Girls Inc Personal Statement

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.

It was during my senior year of college that I decided I wanted to become a school counselor. Up until my senior year in college at Penn State I did not know where I wanted to take my career but I knew I wanted to work in a school setting and I knew that I wanted to work with kids. When it came time to choose an internship site for my last semester, I chose an alternative school called Buxmont Academy in Bethlehem where I would be shadowing two of their school counselors as well as engaging with the students themselves. I got to work with these children on a more personal level, gaining an understanding of their emotions, experiences, and difficulties, as most of these children came from broken homes, and drug and alcohol related settings. I am interested in becoming a school counselor because I want to help. When I become a counselor I want to make a difference in a child’s life whether that be by simply giving them support that they might not have in their lives or helping them make changes to better themselves and their futures. A counselor has such an important role in helping to shape young children and that is something that I want to be a part of.

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

I have known Natalie Schieuer for almost half a year now, and in that time I have been incredibly pleased to meet such an amazing, talented, and brilliant young lady. I was Natalie’s counselor this summer at Nebraska Girls State. Girls State is a week-long camp, aimed towards education of state and local government. 400 of Nebraska’s top emerging high school juniors are chosen to attend this program, and within these numbers, Natalie still managed to shine through with her accomplishments and wit.

I am interested in working with elementary or high school students. Working with these students in the school setting, I will be giving the chance to advocate and work with them and other organizations to assist in achieving a positive outlook on social, academic, personal and career development. Consulting and collaborating with parents, teachers, school administrators, medical professors, and other professionals in the medical and counseling field will also contribute to increasing my knowledge in staying with the counseling trends and strategies that will affect the development of students.

It is my belief, a school counselor must have the personality characteristics of an effective counselor and have a personal approach to treatment. Personal characteristics of an effective counselor are as follows: making life oriented choices, being authentic, sincere, and honest with students at all times. Other characteristics consist of appreciating the influence of different cultures and being passionate with students as they are counseled. Having the respect for others, regardless of culture, race, and ethnicity are also characteristics of being a great counselor. Being authentic, honest, and sincere helps build a great rapport with students, parents, and co-workers. Students need someone to be passionate and show genuine concern when helping them through their educational journey. Each child is a unique individual who needs a secure, caring, and stimulating atmosphere in which to grow and mature emotionally, intellectually, physically, and socially. It should be a counselor’s desire along with teaching staff to help students meet their needs to their fullest potential in these areas by providing an environment that is safe, supports risk-taking, and invites shared ideas.

I am placed at the Boys and Girls Club in Vineland, New Jersey. We have a mission statement which is prevalent not only to our small club in Vineland, but the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, which includes all of the Boys and Girls Clubs nationwide. Our mission statement is “to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.” To me, this mission statement is especially important to our location because the children who go to this club are from an extremely underserved neighborhood, and most of them do not have a desirable role model or parent to look up to at home. Therefore, we must encourage the students at this club to strive to be the best version

I am a junior at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) majoring in Kinesiology. I am

Having the opportunity to interview Feliza Martinez, a University of California, Irvine graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a California State University, Long Beach graduate with Masters of Science in Counseling gave me a perspective of the type of work that she does as an elementary school counselor. We both come from the same background and have face challenges

A school counselor’s role is vital in many schools across America. Many students see their counselor, to work on any emotional stressors, academic changes and challenges. This may include, interventions, group therapy and changes in class schedule, but sometimes with all the implementations given, students do not succeed in school. Perhaps one needs to take a closer look at the programs being implemented and its success rate. In addition, a counselor should guide itself using the ASCA (American School Counselor Association) to provide evidence based practices in schools.

More than ever before, our country needs schools that will prepare today’s youth for the challenges and opportunities they face, youth who will become knowledgeable, responsible, and caring citizens and leaders for the future. An outstanding education prepares students to be strong in a wide range of academic disciplines. This essay focuses on Social Emotional Learning and how to implement and sustain it within schools so that students can achieve greater academic success.

This week I had the opportunity to fulfill my practicum hours at two different locations. The locations that I observed were Columbia Elementary School’s summer care program and a Mad City Money Event located at Members 1st Credit Union. Both experiences opened my eyes to see a wide range of situations and behaviors among kindergarten through high school. Each observation provided two very different outlooks and each contributed to my knowledge in some way.

Impacting the lives of children must be approached from a team perspective to address all aspects of the child’s environment and relationships including caregivers, peers, teachers and school. Behavioral Counselors must collaborate with school counselors to understand the impact that school and teachers have on the child’s life. To appreciate School Counseling a review of the specialization’s history is important. School Counselors have evolved from vocational guidance and job-orientated counseling following World War I to educational guidance following World War II due to the passing of the GI bill as veterans were given right to education counseling (Minkoff, 1985). Today School Counselors support a wide variety of needs from a wide variety of student populations including but not limited to depression, college guidance, anxiety, oppositional disorder and developmentally delayed due to change in access to mental health care being more privatized (Lockhart & Keys, 1998). Lockhart states that because of the restructuring in access to care school counselors have been pushed to handle a wider variety of needs within mental health (1998).