Class of 24 Grace Porath: All in the Family

All in the Family

Grace Porath’s decision to attend Simpson College likely came as no surprise to anyone in her family. She is a third generation Simpson graduate, following the footsteps of her grandfather, Arnie Porath ’78 and her mom, Emily (Linn) Porath ’01. And now Grace is making the family proud as a graduate student at the University of Northern Iowa.

“I’m training to be a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) with a gerontology distinction,” said Porath. “I hope to help people understand the things they’ve been through and how those things affect their daily functioning.”

As she pursues her master’s degree, Porath is working as a graduate assistant for Dr. Olivia Chen. That experience is providing insights on best practices for training culturally competent counselors, including potential uses for AI in the field.

“I hope to get further training to be a play therapist for kids,” said Porath. “This medium of therapy provides kids with a way to communicate, process experiences and be understood through a universal language — play.”

Porath says Simpson played an integral role in paving her path to graduate school. College internships as a youth counselor at Woodward Academy and as a direct support professional with Easterseals Iowa gave her invaluable experience. And Simpson provided hands-on help in getting her into UNI.

“Simpson gave me time to explore different opportunities. My professors wrote letters of recommendation, the writing center helped present my best qualities on the application, and the career center helped me write my resume.”