2026 Graduate Spotlight: Theresa

Graduation is a deeply personal and significant milestone at Thistle Farms’ Residential Program. It’s a transition from two years in intentional healing from trauma to thriving on own’s own while still in community. Theresa, 2026 graduate, describes it as an unveiling.

“I was the first one in my family to graduate high school, and then I ended up being in college dropout. And the fact that I was able to dedicate two years to me and to becoming the best version of myself possible feels like an unveiling.”  

Theresa is one of five graduates this year walking across the stage and celebrating the end of one season and the beginning of another. She is celebrating living in her own apartment and a new job at Thistle Farms on the Volunteer Engagement team.  

Starting as a part of the Body and Home team, Theresa transitioned to the External Affairs team, applying her skills and passion in her current role. For Theresa, the new role is an opportunity to continue contributing to the mission as she steps into a new season of thriving. 

“I don't have a specific role that I want to have. I have the mission in mind. I know that no matter what department I’m in, just because my job title says one thing, does not take away from what the real mission is. And that's all of us working together for one purpose. And so, any position that I get into, I put all of me in.” 

Graduation also means joining the community of graduates from the past 29 years as a Sister for Life. Every day at Thistle Farms we light the candle to welcome the next woman survivor finding her way home. Sisters for Life make that community possible to welcome her with open arms. 

“Being a Sister for Life means getting real and being real. Because I don't want to give the sisters coming behind me any kind of false expectations that 2, 3, 4, 5, years down the line, their life is going to be wonderful and perfect. There are going to be moments throughout your recovery and things that knock the wind out of you, and you have to stand your ground, call on your community and say, ‘Hey, I'm struggling with this, can you talk to me about it?’ I've completed this two-year program, but not any moment of it was easy, I had to fight tooth and nail,” Theresa said.  

With the struggle and work of healing and recovery comes the underlying theme that many Sisters for Life speak of: hope. 

“The real hope is that, yeah, life is still going to be hard, but know that you have a community to stand on, and you can you're responsible for your choices and your own growth.”  

From two years ago to now, Theresa reflects that the biggest change is seeing herself as the hero of her own story. A powerful belief that has changed how she sees herself in relation to the world. 

"During my first years, Thistle Farms felt like my knight in shining armor, my hero of sorts. It was my safe place. It was my rescuer. It was the thing that pulled me out of chaos and into stability. But everything shifted when I watched one of Becca Stevens videos and she stated, ‘We can be the hero of our own story.’ That statement had a big impact on me. It helped me see that healing wasn't about someone else swooping in to save me; it was about learning to stand on in my own strength and to take responsibility for my own growth and that I truly am worthy of a better life. That realization changed the course of recovery for me and how I looked at life. It gave me ownership over my recovery and helped me move from being someone who was always trying to fix others to someone who was finally learning how to care for herself while giving other people permission to do the same.”