Karen Tapahe
“Okay, what’s your dragon?” asked Tami Harris as she approached a teenager who was having a tough day. Harris is the Chaplain at Heritage Schools, Inc., and she was referring to a book she recently read to the students about a dragon that gets bigger as it is ignored. The teen knew exactly what she is talking about and started telling Chaplain Tami about his “dragon,” or problem, that he needed to deal with.
“I’ve always loved teenagers and I remember what a painful experience it is to be a teen,” said Harris.
Her ability to connect with teens has led to everyday miracles on Heritage’s campus. As a nonprofit residential treatment center for adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders, Heritage provides a setting for helping through spirituality.
Growing up as the child of a military chaplain, Harris had a desire for a spiritual career that started when she was young. Attending various religious services and activities on the military base gave her valuable interfaith experiences and led her to strive for more. “I had always wanted to be a seminary teacher and was so sad that only men could be seminary teachers at that time,” she explained.
In 1988, her father, Crozier Fitzgerald, had asked her to help him in his work as chaplain at another treatment center as his cancer weakened him. Two days later, he passed away and Harris found herself formally beginning her career as a chaplain, the first female chaplain in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tami became Heritage’s first professional chaplain.
Once a part time position, the chaplain’s job has grown during Tami’s service. Twenty different religions are represented with the students at Heritage, and it is Tami’s responsibility to work with the clergy in the community to attend to the students’ spiritual needs.
“As the 2009 president of the Utah Valley Ministerial Association, I am able to network with my colleagues to provide a number of services on campus for our students,” she said. Ecclesiastical leaders from several different religions regularly hold services or provide religious/spiritual study on campus, and Harris conducts a weekly interfaith worship service.
In addition to conducting interfaith services, she participates in meetings about the progress and specific needs of the youth, brings in inspirational speakers, meets with each of the 160 students regularly, and has established a sexual abstinence program for the youth.
And Harris continues to make history. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in human services, she went on to complete her Clinical Pastoral Education. Tami is now a Board Certified Associate Pastoral Counselor and Clinical Chaplain, the first residential treatment center chaplain in Utah to have earned those certifications.
The youth at Heritage come from all over the country and from a wide variety of backgrounds and problems. Attending church services usually begins as a chance for something different to do, and often ends in opening doors to faith, hope, and spirituality.
Harris’s guidance in helping the youth get past the anger and loss in their lives is evident from the comments they leave behind in the Worship Center’s goodbye journal:
“Tami is great and has one of the biggest hearts. She makes the services fun. She knows teenagers like us have a hard time sitting and being quiet while being lectured.”
“I didn’t really think I was worthy to go to church, but through talking to Tami and others, I slowly started coming back.”
So how does Harris feel about her job? “I just feel like everything fell into place for me to be here and I can’t imagine myself doing anything else,” said Harris. “These kids are my heroes because of all they’ve been through and they still have hope.”
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