Mary Molina
BA (Hons), Psychology
SHE/HER
INTAKE SPECIALIST
QUALITIES
Mary is one of the Kaleidoscope Butterflies
(Intake Specialists) at Kids Reconnect.
This is her Superhero story,
and she wants to share it with you.
Kaleidoscope Butterflies
help to build joy for kids to see.
In their work, they use smiles, colours, and mirrors.
That’s because kids’ Superpowers
are always within.
Kids Reconnect Butterflies love to play,
and most of all,
they love helping kids find their way.
•
Mary‘s Superhero Story
Attention Parents
Before your first session, you can share this story
with your child. You can also scroll below
to read about Mary’s professional experience
in her professional bio.
Once upon a time, there was a little girl called Mary, who was not very sporty.
Mary was kind, generous, and empathetic (which means caring about other’s feelings and being able to imagine what something would feel like). She was also smart and strong (and many other wonderful things!) But sporty—nope—she was not.
Lots of kids in her school loved playing basketball, baseball, soccer, or skiing. Some loved skating and were happiest playing hockey.
Not Mary. She thought being sporty was an amazing Superpower for her friends to have (and it is!) But Mary just did not have sporty-style Superpowers. She cheered for her friends and sometimes she played sporty games with them. However, when watching a game, she secretly hoped the match would soon end.
“Big Worry” feelings show up – uh oh!
For a while, she thought she was the only kid in the world who did not like sporty type fun.
One day, after phys ed class, a Big Feeling of worry showed up in Mary’s heart.
“I don’t have sporty Superpowers”, she thought. “What if I don’t have any Superpowers at all?”
She sat under a tree in the schoolyard. The Big Feelings felt sad in her heart and she cried.
Mary finds a friend
Just then, a beautiful red bird flew down from the tree. It landed next to Mary and started to sing.
“Hi little girl,” it sang. “You look sad. Listen to the kind words in my song. Maybe it will help you feel better.”
It worked. Right away, Mary felt much better.
[Nature, music, and a kind friend by our side are helpful when tricky “Big Feelings” (like feeling sad) show up.]
Click on Chirpy the bird to see it sing
Then Mary and Chirpy began a friendly chat.
“My name is Chirpy, and I am a bird with singing Superpowers. What is your name, little girl?”
“My name is Mary,” she replied. “It’s nice to meet you, Chirpy. I love your singing. Thank you for cheering me up!”
“You’re welcome, Mary. You know, cheering people up is something friendly that friends do for each other.”
“Let’s be friends,” they said at the same time. “Jinx!” they said together, and laughed.
Mary finds one of her Superpowers
Chirpy encouraged her to sing along.
“Chirp chirp. Sing with me, Mary,” he said.
“Oh, I don’t have any Superpowers,” Mary replied. “I have tried all kids of sports, and I am not sporty at all. So I don’t think I can sing either.”
Chirpy listened and thought for a moment. Then he said:
“You sound worried, Mary. It’s okay to be sporty, and it’s also okay to not. Everyone has different kinds of Superpowers; nobody’s Superpowers are the same.”
Mary’s eyes lit up. She did not feel worried anymore. Chirpy went on.
“Have you tried singing yet? Maybe music and singing are special Superpowers that you do have. Give it a try.”
So Mary tried singing, and what a surprise! She found one of her Superpowers – and what a special one it was. Her voice was so lovely, that all the birds and all the kids in the schoolyard clapped and clapped.
What happened when Mary grew up?
Soon, Mary discovered that she was also a great songwriter and she wrote lovely songs.
Mary and Chirpy got together with their bird friends and formed a band. They visited churches and hospitals to raise money to help other kids and families. They sang at birthday parties, weddings, and special celebrations. Mary’s songs helped sick kids and their families to feel happier and healthier. She discovered how much she loved helping kids and families. Since she was a child, Mary has been doing that. She uses her kindness, empathy, friendliness, teamwork, learning, and singing skills to help people—in big and small ways— every day.
When she grew up, Mary became a youth mentor and camp counsellor. She taught kids important skills like leadership and self-esteem to help them manage their stress, family, and friendship problems. Then she studied psychology at university, and now she is an Intake Specialist at Kids Reconnect.
Mary is excited to welcome you when you visit EmPOWERland at Kids Reconnect to go on your amazing child counselling adventure!
Mary’s Professional Bio
Mary holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in Psychology, with a Minor in Family Studies, from St. Mary’s University in Calgary. She was on the Dean’s List from 2020 to 2023 and graduated Cum Laude. Her undergraduate academic excellence was also recognized with the Jason Lang Scholarship and the President’s Circle Scholarship (Silver). Passionate about psychosocial health, healthy attachments, and the power of empathy in family relationships, Mary focused her Honours Psychology program research project on factors that affect empathy in adults. Mary is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Counselling Psychology at City University of Seattle.
To complement her undergraduate degree studies, she completed the Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) at the Centre for Suicide Prevention in 2023 and the Brain Story Certification with the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative in 2024. Mary has volunteered as a youth leader and counsellor, advocacy and communications head, workshop facilitator, and social media manager. She is a past member of the St. Mary’s University Psychology Association.
Additional Skills and Volunteering Experience
The best part about having extra special skills is using and sharing them to uplift others — and that’s what Mary has done since she was a young child.
Mary is a gifted singer, songwriter, and musician. Since 2007, she has used her musical talent in a volunteer and fundraising capacity to support a variety of organizations, including Answering the Cry of the Poor (ANCOP). She is also a freelance musician and loves using her voice to perform in shows, concerts, and celebrations such as birthdays, anniversaries, and weddings.
Hi there! Mary warmly welcomes you to Kids Reconnect
She joined our friendly Intake Team in the spring of 2024. Mary loves using her empathy, lovely voice, and warm customer service skills to welcome kids, teens, parents, and families to Kids Reconnect as they embark on their spark-tacular counselling adventures in EmPOWERland.
What are YOUR special Superpowers?
Like Mary, you too have super special Superpower skills. Every kid does!
You might be amazing at sports and love hockey. Or not. So maybe you are musical and a great disc jockey. You might be good at dance or maybe finance (which is all about money and math), science, gardening, or art. And perhaps you are friendly and kind. Maybe you are always polite to your Mom.
There are so many skills to discover. Plus, you can practice and grow your skills to get better at them. And as time goes by, you can explore and discover more and more Superpowers to grow and thrive!