Each and every student deserves to be celebrated for who they are—that’s what Bri Binns believes. It’s also why she decided to become a school counselor.
“One of my greatest goals is to ensure that every student feels seen, not just in the sense that a teacher knows their name, but truly seen as a whole person on a deep level,” said Binns, who is earning her master’s through the NC State College of Education’s school counseling program.
This semester, Binns has been able to witness what that looks like in action, through an internship at West Johnston High School under the supervision of school counselor and College of Education alumna Katie McAnally ’20MED.
“I’m learning so much from [McAnally] about how she advocates for students, and how she supports students and families,” Binns said.
For her part, McAnally was excited to learn her staff was getting an intern, but she was even more excited when she learned Binns was coming from the College of Education’s school counseling program.
“Immediately, I was like, ‘that’s perfect,’” said McAnally. “I knew she was coming from a quality program. I knew what kind of background she had. And, from the first day I met her, I was so glad to be working with her. She is an amazing person. NC State has not disappointed; they have given her wonderful skills.”
Professor of Counselor Education Marc Grimmett, who oversees the college’s counseling education programs as a whole, said the preparation students like Binns receive is a hallmark of the program, which readies students to make an impact from the moment they enter the field.
“The professional school counselors our college prepares are uniquely trained and skilled to nurture and support all students, with their individual needs, circumstances and context, to know they matter and to unlock and utilize their capabilities,” said Grimmett.
Here’s how the NC State College of Education prepares extraordinary school counselors.
Learning From Experience
Whenever Alexandra Thompson, a graduate student in the school counseling program, has a question, she knows she can go to her professors for practical advice. That’s because every College of Education faculty member who teaches a school counseling course has previous experience as a school counselor.
“That is one thing that stuck out to me,” Thompson said. “The faculty themselves each come to the program as experts within their own field, and I feel very comfortable having conversations with them.”
Assistant Professor of Counseling Education Rolanda Mitchell, who also serves as the coordinator of the college’s online school counseling program, says having relevant experience allows faculty to better instruct students through the use of real-world examples.
“It’s one thing to read a chapter, it’s another thing to hear from someone who sat in the counseling chair and can say, ‘Well, this is how I handled it,’” Mitchell said.
Thompson agrees.
“They bring their experiences to us in a way that will actually help benefit and prepare us for our future careers,” she said. “They have done a really good job of showing us the applicability of the theories of the techniques in a way that we can actually use in our career.”
The college’s school counseling faculty also act as advisors, which increases the layers of support students receive throughout their time in the program.
A Model Community
Jason Smith ’21MED was earning his master’s degree in school counseling when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. In a time when community was difficult to come by, he leaned on his cohort.
“We had a robust sense of, ‘We’re going to get through this because of the group,’” said Smith, who now serves as a school counselor at E.B. Frink Middle School in Lenoir County. “The cohort model was largely responsible for that.”
The program’s cohort model means that every student, whether they earn their degree in person or online, does so alongside the same group of their fellow students.
“These amazing individuals become your family, supporting you through shared experiences,” said Binns. “I can’t imagine my life without my cohort. I deeply love and admire them as both counseling professionals and individuals.”
According to Assistant Professor of Counseling and Counselor Education Rawn Boulden, who serves as the coordinator of the college’s in-person school counseling program, the sense of community that cohorts feel is accentuated by small class sizes.
For example, when he taught ECD 533: Introduction to School Counseling last semester, he had fewer than 10 students, and in ECD 651: Internship in School Counseling this semester, there are four.
“What that means is that it’s very much personalized,” Boulden said. “I know your name, I know your interests, and we can have more in-depth conversations in class.”
The relationships students build during their time at NC State also continue throughout their careers.
“Those bonds really lasted throughout the program, and these are people that I still check in with,” McAnally said. “We still check in with each other, and we support each other and we give each other resources.”
Creating a Well-Rounded Counselor
When Danielle Dourson graduates with her master’s, she wants to work with elementary school students. What she appreciates about her coursework is how it prepares her to be able to do so in both a school and a clinical setting.
“I’m able to have a broader range of knowledge on different interventions, different counseling theories, just different approaches on how I want to be as a counselor, which I honestly couldn’t have known unless I went to NC State,” Dourson said.
All students who graduate from the college’s program do so having fulfilled the requirements for their North Carolina school counseling license, as well as their Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate license.
While they complete their core school counseling courses with their cohort, they are also able to take classes alongside students in the college’s other counseling education tracks, clinical mental health and college counseling.
Assistant Professor of Counseling and Counselor Education Alex Becnel said having students from different environments together adds to their overall experience.
“They get to learn a little bit about each field and how everyone’s approaching the job a little bit differently,” Becnel said. “It leads to a more diverse education.”
Classes that can be taken by all counseling students in the College of Education include ECD 539: Group Counseling, which Becnel says can be particularly useful in a school setting, where there may be a large caseload, and ECD 546: Crisis Counseling, which Becnel describes as an essential class offered by the college.
“Not every place offers that kind of coursework,” Becnel said. “In a school environment, where crises happen all the time, having some time to talk through with students about what to do in these situations and prepare them for things that they can’t foresee, I think is really, really important.”
For Dourson, the opportunity to take classes that expand her view of what a counselor can be, alongside students from a variety of backgrounds, is a significant benefit as she works to become an elementary school counselor.
“This dynamic brings so many voices together and allows for the sharing of different perspectives and experiences from such a diverse group of people,” Dourson said. “It truly is a great learning experience and has been invaluable to my growth.”
Real-World Field Work
While students in the school counseling program are prepared to succeed in school settings through their faculty, their cohort and their coursework, a significant part of their learning process will still occur in the field.
Every future school counselor who prepares at NC State, whether they earn their degree in person or online, completes a one-semester practicum field placement and a two-semester internship, typically at a North Carolina public school.
These placements are facilitated by the College of Education’s Office of Professional Education, which connects students with school counselors who are already established in the field.
“We’re very fortunate to have a lot of really dedicated school counselors who volunteer to be site supervisors,” Mitchell said. “That’s such a big part of the learning process … so students can see what a good school counselor looks like.”
That’s how Binns describes her experiences with McAnally, her site supervisor at West Johnston High School.
“I have witnessed her incredible efforts and have watched her go above and beyond to help provide students with everything they need to have a safe, stable and successful life,” Binns said.
Binns’ hope is that, when she graduates and joins McAnally as an alumna of the NC State College of Education’s school counseling program, she will be able to use what she is learning to follow in her mentor’s footsteps.
“She’s the epitome of what a school counselor should be,” Binns said.