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Former LSEM Student Uses Her Experience to Help Others

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Katie Bowden has found her niche.  Describing herself as “calm on the outside but a storm on the inside,” she was diagnosed with inattentive-type ADHD when she was in third grade at St. Peter, Macomb (Michigan). Throughout her time at St. Peter, her family struggled to find what worked best for her learning. In eighth grade, she was placed with LSEM teacher, Karyn Anspach, who provided additional resources to her as she worked to graduate and move on to Lutheran High School North in Macomb, Michigan.

As a student at St. Peter Macomb, Katie was not familiar with LSEM at the time, but remembers Karyn and the resources she provided as “fun but didn’t make me feel labeled as a ‘special ed’ student.” Her curiosity and love of learning continued at Lutheran High North where she received some assistance with her classes, mostly from understanding teachers who wanted to see her succeed. It was during her senior year when she began to suffer from depression that she started to explore her calling.

“When I graduated, I attended Macomb Community College where I took psychology classes to learn more about depression and mental health. A couple of years later I was struggling to find out what type of career I wanted to pursue. I looked back on my college transcript and discovered that the classes I loved the most and was most interested were in the area of psychology.”

Katie completed her time at Macomb Community College and went on to Rochester College where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She then learned of the master’s program at Spring Arbor University, a small university located in mid-Michigan with satellite locations across the state. It didn’t take long for Katie to decide to pursue a double master’s degree in school counseling and mental health.

Katie is now on her path to becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor. Before she gets there she must complete 600 hours of hands-on learning in a school setting, and 300 hours in a mental health setting. Right now, she is learning a lot about middle schoolers at Kennedy Middle School in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. She remarks, “so many kids are hurting, and need our help. I didn’t realize how great the need was until I got there.”  She wants to help every child she reaches know their learning style and was amazed at their use of technology to help students who, like her, learn differently. She is also eager to return to Lutheran North in January, where she will complete her school training.

Katie readily admits that she struggled to get where she is today, but discovering her learning style has made all the difference. For her, knowledge is not found in large textbooks full of words but rather in a rather modern media: the internet. She will often skim chapters in her class textbooks, then seek out an instructional video on YouTube to increase her knowledge of the subject matter. For her, this has transformed her learning and helps her process the information she needs for her education. “My mind is always going a million miles a minute, and I will often read the same paragraph over and over again.  I can focus on a video and learn exactly what I need to learn.”

Katie is a shining example of a person who has transformed their personal challenges with learning differently to help others. She is excited to help future students and clients find their own learning style to be successful. When asked by a current LSEM student and parent what advice she would give, her response was “find your niche. Everyone learns differently so find out how you do and hang on to that. It will be trial and error but you will get there!”