The Role of the School Counselor Reflection 1

The Role of the School Counselor Reflection

Anna Romero

Brandman University
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The Role of a School Counselor Reflection

Introduction

There are some misconceptions on the role of the school counselor whether it is from

personal experience or a character from a movie. School counselors no longer just sit in their

office, hand out flyers, and make classroom schedules. The role of a school counselor has

evolved over the past several years and is now defined in the ASCA National Model (American

School Counselor Association). School counselors now have frameworks that help them guide

students with their academic, social/emotional and career development. From my personal

experience, I did not receive much help from any school counselor. In fact, I had no idea that I

even had an elementary and middle school counselor. The only time I ever saw my high school

counselor was when she handed my classroom schedule and went through my courses for

graduation once a year. Today I am amazed by the many hats that school counselors wear. I

decided to go into this field because I wanted to help students find their dream career choice

since I never felt I had that guidance from my own school counselor. But now that I see that

there is more to the role of the school counselor, I am more passionate about helping students

thrive under my guidance.

I felt that there was a lack of guidance when I was younger and as a result I am working

on becoming a school counselor so that no student goes through what I went through. I was the

first in my family to graduate from high school so there was a lot of expectation from my

parents. Both my parents immigrated from Guatemala to accomplish the American dream. They

both had little or no high school education and therefore wanted their own children to succeed in

life. Their dream was to have all of their children attend and graduate college. That dream was

embedded in my head so I knew that I had to go to college but did not know how to get there and
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what to study and my parents had no idea how to help me. The lack of guidance and resources

made me go through limbo during high school and college. It was not after graduating from

college that I realized that I wanted to become a school counselor. My personal experiences

influenced me to become the best school counselor I can be. The Brandman counseling program

made me realize that there is more to being a school counselor and the interviews that I have had

with school counselors has confirmed it.

I view myself as the school counselor students would want to go to when seeking help. It

is important to be warm, friendly and inviting so that students are comfortable walking up to me

when seeking help or just need someone to listen to them. I am a good listener which I have been

told by a school counselor is a good trait to have. Dr. Shantz, a school counselor from a nearby

high school, once told me during an interview that she lets her students simply talk without

disrupting. Sometimes students just want someone to hear them out and treat them like their

problems are the only things that matter during that one to one session. I view myself helping

students achieve their goals whether it is with their academic, social/emotional or career

development and provide them with extra support and resources if they need it. When I first

entered the program I was aware of the academic development and career development of

students but now I have learned so much about the social and emotional development of

students. From observation and textbooks, I realize how much the social/emotional piece has

expanded since I was in school. School counselors have told me how much of their job deals

with the social/emotional development of their students. I have witnessed how the role of a

school counselor is a challenging one but at the end of it, it is worthwhile when they see their

students succeed.

Interacting With Colleagues

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I also see myself collaborating with administrators, teachers and staff in order to help

students with resources and to advocate for them. Communication is one of the most important

components in collaborating with teachers, administrators, and staff and I will make sure to build

a good relationship and communicate with them in order to help students succeed. During one of

my observations, I was invited by a middle school counselor to attend a wellness meeting. At

first, I thought it was a meeting between school counselors and then found out that it was a

meeting with school counselors, administrators and staff. I got to see firsthand the

communication between them about upcoming projects or ideas in order to promote students'

success. I would like to implement wellness meetings once a week with colleges and also

coordinate group emails so that everyone is up to date on current events. I saw how successful

the meeting was during my observation. Not only did they talk about students but they also

discussed their wellbeing and supported each other. I would like to work in a healthy

environment where we can work together and create learning environments that promote

educational equity for every student. I see myself working closely with teachers, school

psychologists, other school counselors, stakeholders, and school nurses because I know that their

knowledge and professionalism can bring so much to the table. What is important is that as a

team, we need to work together to promote student success.

Interacting with Students

From interviews I have had with school counselors, I have learned that it is important to

build rapport with students. By building rapport, students learn to trust their school counselors

and are motivated to see them more often. I witnessed how a school counselor built rapport with
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a student coming to her for the first time and I saw how natural she was able to build rapport

with the student. Her tip to me was to learn to call the student by his or her name and to learn

something about the student such as an interest or hobby. The role play from courses also

encourages that we work on building rapport with students. The role play has helped me practice

how to interact with students and how to build rapport. In order to build trust with students, I will

work on building rapport. I want students to trust me and open up to me so that I am able to help

them in any way that I can. I see myself helping students by solving their problems, planning

postsecondary options, and setting goals for their academic achievements. I plan on coordinating

group counseling to help students enhance social skills, learn to empathize with others, and find

social/emotional support. I also plan on coordinating workshops on helping students prepare for

college, apply for financial aid and select a career, improve on their academics, and support any

mental health they are dealing with. I will provide students with support and resources and even

outside resources if students need the additional services or support.

Interacting with Family and Communities

Drawing from my previous experience, my parents did not know who my school

counselor was and what their purpose was for. Had they known what the school counselors

purpose was, they would have realized that the school counselor would have been a valuable

resource for them to utilize. The way I would interact with my student’s parents would be by

introducing myself at the beginning of the school year and periodically reintroduce myself

throughout the year so that they know that I am a helpful resource available to them. Being in an

area with a dense Latino population, I will make sure that the resources are also available in a

language that they understand. I can use my Spanish speaking skills as an interpreter to facilitate

communication between colleagues and parents. During an interview for a class assignment, Mr.
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Hansen, a teacher, emphasized how important it was for a school counselor to be bilingual

especially in our community. Another way I plan on being a resource to parents is by creating

workshops for parents on topics that can benefit their child’s success. A workshop I am

passionate about creating is helping parents on how to help their child apply for financial aid,

and college or vocational school. I will also work closely with the community and search for

outside resources that can help families in need such as food banks or clothing sources. I will

search for outside mental health support for students and parents who may need it Mr. Karimi, a

middle school counselor, emphasized that it was just important to support parents and be that

additional resource for their student’s success and wellbeing.

Conclusion

Being a school counselor was not something I had expected to be but when I realized that

there was a lack of guidance, I knew that I did not want others to go through what I did. I know

what it feels like to feel lost and uncertain about their future and I can not express how much it

affected me emotionally. Being a school counselor will provide me the opportunity to help those

in need to not go through what I did. Interviews and observations with school counselors have

helped me shape my vision of the profession as I now know that there is more to the role of the

school counselor as it is a fulfilling profession. I get a chance to work with students and help

them navigate through their problems. I get a chance to advocate for their well being, help them

reach their goal and be a resource to them. I will be able to collaborate with teachers,

administrators, and staff and set goals for students and help them accomplish those goals. Today

students are in greater need for counseling whether they need it in their academic development,

career development, or social/emotional development. I look forward to having students reach

their full potential, accomplish their goals, and thrive under my guidance.
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References

Hansen. P (2020). Desert Springs Middle School

Karimi. N (2020). Desert Springs Middle School

Monroy. T (2019). Colonel Mitchell Paige Middle School

Schantz. A (2019) La Quinta High School

Tartaglini. R (2020) Desert Springs Middle School