Thank you! It is an amazing honor! My secret is to make as many school counselor friends as possible! I spend countless hours calling or emailing colleagues to collaborate, get advice from or vent to. As the only counselor in my school, with 650 students, it can be a bit overwhelming at times. I rely on the relationships I have built with other counselors in my district and state to motivate me and get me through rough days.

I have been a school counselor for 9 years and each year my role has changed depending on the needs of my community, my families and my students. I believe counselors have to always stay up to date when it comes to trends in our society. I adapt by attending professional development events and being active in my school community. Gone are the days when school counselors wait in their offices for students to seek them out. My role is to seek my students out through guidance lessons and reviewing school-wide data. Prevention has become a major component to any comprehensive school counseling program.

I have been a school counselor for 9 years and each year my role has changed depending on the needs of my community, my families and my students. I believe counselors have to always stay up to date when it comes to trends in our society. I adapt by attending professional development events and being active in my school community. Gone are the days when school counselors wait in their offices for students to seek them out. My role is to seek my students out through guidance lessons and reviewing school-wide data. Prevention has become a major component to any comprehensive school counseling program.

Time is always the biggest challenge we face as school counselors. There never seems to be enough of it to go around. With a ratio of 1:650 (which is pretty good considering the numbers my colleagues are faced with) I oftentimes feel like I’m just not able to keep up with the demand of my students and families.

Talk to your kids early! Not just about alcohol but about how to make safe and healthy decisions. Teach your children to consider the consequences of their actions and to find healthy ways to handle their feelings so that they do not turn to alcohol when faced with hard times. Be honest with them and let them know that they can always come to you and you will be there for them, no matter what mistakes they have made.

Prevention is always the best method. Talk to children before they are faced with temptations. Talk to them about good decision-making and about their goals for the future. Focus on how leading a healthy lifestyle will help them reach their goals in life.

My personal goal is to always make sure my family comes first. With the demands of working in education, the minutes on the clock seem to go by quickly. I have to make a very conscious effort to ensure that I drop everything I am working at school and get home to spend time with my son and my husband.

My professional focus has always been on working with girls. To build self esteem and to help them seek out healthy relationships with other girls. Too often in our society girls and women are taught to compete against one another.When we do this, it only makes us feel bad about ourselves. When girls feel good about who they are they are much more likely to have the confidence to make smart, healthy decisions.

I have learned not to carry the burden of my day home with me. When I am at home I focus on spending time with my family and doing things that relax me. I go to the gym, I read, I watch Netflix and spend too much time on websites like Pinterest. But all of those things help me decompress and prepare me to take on the next day.