree in Human Communication. I later moved home in the summer of 2012, postponing my degree until I was able to get on my feet and stabilize my mental health. During this time I provided daycare for my nieces and nephews while fostering my daughter and providing as a single mother. This allowed me to get back to the core of myself, by providing a safe, secure, fun, and educational learning environment while developing my sense of purpose. I am honored to have graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks with my certificate in Rural Human Services (March 2018), my Associate of Applied Science in Human Services (May 2020; Institutional Honors: Cum Laude), and I am continuing this fall to obtain my Bachelors of Social Work Degree, expected to graduate 2027. The program modules I have been blessed to participate in incorporate Westernized structures of education with cultural and indigenous methods of learning. By providing us this specific learning environment, our instructors are essentially allowing us to learn from one another through this program. Each individual is building their own groundwork for healing and an understanding of what is needed in this field through experience. We are healing ourselves by working the material and the resources so that we can speak from experience when we explain to our clients it takes patience and hard work, but that change is possible. I have learned so much and am excited and eager to continue learning how I can better myself to advocate for and empower others. I am currently 1000 hours away from my BHA II Certification and am in communication with the organization for credentials to become certified as a Chemical Dependency Counselor. These certifications will allow me to work with individuals in my community with the proper educational and experiential background with confidence in my skills when encountering certain mental health barriers associated with alcohol and chemical alterations to their mental and behavioral composition. I will have developed a confidence to present circumstances in a way that will productively engage the individual to generate change. I plan to live and work in my hometown to encourage positive mental health for my fellow community members. I come with a vision of establishing a supportive and a trustworthy environment for families and community members of all ages. I hope to revive community spirit through culture, creativity, vision, partnerships, and integration of traditional behavioral health skills to inspire expression and awareness. As a single, indigenous mother, I feel it is my responsibility to lead by example that with persistence and dedication, I have made valiant efforts to understand my personal and historical traumas and their effects on my behaviors, my thoughts, my interpretation of concepts. I refuse to allow these triggers to be passed on to my daughters, my grandbabies, my nieces and nephews. I want to be known as a strong woman that stood up to inspire change for the generations that are to follow.