Position: Classroom Counselor
What led you to your current position? When I was growing up, I had the privilege of having a community that placed value on my mental health and prioritized my emotions. I saw the benefits of going to therapy or talking about my feeling but never saw that reflected in the classroom. I felt very supported at home and with my therapist, but it felt very isolating and taboo to talk about those things while at school. In college I started to work with youth from Continuation High Schools and fell in love with advocacy work and Restorative Justice. I knew I wanted to work with students but was not sure in what capacity. I continued to work with students in different capacities like being a literacy interventionist and an afterschool teacher. I was able to learn and see different ways to support students academically but always felt like their mental health and emotions were being ignored or not acknowledged enough. I knew i wanted to work with youth and be able to support them with their emotions and behaviors.
What inspires you to do this work? My two biggest inspirations are the clients we work with and the staff. I am always in awe of how hard our clients work every day to reach their goals. There are weeks that sometime feel never ending but seeing our clients' perseverance and dedication inspires me to push through and make it to the end of the week. In duality with the hard work of our students I am inspired by the continued efforts of staff to find new ways to engage and support our clients. I am inspired by seeing how staff advocate for our clients and are constantly trying to model the things we preach.
What is a recent highlight you’ve experienced in the work or an important lesson you’ve learned in this role? One of the most important lessons I have learned in this role is to have more patience. Understanding that growth is not linear, and we have to take things one step at a time. We cannot work harder than our clients and there will be times that we need to exercise that patience and work at the pace the client needs.
Share your life motto or something unique about yourself. "Ya la bailada quien te lo quita", is one of my mottos. This roughly means, go for it, at the end of the day no one will be able to take that experience away from you so have fun and try things even if it is just once.
What led you to your current position? When I was growing up, I had the privilege of having a community that placed value on my mental health and prioritized my emotions. I saw the benefits of going to therapy or talking about my feeling but never saw that reflected in the classroom. I felt very supported at home and with my therapist, but it felt very isolating and taboo to talk about those things while at school. In college I started to work with youth from Continuation High Schools and fell in love with advocacy work and Restorative Justice. I knew I wanted to work with students but was not sure in what capacity. I continued to work with students in different capacities like being a literacy interventionist and an afterschool teacher. I was able to learn and see different ways to support students academically but always felt like their mental health and emotions were being ignored or not acknowledged enough. I knew i wanted to work with youth and be able to support them with their emotions and behaviors.
What inspires you to do this work? My two biggest inspirations are the clients we work with and the staff. I am always in awe of how hard our clients work every day to reach their goals. There are weeks that sometime feel never ending but seeing our clients' perseverance and dedication inspires me to push through and make it to the end of the week. In duality with the hard work of our students I am inspired by the continued efforts of staff to find new ways to engage and support our clients. I am inspired by seeing how staff advocate for our clients and are constantly trying to model the things we preach.
What is a recent highlight you’ve experienced in the work or an important lesson you’ve learned in this role? One of the most important lessons I have learned in this role is to have more patience. Understanding that growth is not linear, and we have to take things one step at a time. We cannot work harder than our clients and there will be times that we need to exercise that patience and work at the pace the client needs.
Share your life motto or something unique about yourself. "Ya la bailada quien te lo quita", is one of my mottos. This roughly means, go for it, at the end of the day no one will be able to take that experience away from you so have fun and try things even if it is just once.
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