Rebecca Riley Olin, #46

Interviewed by Lindsay Tucker, Current Intern #126

The word of advice Becky Riley Olin gives to future interns is “dive in head first!” She notes the importance of learning through the challenging situations, and shares how the MusicWorx internship contributed to where she is today. As a mental health therapist, Becky regularly integrates music therapy techniques and interventions in the work that she does. Outside of work, Becky is savoring time with her family which now includes 11-month old, Claire!

Enjoy reading Becky’s interview responses below.

1. What is your current job?

I currently work as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and Board Certified Music Therapist in Maryland. I work for an organization that supports children, adults, and their families in the community with Intellectual and Development disabilities as well as co-occurring ID/DD and psychiatric disorders. MusicWorx definitely helped me to get to where I am today. Being a music therapist has greatly contributed to the mental health therapist that I am today as well as the approaches that I utilize with my clients.

2. What drew you to the MusicWorx internship?

I really wanted an internship experience that would challenge me thoroughly and get me out of my comfort zone – a lot! I wanted to work with a variety of populations in a variety of settings. I also really, really wanted to live on the west coast! The MusicWorx internship offered me all of those opportunities and more.

3. What was your favorite moment of your MusicWorx experience?

I have so many … Working with my internship partners and learning from them, definitely … One of whom remains a very close and dear friend of mine! And having the privilege to meet and work with so many amazing patients and clients, all of whom taught me so much. 

4. Are there any aspects of what you learned at MusicWorx internship that best prepared you for your career today?

Learning to trust my gut, my instinct, myself. It’s so important for the work we do.

5. What was one of your biggest challenges during your internship?

Learning to take care of myself emotionally, that was a challenge for me at first. I used to come home and just cry and cry after a long day of sessions and meeting patients, clients, and their families who were struggling so much and experiencing such hardship. It was really difficult for me at first to balance my home life with my work life. It was a great but challenging journey for me, to accept that I could be experiencing such a wonderful time in my life while others were experiencing such intense pain and difficulty.

6. What was your biggest “aha” moment for your professional and/or personal growth?

I had a lot of those! I think overall those moments were about my growing awareness of my confidence level in the work I was doing and in my ability to positively affect the clients and patients with whom I worked. I realized that I really wanted to make a difference in the world and in the lives of others through music therapy.

7. What would be your one piece of advice to future MusicWorx interns?

Dive in headfirst! Step out of your comfort zone whenever possible, and soak it all in, especially the situations that are the most difficult and the situations that scare you the most. Those are the best.