Empower Scholarship recipients found their calling in mental health care after personal tragedies brought each of them to seek care and healing for themselves.
For Jada LaBounty, her journey to Walden University’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling program has been shaped by personal experience, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to helping others.
“I was sexually assaulted while I was an undergraduate. It was an experience that shattered me at the time, but it also gave me a deep understanding of the mental and emotional toll trauma takes on a person. It’s a pain I wouldn’t wish on anyone, but it also gave me a purpose—to make sure others have the support and resources they need to heal.”
From this moment, LaBounty shifted her academic focus, redirecting their energy into the field of mental health care.
LaBounty’s journey into mental health care is not only a testament to personal resilience but also a powerful example of turning adversity into advocacy. She is passionate about creating inclusive spaces where people feel safe, heard, and supported. “Mental health is about meeting people where they are and helping them take the steps they need to heal,” she said.
LaBounty’s mission is to ensure that no one feels alone in their struggles. “My story is one of survival,” they said. “But more than that, it’s about hope—about showing people that healing is possible and that they are never alone.”
Helping Others Heal Through Understanding and Care
Erica Taney’s path to becoming a mental health nurse practitioner at Chamberlain University was one she never initially envisioned. As a young woman, she dreamed of being a devoted wife and mother, raising her children in a loving home.
“My dream job was to just be a good wife and a mom, possibly homeschool my kids,” she recalls. But her marriage, which she had hoped would provide the stability she sought, became a source of deep personal struggle. “That didn’t work out according to plan because I married someone who suffered from serious addictions that caused him to become abusive, neglectful, controlling, and unfaithful.”
The emotional strain of her marriage created feelings of isolation and tension. This emotional burden became overwhelming, pushing her to a breaking point. “I didn’t know how to cope, and it felt like I was drowning.”
Realizing she could no longer face it alone, Taney first turned to a counselor for support. “I had to reach out,” she shares, acknowledging the pivotal moment when she sought help. “She helped me realize that my husband's behavior was abusive, unacceptable, and could not be changed by me. That one conversation gave me a lot of clarity and connected me to life-changing resources.” Through newfound support and relying on her faith and community, she found the tools and self-worth to rebuild.
Taney’s struggles with her marriage ultimately became the catalyst for her career. “When I work with people now, I can relate to their struggles because I’ve been there,” she shares. Her personal journey, though difficult, gave her the compassion and empathy to connect with patients on a deeper level, offering the same support she once received. She began seeing a therapist while pursuing her degree.
“It just occurred to me that receiving counseling myself would be a good idea, to make sure that issues and trauma from my past have been adequately addressed before I begin counseling others.”
Supported by the Empower Scholarship Fund
“The Empower Scholarship Fund has been incredibly validating for me,” LaBounty says.
“After my assault, I experienced severe PTSD—I couldn’t work, I struggled to be around men, and I felt stuck. Financially, I was on my own as I pursued my master’s degree, and I didn’t have savings or extra income because I wasn’t able to work. The scholarship reminded me that others see my effort and recognize the challenges I’ve overcome. I’m turning my experience into something positive.”
In 2024, Empower Scholarship Fund offered 227 scholarships worth a combined total of $431,500.
Taney adds: “I was deeply touched and so thankful to God for helping me write an essay that could communicate my feelings, thoughts, goals, and show a glimpse of my heart’s desire to help people who are suffering and struggling. Knowing that my words resonated with them and earned this recognition means so much to me. I’m incredibly appreciative and just want to thank everyone who believed in me.”
For more information, email the Adtalem Global Communications Team: adtalemmedia@adtalem.com.
