| When the opportunity came along to pursue an international degree here at Oregon
State University I really did not know where it would lead me or what interests it would
bring into my life. I had a general idea of what the degree was all about and what it
included but as are most things in life it was far from clear where I would end up with this
work. This is the final piece of much time, work, effort, and yes even frustration
regarding my international degree. It has been a difficult road to follow at times but it has
been an incredibly rewarding and beneficial experience for which I am thankful.
The most challenging part of this degree has definitely been the senior project and
paper. My problem initially was finding or creating a worthy and constructive project that
was interesting to myself. This issue was compounded by the fact that my first major is a
Bachelors of Arts degree in psychology. This degree does not offer the training necessary
to serve as a professional counselor or researcher in the United States nor in any other
part of the world. Therefore it was not possible to create an experience in which I
volunteered or spent time working in a mental health clinic or research facility. To be
quite frank about the matter I did not and do not have the training and qualifications
necessary to attempt such a project. However, in the end I came up with the very
interesting idea of looking at and describing what exists in the area of "mental health" in
Ecuador, a developing country of the third world. It turned out to be a worthwhile
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