Tåotao Tritons: “Meeting Students Where They Are”: Venus Ituralde’s Path to Healing at UOG

“I really like my students. They’re the reason I get up in the morning,” she says. “They’re the reason why I’ll give up my lunch hour for them — and I love food!”

As the Student Behavioral Counselor Supervisor and Wellness Coordinator at the University of Guam, Ituralde’s days are full — usually booked solid from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with 50-minute sessions. But students come in not just for counseling. Some knock just to talk, sit, and feel safe.

“Sometimes it’s a student asking, ‘Can I just hang out with you?’” she says.

Her approach is personal and intentional. Snacks and candies are always on hand. Her office is arranged like a living room, not a clinic. It’s a space that invites comfort and connection.

 

 

A Full-Circle Journey

Born and raised in Guam, Ituralde spent over two decades in Hawai‘i, where she earned a master’s in counseling psychology and another in education leadership. She built a career at Chaminade University as the Director of Residence Life, guiding students from across the Pacific as they attended classes and lived on campus.

But when her mother asked her to come home to Guam, the timing aligned with an opening at UOG — a long-vacant position that needed someone with deep experience and deep roots to the island and its community. For Ituralde, it felt like a calling.

“God puts us in situations to learn all we need to learn so we can give back to the place where we come from,” she says. “It was a full circle moment.”

 

Blending Culture and Care

Students who visit her don’t just talk through their problems. They’re invited to reflect on who they are, where they come from, and what healing looks like in their own culture.

Ituralde blends Western practices — like cognitive behavioral therapy — with culturally grounded, spiritually aware approaches that draw from island wisdom and nature-based healing. Raised on Guam and trained under a spiritual kahu in Hawai‘i, she sees wellness as holistic: emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual.

“I ask students what they believe in,” she says. “Whether it’s God, a higher power, the Universe — we can’t do this alone, so I meet them where they’re at.”

She uses metaphors that speak to the island experience. One example is the galaide, a traditional CHamoru canoe. She asks students, “What do you use to build your own galaide to navigate this vast ocean of your knowledge and experience?”

 

Students First, Always

Since joining UOG, she’s seen a surge in students seeking support for anxiety, depression, and stress. Many isolate themselves indoors, she observes, and carry cultural stigma around mental health. Her response has been to offer safe entry points — from wellness events to drop-in conversations.

Monthly activities, often co-hosted with the University’s Student Health Services Office, help students understand the connection between mental and physical wellness. She dreams of expanding the wellness office’s services in the future, especially with the new Dr. Lucio C. Tan Student Success Center nearing completion.

“We need to heal ourselves before we can even start to think about healing others,” she says.

For Ituralde, students are what keeps her centered in service.

“They may not always feel that at home,” she says. “But when they come into my office, they can finally say what’s on their mind and how they’re really feeling — and that’s why I do this work.”