Arna Erega.

Dr. Arna Erega is an Assistant Professor of Practice and Director of Clinical Training in the Counselor Education Program at The University of Texas at Austin. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor in Texas, a Licensed Professional Counselor in South Carolina, a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in North Carolina, and a Certified Mental Performance Consultant.

She moved to the United States as an international student-athlete, to train in an environment that would give her the best chance at competing at the highest level. She already knew her long-term future was in counseling and psychology. Even in high school she was fascinated by human behaviour, relationships, resilience, and the factors that help people navigate adversity and growth.

As an international student-athlete she learned firsthand what it means to navigate transition, uncertainty and adaptation: a new culture, a second language, the demands of academics and athletics at once, and a life built far from family and everything familiar. Those years taught her about resilience, belonging and identity in ways that still guide her work.

That path led to the counseling profession, where she found a way to combine human development, mental health, relationships and performance in one body of work. Today she prepares future counselors for clinical practice and professional leadership, working closely with master's students as they develop counseling skills, professional identity, ethical decision-making and multicultural competence through practicum and internship.

Across her teaching, supervision, writing and service, the same themes keep surfacing: resilience, identity, growth and human potential. She is especially interested in how people navigate major life transitions, whether that means moving across countries, entering a helping profession, recovering from setbacks, becoming parents, or redefining themselves entirely.

Her perspective is shaped by her professional roles and by her own life. She is an immigrant, a former student-athlete, a counselor, an educator, a supervisor and a mother. Each of those identities has taught her something about courage, vulnerability, persistence and connection.

As Assistant Professor of Practice and Director of Clinical Training, Dr. Erega helps students navigate the transition from learner to professional counselor. Through teaching, supervision, mentorship and clinical training, she works to create learning environments that challenge students to grow while providing the support that growth requires.

She views learning through a developmental and constructivist lens. Students arrive with different experiences, strengths and ways of understanding the world. Her role is not simply to transmit knowledge, but to help students examine assumptions, develop self-awareness, think critically, and integrate new learning into a professional identity.

Multicultural awareness is the foundation of all of it. As an immigrant, a former international student-athlete, a counselor and an educator, she recognises that our experiences shape how we understand ourselves and others. She works to build learning environments where diverse perspectives are welcome, difficult conversations can happen respectfully, and cultural humility is treated as ongoing rather than achieved.