By Laren Kowalczyk ‘07

Bowling Green State University alumna Lucy Greig ‘23 has a unique role in healthcare that connects her with a hospital’s youngest patients.

As a child life specialist, Greig provides emotional and developmental support to help ease children’s fears while they’re in the hospital, a unique and in-demand healthcare career that BGSU supports through its child life minor.

“I have the best job in the world,” Greig said. “When the children I’m working with say that I made them feel safe or made their hospital stay better, it is the best feeling. I hope they walk away from the experience with positive memories of the hospital and continue to have a healthy relationship with healthcare.”

BGSU launched its child life minor in the human development and family science program in Fall 2020 in response to workforce demands and growing student interest. BGSU is one of three public universities in Ohio with a child life program.

“We’re meeting workforce demands and the needs of our students through our minor in child life,” said Stephanie Blessing, an associate teaching professor and internship coordinator for the program. “Graduates from our program are highly qualified and deeply understand child development and family theory, which allows them to excel as child life specialists.”

BGSU provides the required coursework through the minor for students to qualify for the child life specialist certification exam. A 600-hour internship is also required for certification.

Although students typically pair the minor with a degree in human development and family science, Blessing said it is open to students in any major.

Greig is a child life specialist at Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Arizona. She said she relies daily on the family systems theories, coping mechanisms and trauma-informed care knowledge she learned at BGSU.

“I don’t think most people realize how impactful the child life minor is at BGSU,” Greig said. “It has been one of the things I’m most grateful for. This is a very competitive field, but my professors gave me valuable and relevant knowledge that I apply to my career every day.”

Greig was among the first students to enroll in the child life minor and credits the program with amplifying her passion for the career.  

“My professors were so passionate and brought so much of their own experience from their careers into the classroom,” Greig said. “They were honest about the challenges but also shared how fulfilling it is to be a child life specialist.

“My professors were a highlight of my experience at BGSU, and I can confidently say that they set me up for success in this career.”