A passion was ignited

Sarah Spafford is an alumnus of Griffith’s Master of Suicidology. In her own words, she recounts her journey as an international student and learning from her lived experiences.

I grew up in San Diego, California and then spent my college and early career years in Los Angeles. During that time period, I tragically lost a friend of mine to suicide and knew that my life was forever changed. A passion was ignited within me to work towards no family ever having to experience the pain of that loss again. In college, I was connected with professors and mentors that allowed me to start exploring research questions I had around suicidality, which grew my interest in the field. During that period, I had stumbled upon the Master of Suicidology at Griffith but didn’t think it was going to be possible for me to attend.

However, about a year after graduation, I reached out to the program director and the next thing I knew I was starting the Master degree just a few weeks later.

I chose the degree because it is unique, the only one in the world. There is no other place on earth that you can get a master’s degree specifically focusing on suicidology.

I knew this program would be a launching point for me to dive further into research on suicidality. After graduation with the Masters, I spent a couple of years working at the state of Wyoming as an Intentional Injury Prevention Coordinator, focusing on suicide prevention.

I am currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Oregon in Prevention Science with a focus on suicide prevention. I entered into this program about 6 months after completing my masters. I had several different jobs throughout my master’s, one of which was working at the State of Wyoming Public Health Department as the Intentional Injury Prevention Coordinator. There, I worked with communities on implementing suicide prevention initiatives that fit their needs.