Not "How" ... But "Why"

Well, friends, here we sit on the precipice of another school year.  After a long summer of various odd jobs and an extended vacation from my fiancee, who took my dog to Minneapolis so she could take a graduate class (which was really, really hard for me!), my excitement for the coming year grows and bubbles in my brain.  If you have at least a year of School Counseling under your belt, you are likely gearing up for a busy, sometimes stressful school year.  When I look at a school year in one big chunk (macro, if you will)... well, it can be overwhelming.  It is moments like this that I like to remind myself why I am passionate about being a School Counselor; not just how to do it.

I read a bunch of awesome School Counseling blogs that teach others all kinds of things.  You can learn how dress for the job over at JYJ Counselor; how to use Google Drive with The Counseling Geek; and even how to "#SCCHAT" at SCOPE.  I read these blogs and I love it.  I wouldn't be the School Counselor I am today without their guidance, candor and understanding.  This post though, my post, is all about what came before the "how"... the passion, the "why."  The school I work at has ten school counselors total, a wealth of knowledge and experience for a new counselor to have at their daily disposal.  One day, while we all sat around eating our lunches in our cozy conference room, there was a lull in conversation and I turned to my mentor-counselor (who is my data-driven idol!) and asked why she chose this profession.  What ensued was an eye-opening discussion of why each of us became School Counselors.

For my mentor, she talked about finishing her undergrad and coaching women's Field Hockey.  Through that work, she identified that she could bridge those skills into a career and enrolled in a graduate program at a local university.  One, who was a former teacher, talked about how students always approached her for advice anyway, so becoming a counselor was a natural progression.  Another had volunteered with students through his place of worship and quickly identified an interest in helping young people through a sometimes tumultuous time of their lives.  For myself, I always enjoyed working with people, listening to their problems and easily empathized.  I had a teacher at school (whose wife is a fantastic School Counselor in Wisconsin) who showed me how important it is for students to have people who listen and help them find solutions to their own problems (plus, I really like spreadsheets!).  I am forever indebted to that teacher and like to think that I can be that kind of support for my own students.

After the awesome conversation at the lunch table, I thought I should take my "why" question to the Twitter-verse and here are some of the responses I got:

Big question for #scchat and #SCCrowd community: what made you want to become a school counselor, anyway? Can you share in 140 characters?!?

— Dylan Hackbarth (@dylanhackbarth) August 5, 2014

@dylanhackbarth @SCCrowd For me it was a desire to help the students 1 on 1 more. So many underlying issues were impacting their education.

— Star Jackson (@Nassau2013) August 13, 2014

@dylanhackbarth son of educators, knew I didn't want to teach, counselors coolest people in my hs, get 2 help so many #scchat

— GeekMaster Jeff (@CounselingGeek) August 5, 2014

@dylanhackbarth to payback what I had been given , to make a difference, to help , I love working with adolescents!

— Susan Spellman Cann (@SSpellmanCann) August 5, 2014

@dylanhackbarth I've been working w/ HS students for last 10 years in other ways. Becoming a SC made sense for my next 30+.

— Jeremie Bateman (@JeremieBateman) August 5, 2014

These stories are AWESOME.  Can you share your reason in 140 characters? Tweet at me (@dylanhackbarth) and include the tag #SCCHAT... WHY did you become a School Counselor!?

Catching Up

It has been awhile.  Looking back, I should have expected my blogging to fall off when the school year started.  I mean, I started my first position as a school counselor, in a new school, in a new state.  It is okay though- while a ton has happened since I last wrote, personally and professionally, I am back on the figurative "blogging horse" and will catch you up on some of the stuff I've been up to.  No real tips here today, more of a re-introduction:

Professionally-

I count my lucky stars each day I get to work with the fantastic student services team at my school.  In total, there are ten (I KNOW, TEN!!!) school counselors within my high school.  Nine of us have caseloads of a few hundred students while one works as the "transition counselor"- a very important individual who gives extra, extra support to students who may be struggling academically.  We have two school psychologists and one social worker.  Want to talk about spoiled, we have a host of other professionals that specialize in specific areas of serving students, a registrar, transcript assistant, assessment coach and student information assistant.  In combination, this group works like a well-oiled machine and, thankfully, when I've had questions I always have somebody available to ask.  

Of the ten counselors, four of us were new to the building this year.  Another and I were total greenhorns, while two others transferred from other schools within the county.  I have a mentor who is one of the most organized, productive and kind individuals I have ever met- best of all, her office is right across the hall.  Pretty convenient while acclimating to the regulations and little details of working in one of the largest school districts in the country!  

Speaking of offices!  Here is a short Vine of mine.  Be warned, I took this video back in August- I promise my desk is neater now (don't worry, mom!)  I've also hung my diplomas on the wall, right next to some of my Wienermobile memorabilia...

One of the best parts of being a new school counselor is integrating the fresh knowledge I have, just out of graduate school, to the tried and true methodology of a productive team.  Did I mention that my mentor is our American School Counselor Association RAMP coordinator?  I love me some data and ASCA-aligned comprehensive school counseling!  We don't apply again until next spring, but, as a team, we have already begun editing our department's vision and mission statements.

The first year as a School Counselor is a bit like trial by fire.  I wrote 50-ish letters of recommendation and advised students through the college application process. I hold 504 Plan meetings, attend IEPs, complete academic advising meetings with each student, plan conferences, crisis counseling, goal setting, classroom lessons, lunch duty, register new students, field parent phone calls, answer emails upon emails, and on and on and on.  Other school counselors out there know how far that list extends... After the challenge of graduate school, it is nice to know it is real.

Personally-
I mentioned at the end of my previous post that I got a dog.  Maple is a Pointer/Pitbull (I pronounce it: pibble) mix.  Here is a Vine I took after she won a dog cookie in a Howl-o-ween costume contest:

On another personal note, my Music Teacher Lady and I are engaged.

It has been a crazy but very rewarding year.  I hope to continue blogging and have a few posts with some tips and personal practices brewing in my mind.  Til then.

Conference Anticipation: How one intern/graduate student/job-seeker prepares.

The Maryland School Counselor Association's annual conference is scheduled for this coming Friday.  In late February, I got an email calling for graduate student volunteers.  The conference organizers wanted four graduate volunteers to monitor the presentation rooms, hand out session evaluations, etc.  As a personal rule, I try to not miss any opportunities for professional engagement so I responded and was offered one of the volunteer spots.  I am particularly excited to attend the MSCA Conference because it will be great practice for the American School Counselor Association's National Conference in July where I will be speaking about my advocacy projects and internship experience as a member of a graduate student panel.

Description of my group's presentation at the ASCA National Conference- Scheduled for July 2nd (1:30pm-2:45pm)

With all these conferences coming up, there are a few ways for people like me, graduate students/interns/counseling-position-seekers to prepare.  Here is how I plan to network and present myself professionally:

1.  "Get a haircut, Hippie!"
Okay- I can grow a beautiful mane fit for horse or a Dothraki (I've been watching a lot of "Game of Thrones" lately...), but sometimes I just have to suck it up and keep that mop cropped, short, professional and neat.

Now, my hair wasn't this long... but I just felt the need to give some historical reference of how big my hair can get.  Sophomore year of high school.

The day after my haircut, I couldn't walk down a hallway at my internship without student/teacher/administrators telling me how much better my hair looked... Point:  Dylan, keep the hair professional.

2.  What to wear?
As a counseling conference newbie, I had no idea what to wear... do I go all the way and wear my suit or do a pair of khakis and a button up suffice?  I thought I needed a little back-up here and reached out to my professor who is the former director of counseling for a very large school district in the Southwest.  Here suggestion:

"Typically you would dress up a little more if you were presenting – dress slacks and a jacket.  Most conference attire is business casual – a nice pair of slacks and shirt.  The east coast conferences tend to have higher dress standards than the west coast.  You will be pretty safe if you wear dress slacks, but you may find that some conference attendees are in jeans.  You will see a wide array of clothing choices at ASCA J "

Thanks for the help, Professor!

3.  Be a card-carrying member.

I read other counseling blogs.  Whether it is a hobby or an obsession, I love learning more about the profession and picking up tips.  Danielle Schultz over at School Counselor Blog wrote a post about business cards.  In January, I followed her advice and ordered my own set of cards.  For a grand total of about $10, I got professional cards printed, which I now carry with me everywhere.  A simple card with my name, email, education, and a link to my LinkedIn helps me quickly and easily share who I am professionally.  

The cards are useless without a desire to network, talking to other professionals is a great opportunity to extend my connections.  If I can't talk to other professionals, handing out cards is next to impossible.  There are a lot of great counselors out there doing incredible things.  I hope to meet more of these individuals who can help me push myself in the future.  

Watch out conference attendees... I've got cards, a haircut, and a professional wardrobe and I am NOT afraid to use them.