Please follow directions or wil disput!!! 400 words minimum for original post respond to each student with a minimum of 200 words page 1- Original forum and references  page 2- Response to student and references if used page3- Response to studen and references if used  Original Forum when you think about death, dying and grief, what do those words trigger for you?  Are you able to set your feelings and emotions aside when you need to, is this something you are actively working on, or have you yet had experience separating yourself from grief in a professional role?  Any answer is the right answer....part of the experience of this class is to figure out where we are with our comfort levels and our abilities to separate ourselves from our work.  Be honest, and don't be afraid to explore whatever thoughts come to mind when you think about working with children experiencing grief! Student posts Chelsea  My name is Chelsea Conover.  I am from New Jersey and looking to pursue a career as a Child Life Specialist.  I have always had a love for children and knew I wanted to work with them.  I received my bachelors in psychology in 2016.  I then when onto a master's program in clinical mental health counseling.  I aspired to become a child and adolescent counselor.  Unfortunately, that was not completely for me.  While I was in my masters program, I also worked as a pre-school teacher.  I absolutely loved it.  I learned a lot of great skills to meet children's social, emotional, and cognitive needs.  It also assured my love for working with children.  While I knew I wanted to work with children, I was still unsure of what path I wanted to take.  After extensive research, I learned about the Child Life position.  It felt 'right' for me.  Learning about it got me excited.  In the beginning of August I began volunteering at Cooper University Hospital in the Child Life unit.  I absolutely love it and cannot wait to continue this journey! When I think about death, I think of the words shock, numbness, confusion, and sadness.  These words are specific to me because that is what I felt when I lost my best friend.  Just under two years ago, my best friend since childhood was struck by a driver who ran a red light while she was crossing the cross walk.  It was abrupt and tragic.  My mind could not completely comprehend it for a while.  When the sadness started kicking in I began to run (as I was a collegiate runner) and it really helped me cope.  I ran a half marathon in her favorite city (Philly) for her.  I still visit her mom and we talk about her.  I also do a 'the donor dash' every year with her other close friends and family.  Keeping her name/memory a live has really helped me cope and I do not feel in will affect me professionally.  As a child life specialist I must keep in mind the way I coped and responded to my personal loss may be way different from the way a patient and their family may deal and respond to death.  People respon ...

1. Please follow directions or wil disput!!!
400 words minimum for original post
respond to each student with a minimum of 200 words
page 1- Original forum and references
page 2- Response to student and references if used
page3- Response to studen and references if used
Original Forum
when you think about death, dying and grief, what do those
words trigger for you? Are you able to set your feelings and
emotions aside when you need to, is this something you are
actively working on, or have you yet had experience separating
yourself from grief in a professional role? Any answer is the
right answer....part of the experience of this class is to figure
out where we are with our comfort levels and our abilities to
separate ourselves from our work. Be honest, and don't be
afraid to explore whatever thoughts come to mind when you
think about working with children experiencing grief!
Student posts

2. Chelsea
My name is Chelsea Conover. I am from New Jersey and
looking to pursue a career as a Child Life Specialist. I have
always had a love for children and knew I wanted to work with
them. I received my bachelors in psychology in 2016. I then
when onto a master's program in clinical mental health
counseling. I aspired to become a child and adolescent
counselor. Unfortunately, that was not completely for me.
While I was in my masters program, I also worked as a pre-
school teacher. I absolutely loved it. I learned a lot of great
skills to meet children's social, emotional, and cognitive needs.
It also assured my love for working with children. While I
knew I wanted to work with children, I was still unsure of what
path I wanted to take. After extensive research, I learned about
the Child Life position. It felt 'right' for me. Learning about it
got me excited. In the beginning of August I began
volunteering at Cooper University Hospital in the Child Life
unit. I absolutely love it and cannot wait to continue this
journey!
When I think about death, I think of the words shock, numbness,
confusion, and sadness. These words are specific to me because
that is what I felt when I lost my best friend. Just under two
years ago, my best friend since childhood was struck by a driver
who ran a red light while she was crossing the cross walk. It
was abrupt and tragic. My mind could not completely
comprehend it for a while. When the sadness started kicking in
I began to run (as I was a collegiate runner) and it really helped
me cope. I ran a half marathon in her favorite city (Philly) for
her. I still visit her mom and we talk about her. I also do a 'the
donor dash' every year with her other close friends and family.
Keeping her name/memory a live has really helped me cope and
I do not feel in will affect me professionally. As a child life

3. specialist I must keep in mind the way I coped and responded to
my personal loss may be way different from the way a patient
and their family may deal and respond to death. People respond
to loss in different ways, and no two people grieve in the same
way (Grief and Bereavement Education and Support, n.d).
The only thing that may be difficult for me is working with the
parents who lost/ or have a terminally ill child. Losing a child
is frequently called the ultimate tragedy. I have personally
witnessed the awful pain and despair parents go through when
losing a child after seeing my best friend's parents go through
it. However, I am excited to learn skills that can help me help
families better cope with their child's death. Additionally, I am
excited to develop skills on how to respond to families who
have different views and religious backgrounds. My best
friend's parents have agnostic views, as I come from a Christian
background. I always have to remain mindful and considerate
of their views and not push my own onto them. At times it is
difficult as I find peace in believing she is in happy and in
heaven and they believe she is just gone. As I respect their
views, I sometimes find it difficult in what to say and provide
comfort. However, I found talking about fun memories we had
with her is what helps them cope best.
Grief and Bereavement Education and Support. (n.d). Retrieved
October, 2018, from https://www.choc.org/programs-
services/child-life/grief-bereavement-education-support/
Courtney
I'm Courtney, and I'm from Denver, CO. My road to Child Life
has kind of been a weird one. I graduated from Colorado State
University with a B.A. in Journalism and a B.A. in Spanish. I

4. moved to Spain right after graduating to teach English at an
elementary school in Barcelona - the most incredible experience
in my lifetime thus far. After I moved back, I didn't really know
what I wanted to do with my life (we've all been there, right?). I
was working for the Make A Wish Foundation and had a blast. I
then switched gears and got a job at Children's Hospital
Colorado working as a Patient Advocate, which leads me to
today. I work with families/patients who have issues or
concerns with the way treatment is going or has gone. I'm also
the Assistant Director of a summer camp for kids that have
cancer. I started this program around the same time I started
working at the hospital. It didn't take me long to figure out I
want to work with and around children for the rest of my life.
It's been tricky figuring out in what way, though.
Working in Child Life, I hope to comfort and lift the spirits of
children as they've done for me so many times. Kids can teach
us more about life than any adult if you ask me. I hope to
provide efficient and meaningful family-centered care that
opens up families' minds to the healthcare setting and how to
navigate it. A medical setting is nerve-wracking for almost
anyone, let alone a child or the mother/father of that child. I'm
excited to gain expertise in siblings and how another child's
illness can permanently affect the life of their family members.
My current job and working in the summer camp have enhanced
my skill to separate grief from my professional work. I've
worked with a lot of families who have lost or are expecting to
lose a child. I've learned to set emotions aside and comfort them
to my strongest professional ability - it's times like these when
families need every person around them to be on their A game.
That isn't to say I don't bring work home with me, though. I'm
confident in my ability to handle grief and emotion
appropriately while in the situation, but it does affect me when I
get home sometimes. I think that makes me human! I am proud
of my connection to my work, but I'm excited for this class to

5. teach me about how others process grief, how grief rolls
through support systems, and how I can help facilitate that grief
in any way as a CCLS.
Cheers, folks!