Student Experiences

In Their Own Words

The USD Counseling Program and the Working Professional: One Graduate’s Experience –

Marissa Martinez, Class of 2009

The work experience I gained before beginning the USD Counseling Program and the insightful internship experiences I enjoyed over this past academic year significantly contributed to the overall growth of my personal and interpersonal skills. Prior to my enrollment in this counseling program, I possessed excellent communication skills, had a team player attitude and mentality, a willingness to learn from others, and an openness to accepting constructive criticism from supervisors. As a working professional, I learned to work well with individuals who displayed diverse personalities, as well as adapt to and thrive within any work environment which presents itself. I developed a strong work ethic, and I proved myself to be trustworthy and dependable, which are strong assets to have when entering the counseling profession.

Based on my internship experiences at a non-public special needs school, a public middle school, and a public high school, I have been able to attain professional knowledge and skills in different facets of the counseling profession. I excelled in my experiences with conflict mediation, CSTAR and SAT administration, AB 1802 parent meetings, student transcript evaluation, classroom presentation experience, support group facilitation, high school articulation meetings for middle school students, and working with at-risk or special needs populations. My experiences have also exposed me to event planning, attending and presenting at professional association conferences, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment training, action research and data analysis, PLC leadership and participation, and SPARC training and creation.

On numerous occasions, I have earned positive feedback from my three site supervisors, two university supervisors, and student populations. This evidence of my effectiveness in working with clients can be seen in the apparent and immediate enthusiasm and receptiveness of my group members, from which I typically enjoy a 100% attendance rate each session. This semester, my middle school site supervisor contacted me after school hours to commend me on my accomplishment of initiating a grief and loss group with students from all three grade levels. The middle school counselor felt that I did a tremendous job of recruiting the students and inspiring each of them to join the group. She said that she had never seen a group of seven students from such diverse backgrounds look so eager and engaged in a group session, which she witnessed while checking in on us during our first group session. I also created a comparable positive group environment and received a similar compliment from my high school site supervisor at my previous fall semester internship. The high school counselor even went so far as to state that my determination and dedication to the group inspired her to continue the same grief and loss group for the remainder of the academic year and in future years to come.

I also received positive feedback from both internship site supervisors regarding the overall success of my classroom lesson presentations. At my current internship site, I was asked to assist my site supervisor with her sixth grade classroom lessons on goal-setting and GPA calculation. My university supervisor also came to observe my lesson, and afterwards he praised me on my ability to manage a classroom of nearly thirty-five students. The university supervisor stated that he was thoroughly impressed with my class control and patience, considering that I do not possess any prior teaching experience. Also, at my previous internship site, I was asked to conduct classroom trainings for the entire junior class on the new career assessment website launched by the high school district superintendent. Not only was my site supervisor impressed by my efforts, but each grade-level counselor sat through one of my training sessions to gain insight on my effective techniques and strategies to keep the students engaged in and involved in the lesson. As a result of their observations, I was asked to assist and lead several training sessions for each counselor, and by the end of the fall semester, I had conducted lessons for each high school grade level. Other occasions from which I garnered positive feedback from both students and site supervisors include when individuals who I had seen on a drop-in basis become routine visitors who seek me out for additional counseling sessions, students who are excited about their future after I conducted their AB 1802 meetings, and visibly improved student behavior after conflict mediations.

I have an acute awareness of areas of future personal growth as a practicing counselor. I believe that practitioners can always improve and enhance their cultural sensitivity. I would like to seek out and attend additional trainings on barriers to student academic success, and gain additional exposure to vocational post-secondary opportunities, such as those offered by the San Diego County Regional Occupational Program (ROP). During the fall semester, I attended an ROP panel lecture event that invited occupational experts from different industry sectors to discuss how high school students can become more marketable and achieve success in the hiring process. I would also like to gain additional experience in working with students who have learning disabilities. I completed my practicum fieldwork requirement at a special needs school over the summer, and I learned a tremendous amount from working with the school’s specific population. Although I gained a great deal of firsthand experience and confidence from working with special needs students, I feel I would benefit from additional exposure to these students.

In reflecting on my developing professional identity as a practitioner, I firmly believe in pursuing continuing education opportunities, aspiring to achieve effective communication with other practitioners and school administrators, and wanting to provide each student with unconditional positive regard and support so that they are inspired and encouraged to seek me out again in the future if needed. I have a strong identification with reality therapy and Glasser’s related choice theory, which suggests that everyone is responsible for what they do, think, and feel. Glasser (2005) asserts that an individual’s external control can be influenced by a counselor’s implementation of what he calls the ‘caring habits’, which are supporting, encouraging, listening, accepting, trusting, respecting, and negotiating differences, and I believe it is important for me to continue to cultivate these habits. Another individual whose work has greatly impacted my professional development is Kris Harvey, founder of the Blossom Project. Harvey’s organization bridges that gap between first-generation students and college students and graduates. Last year, Harvey inspired me to improve first-generation college student success as a future practitioner, which has influenced my participation with college-related conferences such as The College Board Fall Counselor Workshop and the CSU Counselor Conference held last fall. Being a first-generation college student myself, I agree with Harvey (2004) when she asserts that counselors have the ability to promote post-secondary education for all students and should provide activities and programs that will assist them in the college process. I hope to combine the insight of practitioners such as Glasser and Harvey, whose work I have been exposed to, as well as my counseling professors and fieldwork supervisors, whose expertise I have absorbed, to be the counselor I have the capacity to become in the near future.

References

Glasser, W. (2005). Can’t we all just get along. ASCA School Counselor, July/August

2005. Retrieved March 9, 2009, from http://www.schoolcounselor.org/article.asp?article=803&paper=91&cat=142.

Harvey, K. (2004). Falling far from the tree. School Counselor, September/October

2004. Retrieved November 9, 2007, from http://www.schoolcounselor.org/printarticle.asp?article=719.

My Experience in the USD Counseling Program –

Haylee Sibley, Class of 2009

As I prepare to enter the profession of School Counseling, I will bring to the workplace the knowledge and skills that I have acquired throughout my experiences in the counseling program at the University of San Diego, and from various work experiences prior to entering the program.

An important part of my experience in the program has been the emphasis on diversity. I feel confident in my ability to work effectively with diverse students, parents, and staff members. My fieldwork placed me in a culturally diverse setting where I was able to make meaningful connections and gain a better understanding of those outside of my own racial and ethnic background. The majority of the students I worked with were of a different ethnicity than me, and I was able to develop successful working relationships with these students.

My work with three particular female students proved to be significant among the milestones in my development as a school counselor. One African-American female was experiencing relational aggression, both as a participant and a victim. I worked with her using my preferred theoretical orientation of Reality Therapy and, utilizing techniques of Choice Theory, helped strengthen her self-esteem and enhance her self-concept. I also worked with a Hispanic female who was experiencing a recent decline in academic success due to her brother’s incarceration. We worked together to develop a plan enabling her to better communicate with her family about her needs and concerns throughout the difficult experience. She was successful in following through with the plan and her academic success increased as well.

In a third experience, I worked with another Latina female. This student was involved in Self-Injury (SI) and had been experiencing discord on many levels. This case was particularly challenging and required that I address various ethical issues such as confidentiality, appropriate referrals, danger to self and others, responsibility to parents/guardians, sharing information with other professionals, and professionalism. This case was the inspiration for my selection of SI as an expert topic area for a year-long research project that I completed as part of two of my specialization courses in school counseling.

Also, during my multicultural counseling course, I was able to add to my multicultural competence by completing an emersion experience in which I chose to spend time developing relationships with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community. In this experience I visited LGBT community centers and experienced LGBT night life and community events. I have grown immensely from this opportunity and now feel better equipped to work with students identifying with the LGBT community.

As a part of my fieldwork, I also facilitated counseling groups. One group was designed to encourage career exploration among eighth grade students at my site. I was interested in collecting data from the group to support my development as a reflective practitioner. I used a pre/post test design to assess if the students could successfully research various careers through a statewide internet program that utilized Holland’s Career Development Theory. I found that the students could successfully follow the steps to research on their own at the completion of the group and that they were more likely to think about their career planning when selecting educational courses. This group also allowed me to successfully practice and teach web-based career counseling techniques.

An additional example of strengthening my professional identity was developed during a research methods course in which I worked on a team of four graduate students on an action research project. The project involved a year-long partnership with professional school counselors in a collaborative process to improve their practice. Our practitioner partners worked collaboratively in a professional learning community and with our team to determine avenues for improving accountability efforts.

I am eager to enter the profession and strengthen my skills in leadership, research, theoretical approach, and overall management of the academic, personal/social, and career development interventions I use with students. My future growth as a counselor will be further enhanced by developing my personal style through practice wisdom. Although I have much to learn through practice, I feel confident that I possess the necessary skills required to enter the school counseling profession and help all students to maximize their achievement.

Additionally, I understand the need for a commitment to life-long learning in the school counseling profession. To address this need, I plan to maintain membership and participation in professional counseling associations, including the American School Counseling Association (ASCA), Chi Sigma Iota Counseling Honorary, and the Center for Student Support Systems (CS3). To gain a more rounded view of the profession, I also plan to join the American Counseling Association in the near future.