I had various ideas about my future direction as I graduated from Grove City College, but no solid plan. I worked for the College in the Admissions office for the next year and half, and during that time of visiting high schools and talking to prospective students I developed the idea to pursue a degree in school counseling.
I attended Slippery Rock University (SRU) where I earned my M.Ed. in secondary school counseling in May 2000. While at SRU, I worked as a graduate assistant in the career services office, which provided me some valuable work experience for my future career. Following graduation, I was fortunate to get a permanent, full-time position at Apollo-Ridge High School working with 9th -12th graders. An opening became available at Butler Junior High School in 2003, and I have been there ever since. I have enjoyed the opportunity to work within the school system, but to meet with children in a more individual manner.
My psychology degree from Grove City College prepared me very well for graduate study. It used to be that most school counselors were teachers first, but now you will find that more and more counselors go right into the field. There are quite a few school counseling graduate programs in our area which is nice to know if a student plans to apply right out of college. One other piece of advice would be to consider becoming certified in both elementary (K-6) and secondary (7-12) school counseling at the same time. This typically only requires another internship experience and no further classwork but will make the job search easier.