Major: Psychology
Minors: Child, Youth and Family Studies (CEHS); Victimology and Victim Services (SCCJ)
Hometown: Omaha, Nebraska
Riley hails from Omaha and is a junior psychology major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In the second semester of her first year, she settled on her field of study.
“I took AP Psychology in high school and loved it, but decided to fully commit to psychology after finding passion in the human brain and behavior,” Riley said. “I’ve always been interested in knowing how and why people are the way they are, and psychology lets me do just that.”
Riley chose Friendship Home for her spring 2025 experiential learning internship because she shares that she loves “everything they do.”
Being an Advocate Intern allowed her to sit in on various learning opportunities, such as case manager meetings and support groups, and become well-versed in the language, protocol, and databases used to support domestic violence survivors.
Riley also shadowed Child Advocates, Women’s Advocates, and Pre-Shelter Program case managers, learned how to take crisis calls through the 24/7 hotline, and talked with survivors of domestic violence and the advocates working with them on safety plans and solutions.
She shared that one especially impactful learning experience was the opportunity to talk with Friendship Home’s in-house therapist.
“She gave me advice on going into that field, what I can expect, the emphasis of resiliency, and how to truly take the best care of clients and yourself simultaneously,” Riley said.
This conversation with the therapist and working directly with survivors helped to deepen Riley’s understanding of the day-to-day knowledge and skills needed to excel in her dream job.
“While talking with Friendship Home’s therapist, she told me that to work with trauma, you have first to understand trauma,” Riley said. “Interning at Friendship Home has given me
hands-on, personalized, experiential learning opportunities to work directly with survivors and their trauma. I also [learned] so much from shadowing interactions with the case managers.”
Riley is already applying this new-found knowledge as she plans and looks toward her future.
“I want to become a cognitive behavioral therapist specializing in trauma, specifically domestic and sexual violence,” Riley said. “Friendship Home [gave] me a hands-on learning experience of what my life will look like working with survivors of trauma.”
