'Ten years in the making' | Grand Forks Herald | Grand Forks, North Dakota

'Ten years in the making' | Grand Forks Herald | Grand Forks, North Dakota

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Casey McDougall completed a lengthy journey before he received his master’s degree in clinical psychology Friday afternoon at UND’s Summer Commencement.

“Ten years in the making,” McDougall said. “A hiccup in Iraq, but I hit the ground running.”

McDougall is from the White Earth Reservation in White Earth, Minn. After earning his bachelor’s degree from UND, he served 18 months of duty in Kirkuk, Iraq, during Operation Iraqi Freedom as a member of the 1-188th Defense Artillery out of Grand Forks.

“It was 120 degrees,” McDougall said. “I drank about five liters a day, minimum.”

He researched gambling behavior as part of his doctoral thesis through UND’s Indians into Psychology program and also under the Ronald E. McNair scholarship, a national program for lower-income students created in memory of the late Space Shuttle Challenger astronaut.

“Without their support, I couldn’t finish this at all,” McDougall said.

He interned at the University of New Mexico Children’s Hospital and says he will prepare for his license working with the Pueblo Indians in Acoma and Laguna, New Mexico.

“It’s my goal to provide mental health services to rural communities that really need it,” McDougall said.....

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