Loretta Hall: 1/12/2024
Saij O’Neil began her practicum experience with Perch on October 1, 2021 and, as of January 11, 2024, is our newest Board Certified Behavior Analyst!
And really, you guys, I could not possibly be more full of joy about the whole dang thing.
This will be my 7th year as a practicum supervisor and I like to think I’ve gotten better at it over the years but if you’ve met Sheena Meng you’ll know that my ability to bring up superstar BCBAs might just be part of my DNA. Or, possibly (read: most likely), the rock-solid foundation of mentorship and support at Perch works. Saij’s outstanding success is a product of a team effort to enrich her learning by creating opportunities for high-level experience, taking time to get to know her, and knowing that for every minute we spend with her she owes us tenfold for the rest of her life.
Special thanks to her family that actually raised her, her superior DNA, her own hard work… and… Gonzaga…
Saij is one of the most independent first-year Behavior Analysts I have had the honor of working with. Her second year of her practicum program can be best described as "an ABA buffet of random crap”. As a result, she can now walk in to pretty much any situation and be immediately effective, helpful, and supportive. With very little notice she made herself available to cover other supervisors (and BTs!), she’d tackle seemingly impossible situations, and rock her school work and studies. Given that Brady is around today, I’d say she was still somehow able to have a bit of a personal life in the meantime.
I’m thankful for Saij today for the time I got to spend as her supervisor and that Perch gets to keep her as long as we can continue being half as cool as she is.