Dear FUUSN Community,

It’s hard to believe that my time as the Youth Programs Coordinator is coming to an end. As I leave this role at FUUSN I have been reflecting on how much the program has grown over the two years I’ve worked at FUUSN. As I leave this role, we have an amazing team of twelve volunteer youth advisors, a full calendar of annual programs, and a strong group of youth who are involved at FUUSN in various ways. Youth come to youth group, work as youth teachers and beadles, help plan coffee house and the youth service, volunteer on the board, and attend youth events and service projects such as Ecclesia. None of this would be possible without the support of the FUUSN congregation and staff, or without the amazing youth and adult advisors who make the program a success. 

As I transition into my next step, what I will remember most about FUUSN is the community. I have been so impressed with the generosity of our youth advisors: Dana Hanson, Jenny Bell, Barbara Bates, Jeannie Chaisson, Laura Thompson, Lorenz Glazer, Eric Moore, Dave Goddeau, Bridget Hess-Mahan, Lisa Carbone, Danny Jones, and Brian Burba. I am so grateful for the opportunity to work with FUUSN’s amazing staff. And most of all, I am forever impressed by the dedication, generosity, and thoughtfulness of FUUSN’s youth. It has been a pleasure to see the ways that you come together, support each other, and seek out opportunities to be connected to each other and to the larger FUUSN community. 

Though it is sad to be leaving this amazing community, I am also excited about my next step. As many of you know, I am currently in a masters program for Expressive Arts Therapy at Lesley University. In the coming year, I will be beginning my clinical internship doing Expressive Arts Therapy at McLean Hospital in their inpatient OCD unit. I am really excited for the opportunity to apply what I am learning in my program and to work towards my dream career as an Expressive Arts Therapist. 

It has been such a pleasure getting to work with all of you and I so appreciate getting to have the opportunity to be part of the FUUSN community. If you would like to be in touch, you can reach me at my personal email: mx.dani.patrick@gmail.com. Thank you!

Best,

Dani Patrick