Camile Mejia finds her fit in counseling at UW-Whitewater

Written by Chris Lindeke | Photos by Craig Schreiner, submitted

When Camile Mejia wrapped up her undergraduate career as a neuroscience major, she wanted to make sure that human connection was a part of her future.

Crunching data and coding — work responsibilities that are primarily done in a lab or from behind a computer — were interesting to Mejia, but did not align with her professional ambitions.

“I love talking to people and getting to know people, and I felt like I needed a little bit of a change as far as a career path went,” she said.

After doing research and narrowing down her options for graduate school, Mejia enrolled in the Master of Science in Counseling program at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, citing location and the program’s Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accreditation as top drawing points.

UW-Whitewater’s faculty and small-school atmosphere also played a major role, especially after transitioning from UW-Madison, a large school.

“The faculty was amazing and the school was a little bit smaller,” said Mejia, who is originally from Cedarburg. “It felt like a good space to go into a grad program.”

Mejia, who is currently in her second year with the program and is in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling emphasis, was recently part of a group of counseling students who earned third place in the American Counseling Association’s Graduate Student Ethics Awards for Master’s Students competition. 

She said the people who surround her — including faculty, staff and fellow students — have been her biggest supporters. She said she’s benefitted from getting to know students from different cohorts, including first- and third-year students.

“It’s been really nice because you get a lot of diversity with (the people) in your classes,” Mejia said. “I’ve gotten the chance to make a handful of friendships, and I think that’s been a big benefit.”

Mejia enjoys research — something that was prevalent during her undergraduate career that she wanted to continue as a graduate student. She also spoke to the ability to personalize her academic journey.

“I had a misconception that at a smaller school there wouldn’t be as much research going on, but we are lucky to have some faculty who are actively engaged in research, like (assistant professor of counselor education) Gina Martin,” Mejia said.

“There are a lot more avenues you could go down, and staying connected with different faculty members has helped me to keep exploring all those different pathways,” she said.

Mejia, who currently commutes from Madison, looks forward to starting an internship during her final year in the program, with graduation set for May 2026.

She is interested in family and marriage counseling, and looks to specialize in sex therapy and couples therapy while integrating meditation and yoga into her counseling services. She noted that a new course on sexuality offered through the counseling program helped narrow her focus.

Mejia hopes to eventually start a group practice with other clinicians to provide counseling, somatic therapies, and other wellness services to serve clients’ mind, body, and spirit. 

Her UW-Whitewater experience has provided the steps to get there through personal change.

“The people — I think that’s the best part of the program,” Mejia said. “When you’re in this type of program, like 90 percent of the learning is about yourself, and that can really be challenging. It requires a deep level of reflection and self-understanding because for us to get there with our clients, we have to start doing it ourselves.

“I think being supported by faculty and students who really are supportive and value intimate connections, that has been extremely helpful.”