Lieutenant Commander Langleigh Townsend
Name Langleigh Townsend
Position Assistant Chief Counselor
Rank Lieutenant Commander
Character Information
| Gender | Female | |
| Species | Human | |
| Age | 35 | |
| Marital Status | Single | |
| Sexual Orientation | Heterosexual |
Physical Appearance
| Height | 5'7" | |
| Weight | 130 lbs. | |
| Hair Color | Auburn | |
| Eye Color | Blue | |
| Physical Description | Langleigh is healthy, if a bit on the lean side, and prefers to swim to keep in shape. Her height and her schooling lead her to carry herself somewhat regally, which people sometimes mistake for snobbery. She is not what most would consider "stunning" but she is attractive, especially when she smiles. |
Family
| Spouse | None | |
| Children | None | |
| Father | Ross Townsend, Merchant | |
| Mother | Ellen Townsend, RN, Nurse-Midwife, George Washington University Hospital | |
| Brother(s) | None | |
| Sister(s) | None | |
| Other Family | None |
Personality & Traits
| General Overview | Langleigh possesses the maturity and poise one might expect of someone her age and with her education, but none of the arrogance. While she always appreciated her parents' love and devotion, she will often do things the hard way just to avoid giving others the impression she feels a sense of entitlement, as her background might at first suggest. In many ways, she is still finding her way after living such a sheltered and privileged life, and this is perhaps why she is able to empathize with her troubled patients. She has quite a maternal streak, and it often leads her to speak her mind no matter the personal consequences. She is outgoing and funny, and far more sarcastic than people expect. | |
| Strengths & Weaknesses | Langleigh is a skilled clinician who is good at anticipating problems and intervening before they become a major concern. She takes her duties as a Starfleet psychiatrist very seriously and enjoys the challenges the role presents that are unlike any she might encounter in private practice. Because she did not come from a Starfleet family, Langleigh can more easily relate to people who aren't interested in rank or titles. She is a physician first and an officer second, and unless pertaining or relevant to patient care, she is not a stickler for rules and regulations. As she has progressed in her career, others have frowned on her for this, so it's something she is working on. |
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| Ambitions | Although it was never her primary goal in life, Langleigh would love to be married and a mother someday. She knows she will likely counsel others for a long time, but she hasn't given up on the idea of becoming an obstetrician full time. Above all, she wants to be a well-respected healer who achieves goals she feels are worthy. | |
| Hobbies & Interests | Mystery holo-novels, forensic psychiatry, and classical music. |
Official Information (Do not fill in, Official Use Only)
| Security Clearance Level | BETA - ONE | |
| Data Access Level | LEVEL 4 |
History
| Personal History | Langleigh was born on Thanksgiving Day to Ross and Ellen Townsend in Washington DC. Ellen is an OB/GYN at George Washington University Hospital, and Ross is a merchant who dropped out of school at the age of fifteen to join the family business, dabbling in legal and not so legal trade. Consequently, Ellen has been the only consistent bread-winner for their family, and this has always been a point of contention in their relationship, which began when both were just sixteen years old. When Ellen was sixteen, she became pregnant. Ross was ecstatic and wished to marry Ellen, but Ellen, fearful of bringing a child into such a dangerous and unstable way of life, refused. Angered and hurt by the rejection, Ross ended their relationship, and left Ellen, a devout Catholic, to explain her unplanned pregnancy to her very traditional family. The stress of her secret and having to face the possibility that she would be kicked out of her home proved to be too much, and Ellen miscarried. The loss bonded Ellen and Ross, and it was their shared grief that brought them back together two years later. They married at the age of eighteen, and enjoyed a passionate, but forever rocky romance. The loss of their first child was the defining moment in Ellen and Ross's lives, but it was Ellen who struggled the most. She devoted her life to helping others have the children she always dreamed of, but she was still prone to bouts of severe anxiety, which were exacerbated by the stresses of being married to a man who never knew whether he'd be able to support his family from one moment to the next. All of that seemed to be forgotten when Ellen found out she was pregnant with Langleigh. From the very first sonogram, Langleigh became the very center of her parents’ lives. While they weren't rich, Langleigh never knew just how hard Ross and Ellen fought to give her the best education and upbringing they could afford. Langleigh constantly heard education was the means to achieve her dreams, and growing up, she felt obligated to make her parents' sacrifices count for something, especially when she learned her mother could have no more children and as she watched her mother slip in and out of anxiety and depression. It wasn't something Ross or Ellen ever took the time to explain, and as a young child, Langleigh had come to blame herself. Her mother's ambitions became her own: Langleigh set her sights on medical school and on a career in obstetrics, hoping to find a cure for her mother's sterility, and in so doing, make her mother proud of her always. However, their daughter's education proved to be a double-edged sword for the Townsends. The more educated Langleigh became, the more independence she wanted. Her parents' dreams for her, marriage and a family in DC, seemed too confining. Langleigh loved her parents, but she began to see their attempts to chart her life as controlling rather than well-meaning. She did well in medical school, but life at George Washington University gave her an opportunity to explore other paths, and gave her a taste of freedom. Away from her mother's black moods, she began to see them as abnormal and all-consuming, and it sparked a natural curiosity in mental health. That spark of curiosity eventually turned into a more focused desire to counsel others. Not wanting to start over (and perhaps more importantly, not wanting to disappoint her parents), Langleigh decided to take on an additional specialty in psychiatry. She continued her coursework in obstetrics as well, in part because she loved it, but also in part because the only child thought it a fair compromise for her ailing mother. It was a move that ultimately surprised and disappointed her parents, who by then felt they had "lost control" of their only child. Any and all attempts to understand her mother's illness or to question her father's chosen life were seen as a sign of disloyalty and ungratefulness, and the last year at home proved to be unbearable. Langleigh's parents became virtual strangers to her, isolating themselves from her most of the time, or offering a cold formality at best. As difficult as it was for her to understand, Langleigh dealt with it by withdrawing into her work. She had become a competent clinician, but was so rattled by her parents' seeming rejection of her that it became much easier to investigate and speculate on the personalities of others from her world and worlds they had not yet encountered rather than devote her life to counseling others, as she had dreamed. As things worsened for her at home, her desire to escape it grew. Although one of Langleigh's most desired alternate career paths included going into Starfleet, she had convinced herself it was a mere pipe dream. After all, by the time she decided it was where she wanted to be, she was a fully trained psychiatrist. The prospect of starting over yet again with eighteen year olds seemed preposterous. However, it appeared Fate had other plans. When several of her papers discussing the potential psychological impact of long-term space exploration on crewmembers got the attention of Starfleet (thanks to the help of a cherished professor), Langleigh was approached by a Starfleet Medical recruiter. Encouraged by the news she could complete basic training in two years and post-graduate training in another two before being posted, she decided to make the leap. Leaving her parents was the hardest thing she has ever had to do in her life thus far, but Langleigh knew she had to get some distance between herself and her family if she was ever going to become truly independent. Langleigh threw herself into her work and proved to be a capable leader. She first served as a Staff Psychiatrist with the Starfleet JAG Corps, offering both expert testimony related to competency evaluations, the impact of trauma, and criminal profiling, as well as providing psychological support to victims of crime. She went on to serve as the Assistant Chief Psychiatrist with New Stellarton Penal Colony, working with prisoners and their families. She was eventually posted aboard the Olympic class medical ship USS Havers as the Chief Psychiatrist. Langleigh loved the challenge and fast pace of serving aboard the hospital ship. She took particular pride in knowing the Havers was available to aid anyone in need of medical care. Unfortunately, that kind of service eventually took its toll on the ship, and when the Havers was recalled for a two year refit, most of the crew was reassigned. Langleigh returned to Starfleet Medical where she served as Chief Emergency Psychiatrist and a Professor of Emergency and Forensic Psychiatry. Anxious to return to space and the work she loved, she requested a transfer to the Olympic class, USS Solace as its Chief Psychiatrist. |
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| Service Record | Pre-Medicine Studies, George Washington University, Washington D.C. Obstetrics and Gynecology/Psychiatry, George Washington University, Washington D.C. Starfleet Basic Training, Starfleet Academy, San Francisco Post Graduate Studies, Emergency and Forensic Psychiatry, Starfleet Medical Academy, San Francisco Staff Psychiatrist, Starfleet JAG Corps Assistant Chief Psychiatrist, New Stellarton Penal Colony Chief Psychiatrist, USS Havers Chief Emergency Psychiatrist and Professor of Emergency and Forensic Psychiatry, Starfleet Medical Academy Chief Psychiatrist, USS Solace Present: Assistant Chief Psychiatrist, Starbase Magellan, Serene Colony |
Relationships
Student Academics/Goals and Degrees (students only)
| Cadet's Primary Degree | N/A | |
| Cadet's Secondary Degree | N/A |