NOMV Intern Spotlight!
The NOMV team is grateful to work with incredible MSW Interns, and we wanted to shine a special spotlight on our former interns that have completed their internship journey with us! Thank you for supporting the NOMV mission, and we send you best wishes on the future ahead.
Cassandra Walls (she/they)
Meet our very first Masters of Social Work Intern, Cassandra!
Cassandra joined our team as a graduate student at the University of Tennessee pursuing their Veterinary Social Work certificate program. Her passion for social justice and sense of equality and equity brought her to pursue the organizational leadership path while her deep love and devotion to animals and the people who protect them brought her to pursue the Veterinary Social Work certificate.
Cassandra helped to launch our CLEAR Blueprint program and provided support to our Clinic Advocates. We were also fortunate to have Cassandra join our team at VMX 2023!
Neyva Hernandez (she/her)
Meet Neyva! She joined our team while working toward her Masters of Social Work degree at Colorado State University.
Neyva was born in Mexico, and immigrated to the United States with her family when she was six years old where they resettled in Leadville, Colorado. In 2019, she graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Metropolitan State University. Prior to graduating, she was doing an internship at Aurora Mental Health Center with the Trauma Resilience Youth Program (TRYP) for Refugee and Immigrants, and was later offered a job and worked at TRYP for 3.5 years. At TRYP, she worked mainly for the Hispanic/Latin community, finding resources and co-facilitating groups in schools around Aurora for youths who were trying to adjust to a new country. In 2020, as Neyva was working part time at TRYP, she was also working part time at her now full time job with the Intensive In-Home (IIH) program at Aurora Mental Health Center. At the IIH, they provide therapeutic and behavioral coaching services for children ages 6-17 and their families.
Rodney Washington (he/him)
Rodney embarked on an exciting new chapter after completing his social work studies at Loras College in Dubuque. Rodney dedicates himself to a diverse and fulfilling career in social work. He provided counseling to adolescents facing substance use challenges, served in Arizona’s welfare program, and assumed roles as a social service assistant and director in a skilled nursing rehabilitation home. By a stroke of fate, Rodney discovers an exciting opportunity when he notices veterinary hospitals seeking social workers, and several months later, he was introduced to NOMV. With his invaluable skills and compassionate heart, he strives to create a meaningful and lasting difference in the lives of those he encounters.