Informative Interview For Helping Professionals Essay

My desire to work in the Catholic School system stems primarily from the ability to share my faith openly in such an environment, however, the Catholic School’s focus on the growth of the whole person, spiritual and academic and its commitment to service in the community and the world are also very important to me.

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.

Counseling has many components in different fields such as a school counselor, marriage and family counseling, addiction counseling, individual and private practices, and many more. For my project, I interviewed Mrs. Ross Freeman, a school counselor who talks about her journey of becoming an Elementary School Counselor. We discuss what the requirement and cost were to receive a license in the counseling field. We were also able to discuss the average salary and hourly wages for a counselor in WISD. Mrs. Freeman then goes on to enlighten me about the rewards, challenges, demands and frustrations of a school counselor.

When I first found out about this assignment I was a little anxious because I didn 't know whom I would interview or how my request would be received. As I consider my options I thought it would be best to interview someone that could offer me some insight as to what it is like to be an elementary or junior high school counselor, which are the two age groups that I would most like to work with. With this in mind, I decided to interview one of my son 's past guidance counselors. This is a woman that I have admired since the first day that I met her. In talking with her I found her to be a very knowledgeable, caring, and open person. She has been in the helping profession for over twenty years and working as a guidance counselor since 1999.

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.

The agency I have chosen to volunteer my time at this semester is Nathaniel Bowditch Elementary, which is a part of the Salem Public School district. Nathaniel Bowditch is located at 79 Willson Street, Salem Massachusetts. This school provides education to students from kindergarten to eighth grade. Within this school, I am currently volunteering my time with Rebekah Prescott. Rebekah is the school adjustment counselor for students in kindergarten through fourth grade, a caseload of about three hundred students. The goal of this paper is to describe in detail the Nathaniel Bowditch School including the agency’s history, mission, organization, the services being provided, qualifications for these servers,

Nathaniel Bowditch is a school in the Salem Public school district. This school currently educates children from kindergarten through the eighth grade. Within the school, I volunteer my time with the adjustment counselor for students in kindergarten through fourth grade. Throughout this paper, I will be discussing the counseling services at Nathaniel Bowditch through a client’s perspective. I will be discussing this client under the pseudonym of J, to ensure the privacy of the client. All of the information I will be using throughout this essay is from the client herself or her counselor. The goal of this paper is to discuss a background of the client, why and how long the client has been using this agency, the significance of the services

My video followed the story of Frances Collins-Moore, a counselor at Marshall Fundamental High School. Her story highlights many topics related to school counseling including the importance of being flexible with professional duties, working directly with your student population, communicating with parents, student and teacher advocacy, and the importance of self-care. She worked as a teacher for ten years before transitioning to school counseling and has worked in a direct counseling role for the last ten years. I really appreciated her holistic approach to school counseling. She recognizes that different approaches are needed with different students in order to properly motivate them and address their concerns. She also sees herself as a

I interviewed Cory Rossman, a school counselor in an attempt to help build an awareness of the “real-life” experiences of the educational counseling profession. In my interview with Cory Rossman, we reflected on all different aspects of the career from what time was spent on various tasks to what he felt were the negative and positive aspects of being a school counselor. I gained insight into the career itself as well as what is essential to become a successful school counselor. Cory Rossman works at Foothill High School located in Shasta County. He services 320 students out of the 1,332 students at the campus.

I interviewed several service providers in my school, Stephen Knight Center for Early Education, that included the psychologist, special education teacher and a general education teacher. I interviewed Ms. Iris, the school psychologist, Ms. Kathy, the special education teacher, and Ms. Hilary, a general education teacher. Ms. Iris’ responsibilities include working with students who have social emotional needs. This can include behavior challenges, learning new social skills, managing grief, etc. She works directly with parents and teachers to provide resources regarding the child’s well-being, and ensure good attendance by setting up plans. Ms. Iris works with children in general education, counseling groups, and one-on-one situations, including special education minutes. Ms. Hilary is a general education classroom teacher. She is responsible for the well-being of her students academically, socially, physically and developmentally. Ms. Hilary also advocates for families and students to receive the support that they need to feel successful in their first years of school. Finally, Ms. Kathy is the staffing

There is a strong population of students who attend the Catholic Church, too. The school cooperates with the catechism program by providing a location where leaders can pick up children for the after school program. The Boys and Girls Club also picks up students from the school campus for after school care. This cooperation between the school and extra-curricular programs suggests that there are many families where both parents work, and some students live in single parent households. In general, there is high parent involvement at the school and students are supported from these outside sources.

When driving past the modest copper bricked building topped with a bulky black roof, one might only see it as just a school for children; however, there is so much more to it than what meets the eye. The large black cross that clings to the front entrance wall suggests to its visitants the school’s religious affiliation which is further evidenced by the name “St. Louis” in slate black lettering on the wall parallel to it. St. Louis Catholic School was established in 1964 in Princeton, Illinois as a pre-school through eighth grade elementary school and is still today. It remains the only Catholic elementary school in Bureau Country, making it unique to the area. Although the class sizes tend to be small with regards to the quantity of students, the many experiences that the school provides including the encouragement of creativity, providing a friendly and comfortable classroom environment and the stress on the formation of a loving community live with the students for the majority of their lives.

Over the course of the past few years, I have been very blessed to have professional experiences that reinforced my interest in social work. In 2014, I worked as a guidance counselor and learning support intern at St. Pius Elementary school in Greensboro, North Carolina. In the guidance-counseling department, I assisted with counseling appointments with children in grades K-8. We often discussed topics

The person who I conducted my informational interview was Chang Wang, Esq. I was acquainted with Mr. Chang Wang through a class he taught at the University of Minnesota. Professor Wang is a man of many professions; he is a lawyer, a professor, an actor and a writer. I could tell that he is extremely accomplished in his many careers through the list of schools he has taught at, awards he has received, the many licenses he’s obtained, and the number of publications he has authored. Because of his busy schedule, I contacted him a month before the interview to solidify a schedule with him. I requested half an hour of his time, but he was very generous and gave me over an hour of his company. I wanted to interview Mr. Wang for my assignment because I always wanted to pick his brain and learn more about what he did at Thomson Reuters. Aside from completing this assignment and getting to know more about his work, I also had a different agenda of ultimately requesting a letter of recommendation in the

How important are these roles and functions in the development of our children, our future? This essay seeks to outline the major roles and functions of a guidance counsellor in our Jamaica school setting and also to examine some of the factors which negatively impact the guidance counsellor in his or her quest towards fulfilling these roles.