Lexie Manion, Art Therapist

I had the absolute privilege the last few days of attending the AATA (American Art Therapy Association) 55th Annual Conference, titled “Building Bridges”. I was awarded a student scholarship. I greatly appreciate the recognition and support as I balance my job, being a full-time student, and working as an Art Therapy Intern. It was an honor to learn that only three of us were awarded this scholarship. I feel very lucky to be here as a first-year student as many people are not able to attend the conference until they are practicing as art therapists.

The conference was filled with like-minded, compassionate art therapists and future art therapists. I met so many wonderful people and gained important takeaways from each session. The speakers were phenomenal and so incredibly moving. I feel even more rooted in my identity and ecstatic to be undertaking this field — with my family, friends, peers, and professors by my side.

Thank you to everyone who made this possible. A special thanks to my former boss and former professor for writing my letters of recommendation and believing in my vast passion for this work. And thank you to my internship site for sponsoring my travel. It was also moving to see fellow peers be awarded and hear my professors share their presentations.

Some fun moments (because being silly is fun 🤪) include laughing about the struggle to figure out how to open the coffee creamer container with a pioneer in our field/the author of a book we are reading in class, as well as exclaiming to our professor that we had Floor Pasta (leftovers from lunch that we stowed on the floor under a table so no one touched it at the conference! 🤣)

I’ll leave you with what Dr. Bertice Berry posed to us as her guide to her journey to her PhD: “What do I know?“ and “What does my community need?” And as art therapist Winnie Wong bravely echoed, “Hope is a verb and a practice.” My heart is so full. ♥️