With this opportunity comes excitement, Marottolo explained, who also earned a bachelor's degree from Quinnipiac in psychology.

“I’m excited to be able to see the progress that my clients make over time. Most of the clients come in dealing with significant challenges and even when someone leaves group just understanding their diagnosis better it makes me feel like I’ve done something to help their mental health journey,” she said.

Marottolo explained that her day-to-day at the clinic includes a variety of responsibilities, many that require self-determination. 

“Every day will be a little bit different at work but three days a week I will be running our intensive outpatient group therapy, which allows clients to attend nine hours of group a week,” said Marottolo. “I will be working with individual clients, as well as taking over and starting my own weekly groups at the clinic. I will also complete intakes for new clients and write many case notes.”

Marottolo says she is prepared for her new role thanks to Quinnipiac. 

“Quinnipiac prepared me in many ways. First, with the classes they offered and the knowledgeable professors that taught them, I felt like I went into my two years of internship prepared with the background knowledge I needed to know,” she said. “I appreciated that they had a wide range of elective classes to take, including a class specializing in healthcare settings with Dr. Maya Doyle.”

Quinnipiac also led her to her internship, which was a standout part of her path to her career. She said her classes and connections, mixed with real-world experiences, were highly beneficial.

“I was also prepared because of the internship experiences I had while at Quinnipiac through the range of connections our department has made,” said Marottolo. “I was able to have two wildly different internship experiences, one being in a school system, and one being in a behavioral health clinic with a large healthcare organization. I was able to learn different skills in both settings that benefited me year to year.”

At her internship, she said she felt overwhelmingly supported by everyone she worked with, making it a positive experience. 

“I had an amazing internship with Hartford HealthCare. I was at their behavioral health and psychiatric clinic in New Britain that is associated with their hospital of Central Connecticut,” Marottolo said. “I had the opportunity to work in their Intensive Outpatient (IOP) group therapy, individual therapy, intake sessions and the many other groups that the clinic offered. My supervisor never threw me into the deep end; she gave me proper training and support. I always felt like I was learning something, trying new things, and always having the opportunity to ask questions. My coworkers also supported me by letting me sit in on different groups while also running some of their groups as I moved forward through the internship. My supervisor made sure I had weekly supervision and reminded me that this was one of the most important parts of my internship.”

Marottolo said she is grateful for her supervisor’s guidance. This connection led her to where she is now. 

“Supervision was a time for me to ask questions while also voicing any concerns I had or talking about the exciting moments I had with clients. I was also able to use this time to ask questions about my education and classes at Quinnipiac or life in general,” she said. “My supervisor's name is Kimberly Billings. I am beyond grateful to say that during my internship, my supervisor offered me a full-time position as a licensed clinician at the clinic. I knew this was a place I would want to continue working when my supervisor told me to take a month break in between graduation and starting a full-time position to ensure that I wouldn’t burn myself out before starting the 9-to-5 life. I appreciate that more than she’ll ever know because she put me first”

Marottolo finds her work to be gratifying. Various experiences during her internship proved to her that she found her calling. 

“A standout memory I had while at my internship was running into a client who had completed our IOP program about two months prior,” said Marottolo. “I was able to get a quick life update from the client hearing about the new job she had gotten, improvements in her relationships and growth in her confidence. She told me that going through IOP had benefited her so much, and I was a crucial part of that journey. As an intern you get nervous that you’re going to mess up and have a negative impact on someone’s life, but to hear the exact opposite was very fulfilling.”

Though she is moving on, Marottolo will always remember her time at Quinnipiac fondly as it was a central part of her life growing up. 

“My mom, Lucille Marottolo, has worked at Quinnipiac for over 30 years,” she said. “I grew up on this campus going to basketball games, summer camps and the occasional bring your daughter to workday. I spent my 13th birthday celebrating at a men’s basketball game while spending my 23rd birthday this past year at the Quinnipiac-Yale ice hockey game. So many special memories have taken place at Quinnipiac outside of the classroom and I am beyond grateful for this place and the people in it.”