A Career and a Life in Service

Growing up, Shaun Telepak remembers her mother generously welcoming a number of foster kids into her childhood home. She hoped that one day she, too, would be the kind of selfless person who would take in other people’s children.

“My mom was a foster child so I always wanted to do that,” Shaun says. “I always wanted to adopt.”

Extending Her Reach

But first, Shaun wanted to serve her country, which she did for 26 years in the Army. During that time she earned not one, not two, but three degrees: a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, a master’s degree in organizational leadership and project management, and a master’s in social work. She also got married and had two children.

When she retired from the military, Shaun began the process of becoming a foster parent. During this time, she got to know many of the social workers and saw how much they impacted the lives of families and children. She thought, “You know what? I want to extend my reach to help people outside of just my front door.”

This inspired her to get her second master’s degree, this one in social work. “It's like what I was doing in the army,” she says. “I've been doing this my whole career, working young people through their problems, because they're so far away from home. So it was kind of natural.”

Filling a Counseling Need

What led Shaun to pursue sexual health training was the gap she saw in counseling services, especially for people of color. She was counseling an older Black couple who were trying to find an in-person sex therapist.

“When I started to look for sex positive therapists it was hard here in San Antonio, because we're kind of in the Bible belt,” she recalls. She searched for referrals and soon realized there were no Black sex therapists in the city.

“If they're just coming to me for this need, there has to be a greater need.” She reached out to Heather McPherson, founder of Respark and the Sexual Health Alliance (SHA), for help. She too recognized the deficiency and offered Shaun a position on the spot.

“I was asking about information. She's like, you're absolutely right. Would you like to come work for us?”

Going Above and Beyond

Shaun went on to earn her certification through the Sexual Health Alliance, on top of her three academic credentials, but she still thought she could use more training.

“Just being a Black woman, we feel like you have to have your credentials, and everything has to be in order to validate where you're coming from or what you're saying,” she says. “So I want to have the education behind this.”

She looked for programs that specialized in sex therapy and human sexuality and came across the MPS in Sexual Health (SXH). “I found several programs, but the University of Minnesota contacted me first by phone and gave me everything I needed to know, so it was a no-brainer.”

She says while there is a lot of reading, the content is fascinating, relevant, and up-to-date. “It's a fast-paced program, but the information is excellent. The professors make it very engaging, and it makes the time fly. It's hands-down, out of the four colleges that I have degrees from, by far the best.”

In addition, as an online program, Shaun was able to take all of her classes from her home in Texas—which is perfect for someone whose days are as packed as hers.

“Our Family Can Do It”

On top of finishing her Sexual Health degree and working as a counselor, Shaun is the mother of four kids, three of which still live with her. She recently adopted a 14-year-old boy with autism and his little brother, who's nine.

“Thankfully in the military I learned how to do schedules, multitask, and it’s routine, routine, routine for everyone,” she says.

“My kids are very organized. They each have a chore chart, and we leave the house at the same time. We eat dinner at this time. Mom does homework at this time. Mom has sessions at this time. We just have a very, very good routine. And if anything happens that would throw it off, I make sure we have a house meeting.”

Her multitasking and organizational skills are next-level. Not surprisingly, she also runs her own life coaching company called How You Healing. But she still has more to learn, teach, and share: Shaun will start a doctoral program in social work this June.

“No one in my family has a PhD or is a medical doctor, and I always wanted to be the example. We can do it. Our family can do it, it happens.”

Program Highlights

Dr. Abby Girard: “She's fantastic. Her intro videos are specific. There's people, of course, in the class that are not (sex therapists), and she explains (everything) so well that they understand. What I love about her, and most of the instructors at Minnesota, their information is no more than six, seven years old. It’s excellent.”

Study abroad trip to Amsterdam: “It was a very immersive three weeks. I would recommend it for anyone who wants to know about sexual pleasure and transgender and sexual health. The education was fantastic.”

Advice for Students

• Don't expect to know everything. You're always going to enjoy class because you're going to learn something new. 
• Save every resource. Start a folder, get a drive. Save everything.

Shaun is a recipient of a CCAPS Larson Legacy Scholarship.