Speaker: Katie Florez
Introduce yourself! What's your name? What course were you enrolled in and when?
Katie Florez: Hello, My name is Katie Florez. I live in San Francisco, and I was a part of the virtual Community Tarot Reader certification program from 2021 to 2022.
What 3 words would you use to describe your experience as a student with us?
Katie Florez: Three words that I would use to describe the program would be, um, supportive. It's a really great community of not only fellow students but teachers. Um, I would say curious, we, uh, didn't hesitate to go down a lot of tangents and in different pathways related to what we were studying. Um, and I would say advancement, I feel like all of us had the opportunity to excel and go deeper and learn more and feel really set up to support our own communities as Tarot readers.
What really stood out to you or surprised you in the program?
Katie Florez: I think from the very start of the program, I was blown away with the kickoff kit that we received. Um we had so many different tools at our disposal that the people at Scarlet Sage in Sotha + Verse took the time to like curate for us. Um so I felt like I was already a part of a community before classes even officially started. Um, so all the supplies was everything from crystals to journals to deck, like a beautiful cloth to read on. I just really like set us all up for success. I feel like we're just something to get excited about to have new cards and and new things in our toolbox. Um I'll also say one of the things that stood out was all of the teachers and staff that were running the program. Um I really felt like they held space for all of us at all of our different levels, from like very beginner to people who have been reading professionally for a little bit. Um and I know that that's not easy to do, but they kept it interesting enough for more advanced readers, but also accessible enough for more beginning readers. Um and really made space for everyone to share their own experiences. So it felt like the class was guided not only by our teachers but by a lot of the knowledge that other students already had. Um and that's I think really challenging to do, especially in a virtual environment and it was really successful
What was your experience of community and connection in the program?
Katie Florez: one of the things that really drew me to this training program was the prospect of meeting new people and building a community that was um different from those groups that I had already around me, also expanding those groups that I'm already a part of. Um, and I think that the program was really successful in giving us opportunities to do that through monthly cohort meetings, where we got to meet with much smaller groups of people, a super active slack channel where everyone is like so smart with Herbalism and astrology and human design readers and artists and it was just so many different talents that I feel like everyone had an opportunity to share whether it was during the weekend trainings or, you know, in a slack channel. We did some in person meetups for those of us who all lived in the Bay Area, which was really great. Um, and I really felt connected coming in every month over the course of nine months to to take class and to learn with everyone. And the program, the projects that we did at the end of the entire program was I felt like I was cheering on people that I had known for years. You know, seeing everyone kind of develop and grow over the course of time and feeling like people appreciated my opinion. Um, and that will stay connected for much longer after the program ends
What do you plan to do now that you completed your certification?
Katie Florez: Now that I've completed my certification, um I'm definitely gonna continue doing more professional readings for other people in my community. I feel like I have an entirely new bank of resources to pull from and also um so much more to learn, which is really exciting.
