Come meet Mitchell, a senior graduate clinician at Husky ABA clinic! He is in his first year in the applied behavior analysis (ABA) master’s program at St. Cloud State University. At the clinic, Mitchell balances several tasks. He trains undergraduate and graduate clinicians. In addition, he assists and teaches parents how to implement behavioral programs and working directly with clients through telehealth.

Mitchell had experience working with individuals with various disabilities at camps when he was an undergraduate student. Upon graduating from college, Mitchell was working at a summer camp where he started using behavior-analytic interventions. It was his very first experience of being introduced to ABA and using ABA strategies (e.g., reinforcement). He became extremely interested in how practical and useful ABA interventions are after having hands-on experiences. Mitchell decided to go pursue additional certification in behavior analysis. He became a registered behavior technician (RBT) and gained more in-depth knowledge and training in ABA through the process.

After the experience working in the summer, Mitchell decided to pursue his master’s degree as he wished to expand the breadth of his current understanding in ABA. By having further education, he hopes to provide more effective service to his clients at the Husky ABA clinic. He also tries to use ABA interventions in different aspects of his life.

While studying hard in graduate school, Mitchell finds balance in his life by hiking, biking, and rocking climbing. He also enjoys cooking and hosting. Many of his classmates in the ABA master’s program have experienced his hospitality. In fact, Mitchell stated Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday, and loves spending time with his family. Also, most importantly, he eats amazing food. Given his passion for cooking, Mitchell has many strong opinions regarding food. He claims boneless chicken wings are solely glorified chicken nuggets, and they do not deserve to be called chicken wings! Having strong opinions also allows him to bring in many unique perspectives when contributing to discussions in classes.

Next week will conclude our reinforcement blog post series. It is okay if you missed the posts from the past 8 weeks or so. We will cover them all next week!!