Getting to Know New Staff at The Hello Clinic: Naela, Christina and Taryn

July 20, 2017 BY Renee Limon

Summer is such an amazing time of year. We hope you are enjoying the sunny and relaxing days as much as we are. This season, The Hello Clinic seems to be growing like an abundant garden! We haven’t had a chance yet to update our waiting room photo wall, so we thought we’d fill a blog post with some informal Q & A with all of our wonderful new people.

Naela Cabrera

First up, we welcome Naela, our Emerging Leaders summer intern. She joined The Hello Foundation in June, and is at the clinic on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays through August.

Naela Cabrera

Tell us a little about yourself, Naela…
I’m a current student at Portland State University studying Business Marketing and Communication Studies. As I am in my final year at school, I wanted to take time to explore career options in my field, which is how I found The Hello Clinic. I hope to begin a career in the creative field of marketing, but first I need some hands-on experience, so I hope to take advantage of doing that this last year in school.

What do you enjoy most about working at The Hello Clinic (and for The Hello Foundation)?
What I enjoy the most at The Hello Clinic and Foundation, is being surrounded by strong, intelligent, and powerful women. I am glad to be in a work environment where I can learn from great mentors and role models. It makes this internship experience a whole lot better when I can learn from professionals like the women at Hello.

What summer adventures do you have planned?
Adventures for me involve working and going to school for most of the summer, BUT if time allows I hope to visit San Francisco for the very first time. I also love going to the lake with my 10+ family members, so that’ll be fun!

Where are you from?
I grew up in Salem, but I lived in downtown Portland the first three years of college at PSU. I love both places so I hope to stay connected to both after graduation.

Christina Gagosian

Next up, we warmly welcome Christina Gagosian, OTR/L, who just relocated from the East Coast to Portland in June.

Christina Gagosian occupational therapy

What do you enjoy most about being an Occupational Therapist?
I love being an Occupational Therapist because I get to work creatively with families and children to develop skills through play. Kids are awesome to work with—they are so resilient and fun. There is nothing more rewarding than helping a child make progress towards his or her goals.

What summer adventures do you have planned?
I am new to Portland, so I plan on exploring the city and surrounding area as much as possible this summer. I enjoy hiking so I hope to go on some camping trips to Mt. Hood. I haven’t been windsurfing in about 5 years, but I’m planning to test my skills out this summer.

Where are you from?
I am from Wellesley, Massachusetts, a town in the suburbs of Boston. This is my first time living on the West Coast!

Taryn Peters

And last but not least, here are a few tidbits about native Oregonian Taryn Peters, who joined the front desk crew in May. Previously, she worked the night shift at the Tuality Hospital emergency room. We are thrilled to have Taryn on our team.

Taryn Peters

What do you like best about working at The Hello Clinic?
My favorite thing about working at The Hello Clinic, is the friendly environment. Everyone in this clinic helps one another and truly work together as a team.

Any favorite hobbies?
I like to spend my free time painting and expressing myself through art. I also believe in always finding time to dance, and have recently started line dancing for fun.

What do you do for fun in the summer?
During the summertime, I love to visit some place warm, where it won’t start raining randomly in the middle of July! If I had to choose just one place, though, I would go to Disneyland every summer! I don’t believe I will ever outgrow that place.

Please tell us about your summer adventures and what you love about The Hello Clinic. All of our staff, old and new, would love to chat with you the next time we see you!