Alumna of The School of Education Honored

Tanairy Estevez Fernandez, LMHC, NCC, PMH-C ’13GEd, Director and Bilingual Mental Health Counselor, Balance Mental Health Counseling, PLLC, received a Women’s Achiever Award at the Celebrating the Women of St. John’s luncheon held on March 26 at The Garden City Hotelin recognition ofWomen’s History Month.

“The School of Education is proud to celebrate one of our outstanding alumnae,” said James D. Wolfinger, Ph.D., Dean, The School of Education.

The luncheon, which was hosted by The McCallen Society, recognized six alumnae. Besides Ms. Estevez, Lucille Accetta ’86P, Mildred Antenor ’88SVC, the Hon. Tracy A. Catapano-Fox ’94C, and Priscilla Frederick-Loomis ’11CPS were recognized as Women Achievers. The University also posthumously honored Pamela G. Shea-Byrnes, D.Min. ’86SVC, ’90G with its Alumnae Lifetime Achievement Award.

“One of the things I really enjoyed about St. John’s University was the diversity among the student population. I felt right at home,” said Ms. Fernandez. “Little did I know that I was going to make lifelong friends who have also become business partners. Being in this community has allowed me to practice my leadership skills.”

As a student in the Master of Science in Education degree program, she started the first mental health counseling student club and a LinkedIn group for students to stay connected. Thanks to her collaboration with Heather C. Robertson, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Counselor Education, graduate students can now take the National Counselor Examination and become certified upon graduating.

“These roles allowed me to build confidence to eventually open my own business a few years after I graduated,” Ms. Fernandez explained. “I continue to hold the St. John’s values of giving back by providing services to people of lower income, the underserved, and minorities.”