Meet Keona, our dedicated intern at CASA! Born in California, Keona has lived the last seven years in Montana and is now in her final year at Montana State University of Billings, where she is earning a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. As a twin and the oldest of four siblings, family is a big part of her life—along with her dog and two hamsters. When she’s not studying or interning, she enjoys reading and painting.
Keona chose to intern at CASA because she was drawn to its mission of advocating for children in the court system. With a passion for forensic psychology and working with kids, she saw CASA as the perfect place to gain experience in both legal and child-focused fields.
During her internship, Keona hopes to learn more about working in a professional office setting, especially in comparison to the academic world. She’s eager to understand how CASA supports children through legal procedures and is already picking up important legal terminology.
During her time here at CASA, Keona will be working with the Program Manager to conduct child surveys and interviews, recognizing the children we serve are our primary focus. Through a random sampling process, children will be interviewed using a standard set of questions, tailored to be age-appropriate. Their feedback will help us understand their experiences with CASA. Keona will compile the data and create a report to be shared with advocates, the board, and other partners, ensuring children’s voices help shape and improve our advocacy efforts.
Meet Mariah, our practicum student at CASA, who has a lifelong passion for working with kids. Raised in Reno, Mariah has strong Montana roots, attending Skyview High before earning her bachelor’s degree in social work at University of Montana. Her journey has taken her through Missoula, Salt Lake City, and back to Billings where she is working on her master’s in social work through University of Nevada’s online program. When she’s not working, Mariah enjoys painting, reading, cooking, and equine therapy.
Mariah has been a CASA volunteer since 2022, and is fully immersed in CASA’s mission, calling it a supportive place to learn and grow filled with dedicated staff and volunteers. During her internship, Mariah hopes to deepen her understanding of trauma-informed care and learn more holistic and nurturing ways to support children. Throughout her career as a juvenile probation officer and working with teens, she’s seen a “tough love” approach used often, but she wants to shift the focus to understanding a child’s needs through a trauma-based lens. She is especially interested in Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), an evidence-based approach that helps children heal by identifying and meeting their unmet needs.
Mariah’s ultimate goal is to open a private practice for teens, ideally incorporating equine therapy. She believes in seeing youth as at-promise rather than at-risk and is committed to helping them heal and thrive.
