High School Students : A Interview At Alain Leroy Locke

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

My passion towards working with students every day has led me to the decision of pursuing a doctoral degree in Student Affairs in Higher Education at Miami University. I have chosen this program to prepare myself for a future role as a professor or a senior level college administrator. This program will allow me to become more proficient within the students’ educational experience and therefore better engage students in active learning.

At Hazelwood High School, they do things differently than at my school. At Hazelwood, most of the people worry about themselves and nobody else. Most of the school doesn’t get good grades and the school does not do anything about it. One day in English class Andy walked out when they were reading Macbeth because it was too emotional for Andy to handle. His friends were concerned and told the school counselor. They said, “But… but… it seems like… like… he needs help or somethin’.” Then the counselor said, “Well, I probably shouldn’t tell you boys this, but he is getting some outside counseling… So you boys can relax and be assured that he is getting whatever help he needs”(100). At Harrisburg High School, if someone had an issue like that, the counselors and teachers would be concerned, even if the person was getting outside help. Another thing about education that is different than mine is the school. In Ronda’s English homework, she wrote, “Our school building must have been built about a million years ago, because it was brown and tall and raggedy-looking, but it fit right in with the rest of the day”(16). At my high school, we are very fortunate to have a very new building to learn inside of. At Hazelwood High, they were not fortunate enough to have a new high school be built. Culture and education are very important pieces of people’s

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

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

As a current Retention Specialist, for the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS), I have mastered group counseling. For instance, I have conducted over 100 academic advisement workshops. Aside from holding group counseling, I have prevented ECS Hispanic and Black American students from dropping out of California State University, Fullerton. Nonetheless, I am the face of a first-generation scholar who can relate to some challenges first-generation college students’ experience. These challenges may entail, working while pursuing an advanced degree, culture shock with the university environment, and overcoming learning disabilities. Remarkably, I have surmounted obstacles such as having a slight Reading Disability and successfully completing remediation courses during my freshman year in college.

In schools all over the world today, School Counselors are crucial to assisting students, parents, school administrations, and the community. I believe that creating an effective counseling program that supports the counselors’ role in education will foster a close interaction between students and counselor to achieve success in their personal/social lives, academic achievements, and college readiness careers.

To efficiently address the needs of nontraditional African American female students ages 25 to 50 it is important for colleges to understand and know this subgroup population (Strayhorn & Johnson, 2014; Walpole, et al., 2014). The research questions for this study are designed to gain an understanding of the perceptions and experiences of African American female students age 25 to 50 enrolled in developmental courses.

After reading Sonja Ardoin’s (2014) “the strategic guide to shaping your student affairs career” book, I read a variety of important content that has allowed me to reflect not only in my fieldwork position, as an Advising Assistant for the Puente Program, but also my current status as a graduate student in the Educational Counseling program.

What could schools do to support the college access of Latino immigrant students? To understand how public high schools serving low-income, immigrant students (majority of whom were of Hispanic descent) achieved high rates of college acceptances, Jaffe-Walters and Lee (2008) conducted an ethnographic study to explore how schools provide students with the academic skills and social capital to support college-going. Among other factors, the researchers found that staff resisted “deficit thinking by focusing on the structural and material conditions that limit families” (p. 285). That is, instead of blaming students’ circumstances for struggles to achieve in school, educators at these schools sought ways to overcome structural barriers and provide students with the resources and capital necessary to graduate and attend college. One way of preparing all ELLs attending the schools was grouping students heterogeneously in academically challenging courses, with an “assumption that all

Going to college and being in a university setting was the first time my perspectives and ideas were broadened. I was able to see the world outside my small suburb, and learned harsh realities, which I was sheltered from my whole life. Social justice advocate, Bryan Stevenson, expounds the idea of getting proximate to issues that one cares about. For me, getting proximate was accomplished by being on a university campus, and learning from the ideas of others, as well as new, first-hand experiences. As I was supported and encouraged in my growth at Loyola, I want to provide the same assistance for other students. Through my years I have excelled at organization and coordination, skills that I hope to apply in order to help students in a university setting. More so, I want to help support students who enter college, those who wish to expand their knowledge, viewpoints, and minds. Higher education would offer me a unique opportunity where I would be able to support students in their growth as a person, while offering encouragement and assistance to students throughout their college

As a recent graduate of Iowa State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Art and Design focusing on art history and education, the position as Education Coordinator and Advisor at Buena Vista University captured my attention as an opportunity to work with students through educational programming. As a recent college student, I provide a valuable perspective on academic advising through my own personal experiences. I have learned many advisors lack in truly connecting and catering to each student’s individual situation and needs. Buena Vista University, a relatively small area college, provides an opportunity to fully connect and provide personal one-on-one experience all students deserve. Subsequently, students gain the absolute most out of their college education. A large part of my career goals entail helping students of all ages engage, thrive and connect in their own individualized way.

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.

In schools all over the world today, School Counselors are crucial to assisting students, parents, school administrations, and the community. I believe that creating an effective counseling program that supports the counselors’ role in education will foster a close interaction between students and counselor to achieve success in their personal/social lives, academic achievements, and college readiness careers.