SC Student Spotlights
Dr. Lillian Walker Shelton
It’s really a funny story – my older brother is a social worker, his wife is a social worker, my brother-in-law is a social worker. So I was like, ‘I don’t want to be a social worker. I want to be a counselor.’ I was a legal secretary from 2006 to 2009, but I wanted to do more to help people – and I didn’t want to go to school for social work because of all these other social workers in my family! So, I decided to instead go to school for counseling.
I was doing a fellowship at that time through a group called the Younger Women’s Task Force, and I would be involved in women’s empowerment circles at a place called STRIVE DC. A lot of the women in the group said they wanted assistance but didn’t feel comfortable, but they felt comfortable talking to me. So, that propelled me to go to graduate school at Trinity Washington University for counseling. Once I did that, I worked as a community support specialist in D.C., but I thought to myself that I still really wanted to do more. I saw an ad for Marymount’s doctoral program in Counseling, and thought that this would enable me to really help more people and be creative. I applied in 2014, and now eight years later, here I am.
Annetta Benjamin
Annetta obtained her Bachelor’s degree in psychology and Master’s degree in Pastoral Counseling both from our great Marymount University. After completing her graduate degree, Mrs. Benjamin went on to receive her Clinical License as a Professional Counselor (LPC) and Certification as a National Counselor (NCC) in the state of Virginia. She has supervised and managed undergraduate and graduate student interns, many of which have come from Marymount University. She also taught the Child and Adolescent Psychopathology course for juniors and seniors at Marymount, as an adjunct Professor.
Ryan Napolitano
Ryan Napolitano is a Marymount Clinical Mental Health Counseling alumni! Ryan is an LPC, Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, Certified Personality Disorder Treatment Provider, and Certified Substance Abuse Counselor. He is currently working at Camino Recovery in Málaga, Spain.Prior to this, he was a collegiate baseball player and coach, sports counselor, in-house counselor in a psychiatrist office, and worked in recovery at Phoenix House (now National Capital Treatment & Recovery).
Ryan pulls from a unique blend of former careers and passions that inform his approach. With an undergraduate degree in business administration and experience in technology development, he provides a clear structured approach that flexes to client needs as they progress in treatment.
