Bowie State University Reflection

I particularly enjoy communicating program progression, behavior changes and therapeutic interventions with Senior Therapists and parents to discuses the next steps in the children’s treatment plan. While working to meet the needs of the children for whom I provide therapy, I realized that each of them had an interesting story and a need for personalized interaction, education and compassion. I am enthusiastic about working hard to help meet students’ psychological needs, and I feel the best way to do this is to pursue an education in School Psychology.

My pursuit of becoming a School Counselor led me to apply to the School Counseling Master’s Program at University of Maryland, College Park. I am a former student at University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. After graduating and teaching for two years in Prince George’s County Public Schools, I discovered my true passion lies not only in the classroom and students’ academics, but playing a pivotal role in the growth of their career, social, and personal development. Although I am no longer teaching full-time at the moment, my interaction with students from diverse backgrounds left an indelible responsibility to continue making a difference in our students. The objectives and mission of the School Counseling Master’s Program at University of Maryland can best help my goal of becoming an effective counselor and leader who is an agent of change to students and service the mental and emotional well-being of the younger generation.

The experiences that I shared with those students presented me with great satisfaction. This influenced my decision to apply for a graduate degree in school counseling. Although, at this point in time I do not hold any experiences in school counseling I have researched ways to gain that experience. Volunteering at both public schools to shadow licensed school counselors and independent counseling centers will provide me the necessary experiences to gain hands on knowledge for the field. The ability to relate interpersonally to individuals from different cultural backgrounds is extremely important for a counselor. Being knowledgeable of a client’s culture, identity, ethnicity, race and gender play a major part in the counseling process. Possessing cultural competent is key to engaging a diverse clientele. Culture norms and rules change the way an individual interact. I understand the importance of identifying the barriers and bias in interacting with individual from different cultures. Through my previous years of education and current work experiences I obtained valuable interpersonal skills. These skills assist with communicating effectively with a diverse group of individuals. Those skills involved effective listening, problem-solving, decision-making, assertiveness, and verbal and non-verbal communication. In detail, while working as teacher, I was afforded the opportunity of advising interns on making practical

Multiple years of research and field experience as well as my undergraduate coursework in Psychology, Counseling, and General Education has provided me with ample skills to be successful at the graduate level in the School Psychology program offered at Francis Marion University. Working within the school system with students with mental health needs and exceptionalities has been a dream of mine since I was in high school. I am confident the School Psychology program at Francis Marion University will provide me with the skill set needed to make my dream a reality and become the best School Psychologist I can be.

While working as an aide in multiple classrooms in the school age program at CCDD, my interest in a side of psychology that I had known little about before, quickly grew. The experience I had my first semester interning led me to accept a part-time position as an instructor’s assistant for the program for the rest of the year. Throughout the year, my position provided me with a greater understanding of the needs of diverse learners and the tools needed to ensure that all children

ASCA National Model has Mindset and Behaviors guidelines for student success. These guidelines facilitate what a professional school counselor role is in schools, given 35 standards set forth as priorities. Professional school counselors have an important role in assisting students with their education as they focus on the 3 domains of the guidelines which enlist Academic, Career and Social/Emotional Development. This paper will focus on the areas a counselor needs to excel in, to show leadership and understanding of their profession. The areas include the following having a professional organization to belong to, clearly understanding ethical codes, ability to work with multicultural, GLBTQ students, importance of group work and career development.

School counselors should be able to distinguish the differences between individual and group dissimilarities and strive to value all students and groups equally. They should advocate for the equitable treatment of all students in their school and in their community. If a school counselor wants to be successful in ensuring an equity-based program, they should consider the role of culture, ethnicity, race, gender, religion, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and other factors (Curry & Milson, 2013). Any student regardless of background can face developmental and emotional issues that can be detrimental to their success. Some students slip through the cracks because they feel that there are no adults available whom they can trust. They

The Comprehensive School Counseling Program Notebook which follows the ASCA National Model third edition was created in School Counseling Programs. This notebook is divided into four components as directed by the comprehensive school counseling program: foundation, delivery, management, and accountability. The Foundation section includes my core beliefs, my vision, my mission, rationale, description, and goals of the program at Mountain Home Junior School. Delivery, Management, and Accountability (AR 1.2).

School counselor is a continuous learning profession; whether it is the profession itself, or society that continues to change, or government prioritizing different matters within the school systems. The key to be a successful school counselor within the school is through research. Finding out what’s different about this year’s population, students interest, what is the most effective way to provide information to students. These are just a few reasons of why research is valuable and important to conduct throughout the course of one’s school counseling profession. There are different types of research one could utilize, and with all the research found it is important that a counselor has the necessary skills

For my informational interview I interviewed Hasty Elementary School Counselor Candace Thurman. Mrs. Thurman earned her B.A. in Psychology from Salem College and a MA Ed.S in Mental Health Counseling from Gardner Webb University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Licensed School Counselor. Her maternal grandfather suffered from mental illness and was homeless. Seeing the impact his condition had on him as well as her family compelled her to choose a career in mental health. Mrs. Thurman worked in the middle school setting for 11 years. This year is her first year in an elementary school.

Jennifer Ramji, MA, LMFT, LICSW is a therapist for the Community School Collaborative, providing school-based prevention, early intervention, and mental health services at Edison High School, a comprehensive urban school located in Northeast Minneapolis. As the Director of Training and Supervision, she provides and organizes mentorship, supervision, and professional development opportunities for therapists in fourteen inner-city schools. Jennifer has worked in school-based mental health for the past ten years and is an adjunct instructor at Argosy University/Twin Cities and Metropolitan State University. Jennifer’s practice is centered on providing culturally responsive and developmentally appropriate services to diverse and underserved youth,

After taking this summer class I learned a lot on how to help me improve at Luther college. Even though the NHCC professor was not the best professor I learned to still ask for help and her advice even though it wasn’t the best. Before the first test in this summer I asked the SASC department for advice for note taking and test taking. They listed a few websites and I looked at them. I used their suggestions when taking notes from my textbook. I also used outside sources for help, Kjresten helped me make note cards and practice taking tests. Her notecards helped and showed me a way to make a game out of a picture chart that I will be seeing in other classes at Luther. Now, I can use that technique to help study the graphs. To continue the success

The first thing that came up to my mind while writing this reflection paper, is to read the personal statement, which I have wrote while applying for Texas A&M two years ago. I wanted to know what was the real motivation behind my choice and how did it change after completing one year of studying urban planning at Texas A&M. Besides, comparing between my previous and current perspectives will help me understand how Homan readings reinforced or changed my beliefs. The first thing that came up to my mind while writing this reflection paper is to read the personal statement, which I have written while applying for Texas A&M two years ago. I wanted to know what was the real motivation behind my choice and how did it change after completing one year of studying urban planning at Texas A&M. Besides, comparing between my previous and current perspectives will help me understand how Homan readings reinforced or changed my beliefs.

The school system uses the FRC Coordinator, School Based Social Worker, Family Therapist, Behaviorist, and Mentors to implement interventions to achieve the goals that’s established by each student/family. These professionals bring their own distinctive understanding and expertise to the school system while servicing the students and their families. These professionals address students’ mental health concerns, behavioral concerns, while offering positive behavioral support, academic and classroom support, consultation with teachers, parents and administrators as well as individual/group therapy. Implementing interventions addresses the social issues that affects the students’ wellbeing, accomplishing the FRC’s mission, improving

With the diversifying population in America’s schools, a profession school counselor should be culturally competent to meet the needs of all students. “The transformed professional school counselor is culturally competent, respectful of human diversity, and a school leader in ensuring that oppressive systemic barriers to academic, career, college readiness, and personal/social development are removed (Erford, 2015, p. 173).” A school counselor needs to have a deep understanding of a variety of cultures to meet the personal, emotional, developmental needs of a student using individual and group interventions while being aware of their cultural and spiritual needs.