This is an interview I did with one of my favorite Evanston residents, Ruthanne DeWolfe. The interview speaks for its self. Enjoy!

Is there anything in your life that you have accomplished that you are particularly proud of and would like to share with me?

DeWolfe: I started off going to Oberlin College for my cello playing. Then when I decided that wasn’t for me. I took a very engaging psychology class and chose to follow the career path of a clinical psychologist. After college, I got married, raised my kids and then later, at age 40, went to Northwestern to study constitutional law. I went back to school because I wanted better prison conditions, such as better education and health services put in place. I fought for these things and won in many ways. I chose to advocate for them because I knew that if I helped someone to get out of prison, and then they went back, I couldn't live with myself. While doing all of this I met some truly amazing people who really helped inspire me. I also wanted to go into this field later because so many people feel good about themselves for talking about how much they care about societies problems. They feel like good people for caring. However, I wanted to be a good person for doing something. I saw nothing holding me back. I have always made sure to set realistic goals for myself.

Could you tell me a little more about your career in clinical psychology? This is a career I am considering pursuing.

Well, one of the first people I was assigned to work with was a man who hadn't spoken for seven years. His name was Albert. He is someone who I will never forget because he helped give me the gift of understanding. I'll explain to you what I mean by sharing with you this story. Every time I would go and meet with Albert I would give him a lighter and a cigarette. He would always take the lighter, bring it close to the cigarette pack, and then pull it away quickly. I would sit across from him and try and create a language out of his movements. One day I sat in on a meeting with Albert and two other psychologists. The two other psychologists talked about Albert as though he was not in the room. Eventually, he left the room and I followed. He sat on the ground and I sat next to him. I sat there relentlessly apologizing for the demoralizing ways of the other psychologists. This was when Albert turned to me and said: "I'm so lonely...I'm so lonely." Those were the first words he spoke after seven years. This incident taught me so much and helped me realize you can't understand people from their surface. You have to get to know them from the inside out. I worked with plenty of psychopaths. I worked with them to help them. I wasn’t there to judge them. (She shared a couple more scaring stories about other people she worked with. As I sat there, jaw on the ground, she told me something truly enlightening). I wasn't there to judge them on their crimes. I was only there to ask them why they did what they did and how they felt doing it. Though it was hard at times I had to stick to my purpose.

Something I haven't even mentioned yet but is a big part of my life is travel. I have traveled a lot of the world teaching English to tribal communities. For a lot of my trips I do not travel as a tourist but rather to do volunteer work. I have spent a lot of time in small tribal communities. The experiences there are still so rewarding and fulfilling. I really believe traveling as a tourist is not the way to do it. The people you meet when you stride out of your comfort zone are incredible. When you travel, try and meet as many people as you can. They all have something to share!