In May, Ryan Gray ’97, M.S. ’00, stepped down from his role as director of Student Services and assistant to the chair in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology to accept a new position as program coordinator in the Office of the University Registrar. Although we were sad to see him leave, we were also excited to see him flourish in this new role.
This change also brought an exciting opportunity to reconnect and engage with Natalie Schaad ’10, a proud alumnus of our sociology program, and our new director of Student Services and assistant to the chair. Schaad is an associate licensed marriage and family therapist and experienced academic program administrator.
After graduating from Illinois State, Schaad conducted research for her master’s at NYU on military sexual trauma (MST) and trans-generational trauma across gender identities. While working with trauma survivors to better understand the complex issues within the military that both create and protect sexual predators, and how survivors coped with their individual experiences, Schaad was moved to further her education as a clinical practitioner to better support survivors and their families as they coped with the long-lasting and multigenerational impacts of MST.
Schaad went on to earn a master’s in marriage and family therapy from the University of Southern California, while simultaneously serving as the program administrator for that university’s School of Philosophy and the graduate advisor and coordinator for the Ph.D. program. Schaad completed her clinical training at the Pasadena Cancer Support Community, providing individual, couple, and group therapy to people whose lives had been impacted by cancer. She left that experience profoundly committed to those coping with cancer, chronic illness, and grief.
Schaad is enthusiastic about bringing her eclectic experience to the service of the students, faculty, and staff here at Illinois State, as we work together to educate future change agents and help sociology and anthropology students learn to ask meaningful questions about the world we live in. When she is not on campus, she spends her time with her three little girls, husband, and house full of fur babies.
Schaad’s passion for service, education, and interpersonal relationships has been greatly felt by our department in just her first couple of months with us and makes us profoundly excited for what the future holds.
