Hello See the Triumph (StT) community!
 
Today we wanted to share a little bit about StT and ourselves with you. For some of you, you may feel like you know us already, but for others of you who are newer members, or just now learning about StT it might be interesting for you to know a little more about who we are and what we do here at StT, and outside of our work with the StT campaign. First, here is a brief background on the campaign:

The See the Triumph campaign launched on January 1, 2013. We started See the Triumph from scratch with minimal knowledge of how to use social media for research dissemination. We had conducted our first study together as researchers and were so touched by the stories we’d heard, we knew we wanted to do more than publish the findings in traditional venues.

​Today, we have evolved to become an ever-growing community that includes sharing our research, news and events, blogs from a variety of contributors, quotes from actual survivors, advocacy efforts, international programs, and a brand new book! The numbers in our audiences tell only part of the story of the impact and reach of the See the Triumph campaign. As of today, our web-site/blog has had a total of over 91,000 unique visitors in the past 12 months, our Facebook page has 3,492 likes, our Causes page has 3,543 supporters, our Twitter feed has 301 followers, our Pinterest page has 1,085 followers, and our @safedating4teens Instagram page, which targets teens, has 191 followers.

We are forever grateful to you, our members, for telling others about StT, sharing our news and information, and supporting our efforts. As you know, we can only do this with your help, and we deeply appreciate all that you do to assist us in changing the way survivors of abuse and violence are viewed – from victim to triumphant survivor. We ask that you tell others about See the Triumph so we can continue to grow together.

Along with managing the StT campaign, we both work in Counseling Programs at Universities in North Carolina. In our role as faculty members, we are able to work with graduate students who are training to become professional counselors. In addition to teaching and working with students, we also have expectations for professional service to our local, state, and national communities as well as expectations to write and conduct research. As much as we are able, we endeavor to include domestic violence, abuse, dating violence, stigma, and similar issues in these other roles in order to weave our passions into our careers as academics.

Aside from our roles as faculty, we are both mothers who strive to create work-life balance and save lots of time for fun with our families. This can be difficult with all of the roles we play and expectations that come with careers, but in our opinion, it’s something we do a pretty darn good job with! In fact, you all share so much of yourselves with us, we thought we would share a few recent pictures of us enjoying time off this summer, since we all need down time to relax, recharge, and have fun. (You'll find the pics at the bottom of this post!)

As we get ready to enter into a new academic year at our Universities, we are always reminded of the energy that comes along with the academic calendar. Soon we will say goodbye to the quieter days of summer and welcome all the new faces, energy, and enthusiasm that come with the first few weeks on a college campus.

With that, we will certainly be gearing up for the months to come with you, our See the Triumph family, as well. We are excited for the things in store for our community here at StT, and ask for your continued support, encouragement, and sense of community as we forge ahead!

​Thanks as always, Allison and Christine