Kristen Copple, CTRS

Kristen graduated with academic honors from Indiana University Bloomington in 2018 with a degree in recreational therapy and specializations in psychology and therapeutic outdoor programs. At university she became certified in swiftwater rescue as a whitewater rafting guide while working as a summer camp counselor in northern California. She is happiest when sharing the outdoors with others, especially people with disabilities for whom accessing it may be challenging.

After obtaining her degree she packed her bags and moved up to Alaska for her first job doing recreational therapy at a psychiatric hospital for teen girls. It was there that she learned to ski and fell in love with winter. However, she did not love the 7.1 magnitude earthquake she experienced 2 weeks after moving up there. When the two-year adventure in Alaska was over, she came back to her home state of Indiana to work with individuals with disabilities on the Indiana Medicaid Waiver and has really enjoyed her time doing home and community-based care with the amazing individuals she has gotten to work with.

Kristen loves to hike, read, roller skate, travel, and photograph the world around her. She is a huge Harry Potter nerd and has met 3 of the main cast members in the films as well as worked for a summer at the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios Orlando.

Another thing Kristen is passionate about is mental health, and in 2022 she decided to further her education by pursuing her master's degree in clinical mental health counseling at Indiana Wesleyan University. Once finished, she hopes to continue her work with individuals with disabilities as well as people with mental illness as a dual-certified therapist. To her life is a great adventure!