Ulises Cardenas recently received his Bachelor of Arts in counseling psychology. He is currently taking advantage of the 20% tuition reduction afforded North Park alumni and is pursuing his Master of Arts in counseling psychology. Born and raised in Chicago, Cardenas juggles his career in public safety communications with life at home with his wife and five kids. Before attending North Park, he earned an associate’s degree from the City Colleges of Chicago and an associate’s degree in electronics from DeVry Institute of Technology.
Q: So, why did you choose North Park?
A: North Park appealed to me because of its location in the city, its small size and the accommodating faculty and staff. They took the time to reassure me that they’d be with me throughout my time at North Park—and they were, all the way through.
Q: What are you doing now?
A: I liked North Park so much, I decided to come back for my master’s degree. In the meantime, I’m able to keep working at my job in communications. I figured I’d go as far as I could in my education before jumping into the field of counseling.
Q: How do you think NPU is preparing you for your future career?
A: In multiple ways. The classes are focused on what I need to learn to become a counsel-or, and the real-life, one-on-one counseling courses really help build my confidence in handling the different mental health issues I may encounter as a counselor.