“I don't have dreams of grandiosity. I just want to be able to take care of myself and my loved ones and enjoy each day,” explained May Zahm, the program coordinator for the Wright Institute’s Counseling Psychology program. “I'm trying not to take for granted what I already have, how blessed I am, and how much I've established for myself.”

May grew up in Santa Cruz, California, where she had what she described as an idealistic and fun childhood. “We had a huge backyard with a creek and a treehouse - I spent so much time outside,” she recalled. “Because I was an only child, I had a strong drive to make friends and always had a lot of friends who would come over and play at my house.” Her father was self-employed and worked as a gem dealer and her mother stayed home with May and supported her husband’s business. May lived right across the street from her elementary school and fondly remembers walking to school as a young girl. She always loved learning in school and the routine that it provided.

From a very young age, May knew that her family life was different from her peers. “My mom was 40 when she had me and my dad was 44,” she shared. “Almost everyone I knew had siblings and some of their parents were half my parents’ age.” Her father’s work provided the family with a lot of unique experiences, but it was unpredictable and left May craving more stability. “I knew that, because they were older, I might have less time with them,” she reflected. “I also knew, because of their career paths, that at some point they would become my responsibility financially.” Although both of these ideas were anxiety provoking to May, they fueled her ambition and drive to achieve.

After graduating from high school at seventeen, May attended Cabrillo Community College in Aptos, California for several years. Although her parents strongly encouraged her to attend college, they weren’t in a position to financially support it. “My mom had taken some classes at Cabrillo and she told me to go to their admissions office and enroll in classes," she recalled. “I remember going there and crying because I was so overwhelmed.” Thankfully, their admissions staff were able to assist May in registering for her classes and navigating the community college experience. “I would fully recommend community college to anyone,” she shared. “It’s affordable and it’s such a great way to experiment and figure out what you’re interested in.”

May transferred to the University of California at Santa Cruz in the fall of 2015 to pursue a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Her father had passed away the previous year and beginning her studies at UCSC felt like the start of a new chapter for May - one where she could focus on herself. Growing up in Santa Cruz, she had always been drawn to UCSC’s progressive history and beautiful campus and was excited to begin her studies there. May had been interested in a career in psychology from a young age, so choosing her major was a simple choice. “Even in elementary school, I remember wanting to be a therapist really badly,” she recalled. “I didn’t even necessarily understand what therapists did, but I knew that they got to talk to people, listen, and learn more deeply about them and I've always loved connecting with people.”

While at UCSC, May was an advanced social psychology research assistant for two semesters. For the first project she worked on, May was transcribing interviews with local unhoused folks in Santa Cruz for a study on the reasons why people become unhoused. “The research project focused on the circumstances that led to it because there's this idea that people become unhoused because of poor choices, but there are so many different reasons and systemic problems,” she explained. “They were often really heavy and intense interviews, but I love learning about people and hearing their stories, so I was really passionate about that.” For the other project, May coded articles about the Violence Against Women Act to help the researchers examine the language used and how the media impacted public perception of the law.

In 2017, May graduated from UCSC with her BA in psychology. As the first person in her family to graduate from college, May was incredibly proud of her achievement. “I was riding on such a high and was so thrilled to have accomplished something that was a life goal of mine,” she reflected. “I was feeling so smart - I was a 4.0 student, I was on the dean’s list, and I had done exactly what I set out to do.” Unfortunately, a bachelor’s degree in psychology wasn’t enough to pursue the career she wanted, so she had to decide what to do next.

Although May had planned to go straight into a master’s program in psychology, the advice of some of her professors changed her course. “They were advocating for me to take a gap year to determine if that was something I wanted to invest in because they were really transparent that it was extremely expensive,” she explained. “I knew that I wanted to go to graduate school someday, but I was really grateful for their advice to take a pause there.” May planned to enter the community mental health field after graduation, but after interviewing for a case manager role, she realized she didn’t feel fully prepared and decided to continue working in hospitality instead.

By 2020, May had accumulated a decade of experience in the hospitality industry. She credits her time as a server and bartender with teaching her some of her most foundational skills, like multitasking, patience, communication, and being quick on her feet. “It also gave me more empathy for people in general because you experience every facet of diversity - people of different races, ethnicities, ages, abilities - and it was so important and humanizing to see,” she reflected. “Restaurants bring people of all different walks of life together, as your colleagues and as people you're serving, and I really loved that.” As a fast thinker, May also loved the hustle and bustle of working in a restaurant where every day was different and presented its own challenges and successes. “People tend to look down on that career path, but I think everyone should have to work in a restaurant for a year,” she advised. “They would see how challenging it is and how much teamwork it requires.”

In March of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, May was being promoted to a manager position at a restaurant she loved when they closed their doors for the foreseeable future. “I don’t know if I would have ever left restaurants if it wasn’t for a global pandemic,“ she said with a laugh. “So I was applying to jobs and got hired at this little corporate office for an auto glass company.” May worked as a receptionist for Auto Glass Now Corporate HQ from 2020-2021, where her tasks included ordering supplies for their ninety stores across the country and managing their reputation on sites like Yelp. “Looking back, I think I found my voice more there and learned a lot about my value,” she shared. During her time there, May took on increasing responsibility, but opportunities for growth were limited. She ultimately put in her two weeks’ notice and began searching for a role more aligned with her educational background and values.

May was thrilled when she was offered the role of program assistant at the Wright Institute’s Counseling Psychology program in August of 2021. The position felt very synchronistic, bringing together her background in psychology and alignment with her values. “My first day of work was our in-person new student orientation after the Wright Institute had been closed for the pandemic,” she recalled. “I appreciated that timing because it enabled me to get a running start.” At first, May struggled with imposter syndrome, but the faculty, staff, and students welcomed her warmly and she soon felt like a valued member of the team. In June of 2022, May was promoted to the role program coordinator for the Counseling Program. Although many of her responsibilities stayed the same, she was excited to become a supervisor, to work more closely with the program leadership, and to take a larger role in decision-making processes.

After almost five years at the Wright Institute, May is most grateful for the relationships that she has built. “The most rewarding part of my job is coming to work and being with people who are like-minded and want the world to be better,” she explained. “It's inspiring to just be around a lot of people with high capacity and high capacity for doing good.” May also loves the relationships she has been able to build with current and former students along the way. “I get to learn about their stories and try to be a grounding source for them when they’re stressed out,” she shared. “I also get to see people excited about going to practicum and get to hear all the fun stories.”

May’s advice to current and prospective Counseling Program students is to take advantage of all of the resources at their disposal. “A huge benefit of going to the Wright Institute is that it’s a small school and there are so many supports in place for the students,” she explained. “Just ask for help and utilize all of the available resources because everyone here truly wants you to succeed.” She also frequently reminds students that, after they graduate, no one will care about what grade they got on a certain exam or in particular course - they will be much more interested in what they bring to the table as a therapist.

In April of 2024, May decided to enroll in Western Governors University’s Master of Science in Management and Leadership (MSML) program. “I always knew I wanted to go back to school,” she shared. “After being away from the psychology field for a while, it clicked for me that I’m really great at working in higher education and I felt like the next step that made the most sense for me was to pursue a business degree.” After researching the many programs available, May chose Western Governors University because their completely asynchronous online program allowed her to pay as she went and continue to work full-time. May graduated with her MSML in 2025 and hopes that her role at the Wright Institute can evolve and enable her to put her business and leadership skills to use in the future.

Recently, May has been growing her following on Instagram as a creative outlet, where her page is focused on her love of food. “Food brings people together and makes people happy,” she explained. “Food is a love language, so I felt inclined to share my love on Instagram.” On her page, May posts about trying new cuisines in local restaurants, creating restaurant-quality meals at home, learning new recipes from her mom, and more. “I love making content with my mom because I feel like it's archival and someday I'll get to watch those videos with my kids,” she reflected. “Recently we're really obsessed with making various different baked cabbages, which sounds funny, but cabbage is really having its year!”

In her free time, May enjoys being outdoors - walking, hiking, or swimming. “I haven't always been a super active person, but I really became passionate about being active during the COVID years for my mental health because it was very challenging to deal with all of the isolation,” she recalled. “Now I feel like walking is a type of meditation for me and I just love taking in all of the flowers and nature.” Growing up in Santa Cruz, May has always loved the water and her favorite place to swim is Sunny Cove Beach.

Looking to the future, May is focused on her personal and familial goals. “I think I’ll be engaged soon - we’ve been together for four and a half years and we’re really happy,” she confided. As for her career, May trusts that, with hard work and determination, it will continue to grow and develop.