Why I’m Becoming a School Counselor

The importance of counselors in a school community is undisputed. And never has their value been so clear as it is today, as schools and systems across the country continue to grapple with the challenges caused by the COVID pandemic, including spikes in teen anxiety and absenteeism, as well as the stress presented by the college admissions process.

This week (February 5–9) marks National School Counseling Week, which aims to focus attention on the vital contribution of school counselors and highlight the impact they have on student's successes, outcomes, and lives. 

Here, five students in the school counseling licensure pathway at HGSE, reflect on the importance of counselors in schools and why they are pursuing this career path.

Jason Brown 
Master's Student in Human Development and Education

Even while I studied acting and creative writing at Brown University, with the hopes of working in the film industry — and then being blessed with the opportunity to do so at places like Disney and WarnerMedia — I had a desire to give my time and energy back to the field of education.

Entertainment and education are woven into the fabric of our youth’s lives. Daily, and in their own unique circumstances, they consume love, trauma, and knowledge. As they are developing moral compasses and pillars of maturity, school counselors are undeniably a required resource; their positive impact is untenable, and their preemptive advisory has altered the trajectory of the “lost causes.”

Nature and nurture work together to properly socialize the human being; and I have discovered my inherent nature to nurture my fellow human beings. My interest in counseling stems from my mentorship experience with the Ewing Marion Kauffman School, the Ron Brown Scholars program, BoysGrow Corp., and my co-founding role with my independent film group, Affinity Studios LLC.

Using methods found in books of storytelling and screenwriting theory, I was able to administer a curriculum that supported the needs of all members of the Brown Screenwriting Collective and offer sessions for one-on-one feedback. With my TV/film internship background, I assisted students by presenting action steps that included networking tips, career website tutorials, and panel discussions.

Building off this development of my counseling skills, I was able to transition into a volunteer mentorship role with guided pathway support at the Ron Brown Scholars Program. As a Ron Brown Scholars Program alum, I was able to work closely with exceptional African American high school students to build up their college applications and engage in phone calls to assist with effective self-care.

Through my creative counseling and mentorship, I dream of spreading life-language that uplifts and encourages the spirits of the youth. My counseling is meant to be an aid to the downtrodden, and a boost to the motivated.

Vivian Chao 
Certificate of Advanced Study (C.A.S.) in Counseling Candidate

I began studying abroad when I was 12. As an international student, I had a difficult time adjusting to the environment. The language barrier brought academic challenges. The lack of friendships also made me very lonely. My school did not have any resources for students like me, and I felt unsupported and isolated. My experience inspired me to become someone who can support students’ social and emotional well-being, leading me to pursue a path in school counseling.

After coming to HGSE, I began developing a more comprehensive understanding of school counseling. School counselors play a pivotal role as leaders who create a safe environment where all students can succeed. A successful school counselor is capable of creating systemic support by building relationships with stakeholders to support students’ well-being. More specifically, school counselors conduct individual counseling tailored to individual needs. They also conduct group counseling, such as social skills and college planning groups. Moreover, counselors play an important role in connecting students and families to resources.

I envision a future where every school has a school counselor, fostering an environment where every student feels safe to learn and grow.

Matt Cohen 
Certificate of Advanced Study (C.A.S.) in Counseling Candidate

Similarly to how a carpenter cannot build a house with a hammer alone, schools need to leverage a variety of supports to prepare students to succeed. The pandemic brought attention to a latent mental health crisis among many other issues, highlighting how academic achievement is influenced by more than just academic factors. The importance of school counselors is self-evidently illustrated now more than ever by the impact of the issues we try to address.

The work of a great counselor does not happen in isolation, however. Counselors need to collaborate with a variety of stakeholders to coordinate holistic support to meet our students’ developmental and psychological needs. Borrowing an analogy from Mandy Savitz-Romer, beloved director of the counseling program at HGSE, counselors are like your primary care doctor in the healthcare system: addressing many issues directly but having a safety net of specialists to refer to for more serious cases. Although counselors, unlike doctors, are often not the student’s first point of contact with the education system, they can still leverage networks of coordinating stakeholders to systematically refer the right students to the right supports.

Above all, however, a counselor needs to be patient. Behind every disruptive behavior is an unmet need that the student doesn’t yet have the words to articulate. By exploring the underlying need and supporting the student’s self-advocacy skills, collaboration becomes easier, especially with stakeholders who might not know the student yet. Growing up with Tourette’s, I know firsthand what it’s like to be misunderstood, and this is part of what fuels my passion to be a school counselor. By becoming a school counselor, I hope I can support the countless students who fall through the cracks every year.

Rena Kashari 
Master's Student in Human Development and Education

I chose to become a school counselor because I always wished my school had one. As my biggest supporters, my parents worked incredibly hard to get me into the “best” school they could find — one that had structure, rigor, high expectations, and access to resources like teaching talent, computers, science labs, and art rooms. Over the course of eight years from grades 5 to 12, I was lucky enough to experience a sense of success in that learning environment, but that wasn’t the case for everyone. While structure and rules usually create safe learning spaces, the rigidity of the status quo at our school made it difficult for students to ask for or to receive accommodations. While high expectations usually help students believe in their own capacity for success, our school’s rigor was not coupled with compassion or functional support. While excellent teachers and state-of-the-art facilities seem like the key to high-quality learning, students entrenched in social-emotional stress from friendship drama to complicated home lives were not mentally or emotionally present enough to engage with them.

Right now, I am interning as a school counselor, and I can see exactly how the school counseling presence shapes the ecosystem of a school. Having a developmentalist — someone trained in how students’ skills and needs change throughout the years — listening to students, building trusting relationships with them, finding opportunities or gaps within existing support infrastructure, and pulling teachers, school leadership, families, and community partners together around a success plan can be life-changing for a kid. Those actions communicate that we care about them so much louder than words.

Zayne Sibley 
Certificate of Advanced Study (C.A.S.) in Counseling Candidate

I chose school counseling first and foremost because I find deep joy in working with young people. This passion led me into the field of education as an undergrad, where I got certified to teach. I worked as a high school social studies teacher after graduation, working at a small public school in the Bronx teaching 12th-grade government and economics. I loved this work, but over time realized that what I loved most about it was the time spent after school getting to know my students, their interests and hobbies, and their dreams for the future. I found deep fulfillment in being a trusted adult in the lives of young people, someone that could provide support, tough love, or a listening ear. This eventually led me from teaching to school counseling, which offers the opportunity to develop deep relationships with students and their families, support students' social-emotional development, and help young people imagine the kind of future they want for themselves. The work of school counseling aligns with my belief that students learn better when their basic needs are met, and when they feel safe, supported, and cared about at school. It gives me the opportunity to advocate for inclusive, loving, antiracist, and LGBTQ+ affirming school environments where all students can thrive and feel like they belong.