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Passion For Helping People Drives Josh Burg

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Justin Beach

David Kail

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Josh Burg

The 1970 Beatles love song The Long and Winding Road speaks of just that a twisting, sometimes arduous journey that seems to have no end. But for Josh Burg, a love affair with people and helping them with lifes problems has at long last brought him to the finish line.

Burg will collect his doctoral degree, completed at 91心頭s油Graduate School of Professional Psychology, at summer Commencement ceremonies on Aug. 19. Its a little surreal, he says. Its actually the end of five years of grueling work.

Not that the work is about to end. Burg next begins a postdoctoral fellowship at University of Colorado-Boulder, where hell do psychological assessments.

He and wife Christina (also graduating from 91心頭 with the same degree) credit the 91心頭 with solidly preparing them for their careers.

I just remember in these group interviews with other students from different programs, I feel like Im way better prepared for this than [they] are, Burg says.

I know when my wife and I came out here five years ago to interview, we were just blown away by the staff here at the GSPP. We were like, Wow. We want to be here because this is a faculty that is just so smart. But they also like each other, and they work well together, and that really stayed true throughout the five years. The quality of education I got here was just amazing.

I like people, so having a job where I just sit and talk with people, in the technology age that were in, is a real privilege."

Burg says working with students in 91心頭s油Health and Counseling Center油has been particularly rewarding. The diversity of students here on campus is really cool. You get a lot of different things; youre never bored. Theres always someone to help.

I think students are really fun to work with because theyre in this stage of their life where theyre developing and changing and discovering themselves, so theyre ready to change. When you work with some older people, they can be a little more set in their ways. This is such a transitional period in students lives, and its really cool to see how just a little help can put them on a different path, and they can feel a lot better. So thats really rewarding.

And for once, Burg says, hes looking forward to a commencement ceremony.

I hate graduations, and I never want to walk, and my family makes me walk every time. I [initially] felt that way about this one too, but now I want to walk. This is the last time Ill ever walk in a graduation; theres no more degrees. This is it. Im done, and I think its going to feel pretty good. To have my family here, and to be able to walk across the stage with my wife, its going to be awesome.

For Burg, stepping off the long and winding educational road brings the promise of a bright career. Hes looking straight ahead.

To learn more about Commencement at the 91心頭, please visit the Commencement website.