Amid the vibrant whirlwind of excitement that surrounds graduating seniors and the enthusiastic arrival of eager freshmen, one crucial figure often fades into the background: our school counselor. Counselors are, in fact, some of the most important individuals we have during high school. Throughout the four transformative years of high school, they take on a multitude of essential roles to support us.
They become our guideposts.
Our most trusted advisors.
The most patient listeners.
They have been a steadfast presence, helping to shape our paths and nurture our growth. Their influence is felt not just in our educational journeys, but also in the personal development that lays the groundwork for our futures.
Here, counselor Elizabeth Fawcett shares her thoughts and experiences on the honor of National School Counseling Week.
What are some challenges you have faced as a counselor?
Ever-changing requirements for students. I’ve spent my time at different high schools, and so it’s district changes, but also the state keeps changing things, and sometimes the state changes and the district changes, so trying to keep up with all that is very challenging.
My second challenge, these are my two big ones, is caseload. I have about 500 students, and it’s almost 600, and that’s just too much. It’s too much to try and adequately give time to the kids, and I want to do everything I do with fidelity and honor and integrity, and you can’t do that sometimes. The integrity and the honor, but the fidelity, when you have that many kids, it’s just impossible.
Students come from various backgrounds so how do you build a sense of trust between you and them?
Well, I try to have an open-door policy. I try to let kids email me, stop by, and do whatever they need to do to get a hold of me. If it’s something that takes a while, I try to schedule an appointment and do all three, the email, the face-to-face meeting, and then the appointments to follow up, so it’s just, again, kind of juggling everything. Somehow it has always worked.
What motivates you to be a school counselor? Why did you choose this field?
Helping people. I love to help people, and I never knew what I wanted to do to help people, necessarily, but my bachelor’s is in education, and I was not bad at teaching, but I did not excel at it, because I found myself always drawn to the people that were struggling. And when you are teaching a classroom full of 30 kids, you can’t always go over and ask someone what’s wrong or what’s going on, and I did not have the training that I have now.
So for me, what drew it is just being able to help people and impact them, hopefully for the best.
What are some skills you would say are an asset to you in this field?
Patience, positive attitude, keeping up with trends, and just having an open, caring heart. I think that you have to approach people, and know that everybody’s different.
What is your biggest achievement as a counselor?
I think it’s continually the kids graduating. I feel like I am successful when they are successful, and so it’s kind of compiled into one.
I would also say, and this is probably kind of cheesy, but it meant a lot to me. It’s only happened, out of 20 plus years, I’ve had three kids different times give me a shout-out at graduation. All have been either salutatorian or valedictorian, and it’s probably stupid, and it’s not that I need the recognition, but it’s nice, because that makes me feel like I’ve done my job and been successful if they think enough of me to say, I thank Ms. Fawcett.
So for me, I think that the biggest achievement, though, is just my students succeeding, and being happy and healthy and finishing what they need.
What is one quote you live by?
I think that it would be that I’m ever hopeful, and that I’m always looking forward. So, I guess, just never give up, never give up hope, never give up your dreams. So just never give up and remember there’s always a way. It may not be what you think it is, but there is always a way, and there is always an answer.
