{"id":19105,"date":"2015-11-19T11:37:59","date_gmt":"2015-11-19T16:37:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/?p=19105"},"modified":"2015-11-20T14:38:38","modified_gmt":"2015-11-20T19:38:38","slug":"voice-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2015\/11\/19\/voice-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"Voice Lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>For years, Avina Ross pictured herself as a psychologist. She\u2019d imagined leaning back in her overstuffed chair and scratching notes as her clients confided their deepest of secrets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI could see myself in New York in my stiletto heels,\u201d said Ross, 33, always the consummate comforter in her group of girlfriends. \u201cI was going to take on the big city and its troubles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>College threw curveballs. A friend who needed a favor. A life-changing internship. A new major that helped her explain how she saw the world. She\u2019d spend the next several years working alongside survivors who used their own voices to give awareness and support. Now, as UMW\u2019s first sexual assault and prevention specialist, Ross is blazing a trail from her Combs Hall office, hoping students will use it to find the help\u00a0that they need.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt isn\u2019t a new problem,\u201d she said of the heightened awareness of sexual assault on college campuses, \u201cbut we need innovative, substantive and culturally relevant ways to address it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/11\/Avina_HP.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"19106\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2015\/11\/19\/voice-lessons\/avina_hp\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/11\/Avina_HP.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2280,920\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Avina_HP\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/11\/Avina_HP-300x121.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/11\/Avina_HP-1024x413.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19106\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/11\/Avina_HP.jpg\" alt=\"Avina Ross \" width=\"800\" height=\"323\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/11\/Avina_HP.jpg 2280w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/11\/Avina_HP-300x121.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/11\/Avina_HP-768x310.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/11\/Avina_HP-1024x413.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/11\/Avina_HP-1140x460.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Born on an Air Force base in England, Ross moved around with her family, finally landing in Virginia\u2019s Hampton Roads area. She studied cosmetology in high school and worked for a while as a hair stylist. But she wanted more.<\/p>\n<p>She enrolled at Old Dominion University, still set on psychology, but soon learned it wasn\u2019t the best fit for her. Grudgingly, she signed up for a sociology class. A passionate professor and dynamic discussion on child welfare won her over the first day, reeling her into concepts like intersecting oppressions, and social construction and welfare.<\/p>\n<p>When she transferred to the College of William and Mary, a classmate confided in her and asked for a favor. She\u2019d survived childhood rape, she told Ross, and she wanted Ross to intern with her \u2013 for emotional support \u2013 at the Center for Sexual Assault Survivors. Ross followed that internship with another at RAINN, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would sit at my computer and tear up during some sessions,\u201d she said of her stint as the group\u2019s research and online hotline intern. \u201cAs an advocate, you sometimes work through the pain and remain strong with the folks you\u2019re trying to help.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She stuck with it, earning a bachelor\u2019s degree in sociology and women\u2019s studies, and returning to William and Mary to help update its sexual assault curriculum and train peer advocates. She\u2019s worked with survivors of interpersonal violence on all levels, providing case management, housing assistance, advocacy and support. She even spent a while in the medical examiner\u2019s office, helping teams evaluate their response to fatalities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was one of the best jobs I\u2019ve ever had, but it\u2019s emotionally draining,\u201d Ross said. \u201cYou\u2019re taking these sad outcomes and looking at them from an honest place. What could we have done differently? What can we do differently next time?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Along the way, she learned to practice \u201cself-care,\u201d relying on her spirituality, and family and friends, to cope with her sensitive work.<\/p>\n<p>She found fulfillment in the classroom, too, as an adjunct professor, said Ross, who earned a master\u2019s degree in sociology from VCU. She\u2019s also finishing a Ph.D. in social work there; her dissertation examines the portrayal of interpersonal violence against black women in contemporary film.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s worked on campus and off; she\u2019s studied sexual assault and prevention, women\u2019s issues and gender-neutral issues,\u201d said Leah Cox, UMW\u2019s Title IX coordinator and special assistant to the president for diversity and inclusion. \u201cShe\u2019s easy to talk to but willing to stand up and be an advocate when needed. We get a lot in one package.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On board since September, Ross will partner with Cox to conduct a campus-wide survey on sexual assault, educate students to support one another, launch a peer advocacy group and, hopefully, make UMW a little bit safer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have an open-door policy,\u201d Ross said. \u201cI\u2019m willing to listen, to provide comfort and advocacy. I\u2019m here to help.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New sexual assault and prevention specialist helps victims speak up<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":19106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,81],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19105","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-show","8":"category-umw-home","9":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - 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