Core Beliefs

I hold strong beliefs that every student has the ability to succeed and achieve their goals in their own ways, given the proper tools, support and guidance. I believe each student should have equal and equitable access to educational opportunities and resources. I believe students are resilient and able to learn in a multitude of ways when they are given the time, patience and celebration of their own voices by educators and caregivers and others in the lives of students.



Advocacy
As a school counselor, equity and accessibility are two of the biggest ways I can advocate for my students. I want to ensure each student is given the opportunity that fits their learning style, and all efforts should be made to accommodate the students and their learning styles, rather than accommodating teachers and their teaching styles. I want to be the school counselor that advocates for students that are sometimes left feeling unheard, whether by teachers, administration and at times even family. I want to be a safe space for students to voice concerns surrounding not only their learning, but how their lives outside of school are affecting their school life and their learning. 

School Counseling Program Future

Vision Statement
I believe when students are given time, patience, resources, and opportunities, every student can achieve their goals, including but not limited to their academic achievements, while being treated with respect and shown they are valued. Students can maintain and have the opportunity to flourish in social and emotional well-being through nurturing supportive teams of school counselors, teachers, educational administration, guardians, and peer support. 

Published by Statista Research Department, & 12, A. (2023, April 12). Mass shootings by Shooter's race in the U.S. 2023. Statista. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/476456/mass-shootings-in-the-us-by-shooter-s-race/ 

I chose to take the Harvard Implicit Bias tests for race and weight. I was not surprised by my as the first test I took was the race test, and those answers showed slight automatic preference of black American compared to white people. I have grown up around people of all races. Many of my mentors have been and currently are strong black men and women. I was raised in areas where diversity has been celebrated; not only celebrated but it is celebrated diversely, acknowledging, respecting, and highlighting each culture for its uniqueness and oneness. I was born and primarily raised in Toronto, Ontario, and pockets of neighborhoods are defined by their culture or ethnicity. Year-round festivals highlighted these neighborhoods, the people who lived in them, and their ancestors and where they immigrated from. Over the last couple of years, and especially in my graduate program, I have asked as many questions and found as many resources as possible when I wanted to learn more about other cultures. I do my best to support black people through small businesses and especially women, owned and women of color owned businesses. Buying books written by authors of color, to learn and gain insight into how race has shaped us. I have tried my best to be anti-racist and am still learning more and trying to advocate more each day. I try to understand more by accessing graduate-level publications through the Walden Library and learning more through experiencing diverse cultures, traveling to different parts of the world,  and working in environments that celebrate diversity. 

 The weight test showed a slight automatic preference for fat people over thin people. This result was not surprising to me either. I have gained and lost about 100 lbs over the last decade and have always identified as fat. I believed I was fat as a teenager while I was at a healthy weight. As a high school athlete, the pressure of coaches and society to be thin was at an all-time high. I grew up during the times of celebrating flat stomachs and extreme dieting, among other unhealthy and unsafe weight loss practices. There were no positive body image movements, just top models and skinny thigh gap beauty standards. Today is refreshing to see all types of bodies celebrated, if only in the circles I choose to surround myself with. I love to see the change that some social media creators have influenced bigger bodies, normalized mid-size bodies, and are beginning to show more differently abled bodies. It makes sense to me that I feel an automatic preference for bigger people rather than thin ones. 

I wanted to take more tests and retake some, but I took the race and weapons test. Reflecting on today’s climate with guns and senseless gun death has many of us wondering why and what is happening. I was disappointed in myself and my answers, as they showed a slight automatic preference for black people and weapons. However, reflecting on this even more, I realized I was thinking about it wrong. I have a slight automatic preference towards black people and weapons, because most of the school shootings these days have been a white person with a gun, so I could see how my answers would prefer a black person with a weapon, as lately, they seem to be less deadly with weapons, as opposed to the last year alone with 52% of school shootings were white shooters, while 17% were black shooters (Statista, 2023). When I reflected on the test and my thought process, I had to find the statistics to see if that was justified. Another fact that came up was the disproportion between where these shootings occurred, primarily targeting places with higher populations of people of color. 

Overall, this was a great learning experience for me and had me reflecting on myself, my morals, and my values. This is essential reflective work for an aspiring school counselor, as I hold power to connect with many and create positive social changes, starting in my community. 

References: 

Project Implicit. (n.d.). Take a test.Retrieved from: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html

Published by Statista Research Department, & 12, A. (2023, April 12). Mass shootings by Shooter's race in the U.S. 2023. Statista. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/476456/mass-shootings-in-the-us-by-shooter-s-race/ 

 I chose this article because it discusses teaching school counseling students (such as my classmates and myself!) that knowledge of evidence-based practices has supported student success. Mainly because it touches on the aspects of students of school counseling and newer school counselors do not “share the same beliefs about EBP as their supervisors or colleagues” (Novakovic, 2020). School counselors have many different roles, and continuing to develop professionally and educate themselves and their colleagues is expected according to the ASCA’s standards (ASCA, 2012). 

Students in intern roles often complete capstone projects that show achievement gaps within their school's population. They conduct needs assessments, identify the areas for interventions, and write proposals for implementation of the EBP while learning how essential their advocacy work is to advance student success. By beginning with student interns in the profession and allowing them to explore, learn from and implement evidence-based practices in counseling, we can continue to promote educational equity for all students. 

American School Counselor Association. (2012). ASCA National Model: A framework for school counseling programs (3rd ed.). Author. 

American School Counselor Association. (2016). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/ asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf

Novakovic, A., Michel, R. E., & Ockerman, M. S. (2020). Teaching School Counselors to Use Evidence-Based Practice to Advance Social Justice: A Case Study. Professional School Counseling. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X20904472

American School Counselor Association. (2016). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/ asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf