Kaylee Dalaba

“You majored in Creative Arts in Therapy? With a Dance minor?”

Maybe they didn’t say it out loud, but Kaylee Dalaba knew what some were thinking. Was she being serious enough about her career preparation?

In fact, she was being quite serious.

During her Sage years, Kaylee worked with dementia patients at a senior living facility, worked at a home for troubled teens, and interned at a hospital. She saw the challenges, up close and personal. And, she saw how movement can be an effective therapeutic tool in helping people overcome their challenges.

“It’s said that the body remembers what the mind forgets,” Kaylee says. “I witnessed that in action. I experienced how movement can make such a positive difference for people, both physically and emotionally.”

She’s now pursuing a master’s degree at Sarah Lawrence College. She intends to be a seriously good dance movement therapist, focused on helping children who have developmental disabilities.

Kaylee says being part of the Sage community helped her a lot. Helped her to come into her own. “I fell in love with the place immediately,” she says. “The overall sense of community. The friendly, welcoming feeling.”

When she first arrived on campus, she was shy and inclined not to talk much. But then her confidence grew as other students went out of their way to include her. She would go on to take part in auditions, was an orientation leader, a student caller for the phonathon, and continues to be a fundraising volunteer for Sage’s advancement office.

Over all, Kaylee says, she was prepared to go out into the world and succeed. “I was academically prepared. I’d had lots of hands-on, practical experience. That’s the Sage way.”