Student Benefits

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

By Leo Hudzik
March 2006

In the summer of 2004, I was in the throes of a mid-life crisis; good ol’ Erikson would say I was right on time. A 45-year-old with a successful New York City career in I.T., a house in the suburbs, a smart wife, two smart sons, and two not-so-smart dogs - the perfect picture of fulfillment. On vacation, however, I found myself reading self-help books and watching Dr. Phil everyday. What was that a perfect picture of?

Not much.

I was restless and I was soul-searching. I was determined to resolve this. I dutifully followed Stephen Covey’s self-help exercise at the beginning of his second habit for highly effective people (and highly effective book-selling). "Begin with the end in mind" was the command. I close my eyes. There I am, at my own funeral. The music swells, and the relatives gather. What is everyone saying about me?

Not much.

Ah-HA ... an existential epiphany! The music again swells ... as do the relatives. A new career is what I need. Better yet, a new career in counseling. I always thought I had a "knack" for it; I am fascinated with psychology and human behavior. I facilitated self-help groups and enjoyed them. This idea falls together and makes perfect sense. Here is something meaningful, having positive impact in others’ lives. My funeral was now shaping into this wonderful event - everyone was having such a great time!

Fast-forward to Summer 2005. This practical, logical, middle-aged I.T. professional has been an on-line counseling graduate student since January. I received an e-mail concerning an AMHCA convention in Philadelphia.

Again, the music swells.

Off I went to the AMHCA Convention. My practical, logical, middle-aged mind was telling me that a middle-aged professional needs to hit the ground running after graduation. I needed to network with peers in the field, and get an idea of the business from those in the business. I attended fascinating seminars by published mental health professionals.

I even attended a graduate student luncheon, and was elected "chair-elect" to the graduate student committee of AMHCA, thereby pre-booking next year’s summer vacation.

Fellow graduate students, please accept this open invitation to spend a bit of your summer vacation with AMHCA and me in St. Louis at the 2006 Convention! I promise you it will be rewarding, fulfilling, and the music will swell as you enter. Hopefully, my relatives won’t be there. But make sure you say hello to me, the middle-aged counselor-to-be writing the self-help book on how to plan rewarding and fulfilling summer vacations.

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