Sandy Hook Survivor, Who Is Graduating High School, Wants to Become a Therapist: 'Helped Me Cope'
Ella Seaver, who was just 7 years old at the time of the 2012 shooting, told 'Good Morning America' she made up her mind about a year after the tragedy
A survivor of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, who is set to graduate from high school this week, is looking forward to kickstarting a career where she can help others the way she was helped after the horrific tragedy.
Ella Seaver was just 7 years old when 20 children and six adults were killed at the elementary school in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, 2012, according to Good Morning America.
In a joint interview with five of her fellow soon-to-be graduates, Seaver said that her own path to healing inspired her to want to become a therapist — and that she made up her mind about her future career path about “a year after the shooting.”
“I have been in and out of therapy almost my whole life, especially after the shooting, and it's really just helped me cope and helped me learn about myself,” Seaver explained. “So I want to try and pay that forward and help people who have gone through gun violence, or even people who haven't, who are just struggling in their daily life."
Some of Seaver’s classmates also said experiencing the shooting has impacted their decision to enter careers in politics and law.
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Seaver still has a difficult time discussing the shooting more than 10 years after it occurred “because of how traumatic and painful it is," she said. But having classmates who share and understand the experience has been helpful.
"For me personally, when I get to talk to these five other people, it's comforting in a way, because you have this connection that's never gonna go away," she added.
The six students who spoke with George Stephanopoulos believed that the tragedy that impacted their school would “shock people and wake everybody up” regarding gun control.
Seaver specifically wants to see “regulations on AR-style assault weapons,” like the one used in the 2012 attack.
"I think one of the hardest things is getting people to see eye-to-eye on it," she added. "And I think that stops a lot of regulations and legislation, which unfortunately is costing more and more lives every day."
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