Our Volunteer of the Month is Missy Braun! Missy discovered The Shea Center in 2010 when looking into occupational therapy as a major for college. She learned The Shea Center offered volunteering opportunities, and she has since been volunteering at the Center whenever she is home from college.

Missy enjoys the different challenges at the Center, but her favorite role is being a sidewalker. She says, “I love sidewalking because I can interact with both the rider and the horse. I like to see the clients improve toward their individual goals and their overall riding skills.” Having been a volunteer for nine years, Missy has met a wide variety of the clients we serve and has connected with many over the years.

Missy displays impressive interpersonal skills with our clients, and our horses warm to her too. She is a seasoned horse leader, and the volunteer department can rely on her to lead any horse in the barn safely and effectively. Missy comments, “These days, I mostly lead, and I really enjoy that role because I can work on my own horsemanship skills, learn the personalities of each horse and what makes them happy, and I can make sure they are comfortable doing their job.”

When it comes to our herd of horses, Missy loves them all. She remarks, “I really enjoy working with Auggie and Merry. I got to know them really well during summer horse camp. I also enjoy working with Braveheart and Oscar because they challenge me to lead them properly.”

Away from The Shea Center, Missy spends most of her time working to complete the last year of her occupational therapy degree. She had the opportunity to spend a few weeks shadowing The Shea Center’s occupational therapist, Karen Yamasaki, and earned credit toward her graduate degree.

When Missy is not focused on schoolwork, she likes to spend time with family and friends, hiking, reading, or doing crafts. She loves traveling and has traveled to more than half of the states in the U.S. and over 20 different countries. Her passion is to visit new places, learn about their culture, meet the people, try the food, and to see the art.

Congratulations Missy; you so deserve the Volunteer of the Month honor! Thank you for all you do for us.