About
Hanna's Moment
It was Hanna Roberts’ first year at Carroll. As an anthrozoology major, she was volunteering in the equine therapy program at a local therapeutic youth home. One of her young clients was on the autism spectrum and didn’t like water or getting wet, which made bathing a challenge for the child’s parents. So, working closely with her supervisor, Hanna helped develop an idea to desensitize her client to triggers like getting dirty and wet. She told the youth that, on that day, they were going to give one of the horses a bath.
The client looked at us with wide eyes, a huge smile, grabbed the hose and bathed the horse like it was the best job in the entire world— jumping in puddles and getting completely soaked. By the end of the session we were all smiling from ear to ear.
This is a moment that has followed me throughout the years because it shows just how powerful horses can be in therapy. My experiences as an anthrozoology student at Carroll have motivated me to seek the answers to my own questions through research in an attempt to quantify the enigmatic benefits of animal therapy and the human-animal bond.
I was born and raised on Raft Island, WA where I quickly fell in love with horseback riding. After competing in three day eventing from age five to the present, I realized how much horses can positively impact people. This inspired me to learn more about equine therapy which led me to attend Carroll College specifically for their anthrozoology major. Once at Carroll I quickly fell in love with the psychology department and began to pursue a career in the mental health field with the hopes to help horses heal humans by offering equine facilitated psychotherapy as a complimentary treatment method.
I think that the biggest impact that the Carroll Psych program had was the continuous support from each and every professor. I was able to work closely with each faculty member who helped prepare me to work in the field as well as getting accepted into a grad program. From GRE prep to helping me write my personal statement, all of the psychology professors helped me get into my top choice grad school. It's rare to be part of a program where the professors are so invested in their students' well-being and professional/academic success, but it has been that support that has helped me get to where I am now.
Find out more about Carroll College's Anthrozoology program.