2024 Personal Statement for the Little Chapel of All Nations

In the midst of a conversation with a fellow colleague in training, Fall 2007, I look over his shoulder and see a portrait of “Mia” (Aldine Sr.). I exclaim, “That’s my great-grandmother!” as I point to the photo my father took of her, then realize my great-grandfather, “Bumpa,” is pictured on another wall in the room we’re having our training. I am excited, stunned, and bewildered – not yet understanding where I am and why their portraits would be there. I inquire at the front desk, Constance explains that the library is dedicated to Murray H. Sinclair. I begin to remember my grandmother Aldine (“Nana”) telling me about this place and her being on the board of the Little Chapel of All Nations. Dots connect in my mind and what is to be an important feature of my life emerges. One of many chapters in my relationship with the Little Chapel community begins. 

That training in 2007 was for a student employment opportunity I had during my undergraduate career at the University of Arizona (UA). I was a Multimedia Consultant, helping other students and teachers learn software for video editing, graphic design, web building, and more. At the time I was majoring in Media Arts. By the end of the Spring 2008, my fourth semester of undergraduate, I was flunking out. The Little Chapel of All Nations was a safe haven, and Randi and Constance were among my safest people to confide in during a difficult time in my life. My job as a Multimedia Consultant was also a bright spot, a clue illuminating the future. I was having a heck of a culture shock with UA academia though, having come from a very different learning environment. A key example is I graduated high school in a class of 8 people. There were many other challenges I was confronting at that point in time as well. 

By 2011, I re-admitted to the UA. I had taken a year hiatus before going to Pima Community College to get my associates. I continued Multimedia Consulting as a freelance gig through  those years, it felt like divine orchestration the way one client led to another. When I returned to the UA I was eager to reconnect with my rituals at the Little Chapel. I had stayed in touch with Randi, Constance, and other Little Chapel regulars, stopping in periodically, but it was nice to be back as a new version of myself. Meditations with Ken bolstered my spiritual practices. The Mission in the Sun at DeGrazia Gallery had become a big part of my life and I went between there and the Little Chapel routinely. These places continue to be such a gift that fortify and inspire me. I honestly don’t know who I’d be without these “wayside shrines to my own beliefs.” 

During this time, my fascination with new technologies continued, though I migrated towards studying consciousness, education, and psychology. I was then increasingly interested in the intersections between these topics. Ultimately, I recognized I wanted to advocate for technology to serve people rather than the other way around (where grabbing people’s attention becomes more important than enriching their life). I also wanted to flip the ratio of how I spent my time, instead of looking at screens I wanted to dwell more in the realm of human interaction.  

In 2013, I earned my Bachelor’s of General Studies degree at UA with a concentration on Social Behavior and Human Understanding. My GPA went from dismal to sublime, finishing with 4.0 honors in my last semesters. Expanding on this theme, I then earned my Master of Social Work (MSW) degree at Arizona State University’s Tucson Component in 2017. I studied the “Macro Social Work” concentration called Planning/Policy, Administration, and Community. This allowed me to continue weaving together my multimedia passions with programs that serve humanity. It also gave me practice in program evaluation and building solid rationales for grant funding. 

Another chapter of routine visits to the Little Chapel commenced in 2018 when I began working as a Learning Specialist at UA’s THINKTANK; supporting students one-on-one with academic coaching using a strengths-based and holistic approach. It was very healing to play this role because I remember wishing I had someone like a Learning Specialist when struggling as an undergraduate. I also passionately contributed to the development of curriculum with a special interest in exercise (as a tool for productivity and wellbeing), new technology (namely the ethical and biopsychosocial implications), and the arts (exploring its role in therapy and learning).   

After the pandemic ensued and many personal changes, in 2021 I set off on a soul-resetting adventure. I left my job at UA and spent a few months living out of a van and traveling through the midwest. In this time I reflected on all my multidisciplinary endeavors and prepared to start my own private practice synthesizing the pieces that felt most aligned moving forward. During that journey, I built myself a new brain, new boundaries, and a new identity with refined vision. I followed the cosmic bread crumbs and began facilitating mindbody recalibration via yoga, biking, hiking, dance therapy, hypnotherapy, and trauma-informed empowerment coaching. 

I now spend 4 days each week working as a Primary Therapist at Sabino Recovery (residential treatment for trauma and addiction) engaging the modalities mentioned above while I continue to build my expertise and capacity. I reserve at least 1 day each week for my private clients and some freelance multimedia consulting and productions work. Namely, I continue to steward a grant program in honor of Janet Tifft, a local Tucson artist whom I worked for until her passing in 2015. This work represents a seed of other visions I have related to the arts. 

A cornerstone of all of these pursuits has been my heart-to-heart visits with Randi and Constance. Moreover, I gain so much when I commune with the space itself, in and around the Little Chapel of All Nations. I have my Nana, Aldine von Isser, to thank most especially because without her I would not have had these connections or the aforementioned opportunities. My Nana is now 90 years old and as she bows out of her spot on the board of directors, I humbly ask to be considered as someone who might carry forth the torch. 

Thank you for your time, your care, and consideration.

Yours truly and sincerely,

Tana Jay von Isser