EDGE Portfolio
Dominic Russell
Newsletter
Dominic Russell
Bountiful, Utah
Psychology
Leadership Engagement Center
Internship as a School Counselor
My project involved interning for the school counselors at Millcreek Jr. High. I had the opportunity to observe and do things that are many of the tasks a school counselor takes on. Primarily, the job of a school counselor is to help students feel more excited about school. This is an important task because how students conduct themselves at this time follows them for the rest of their lives. Being excited about school can open many doors for students. Helping students have a positive viewpoint towards school can positively impact the rest of their lives.
Some of the tasks I was able to take on were helping to organize events. We organized activities for the students to participate in during lunch time. This helped the students feel like school can be fun as well as helped build the relationships we had with the students. We also organized career day. This was a day for 9th graders to learn more about their options for college and careers. Beginning to plan their futures now is important because it will help them to be able to one day achieve those goals. I also helped organize other events, created presentations to be taught to students, input registration forms for all students attending next year, helped students to improve their grades, as well as met with students who were struggling and needed someone to talk to.
The inspiration for my project came from a desire to help people. I wanted to engage in a project where I would be able to interact with people and hopefully have a positive impact on their lives. I have always enjoyed working with kids and feel comfortable in a school setting. Because of these things, working at a Jr. High school seemed like a good fit. I knew Mrs. Smith, the school counselor who supervised me, prior to my internship and I looked up to her. I knew that she loved her job and that gave me a desire to learn more about what she does. She gave me great guidance and inspired me to pursue a career as a school counselor.
A challenge that I encountered was developing connections with the students. I was worried that it would be difficult for the kids to feel comfortable opening up to me. However, Mrs. Smith had me engage in activities with the students that helped solve this challenge. I was able to hang out with the kids during lunch and being around them often in a relaxed environment made them feel like they could consider me a friend. I also tracked some students and was able to usually meet with them multiple times a week. This gave us lots of opportunities to have conversations and I was surprised with how much they were willing to share with me about their lives.
This project benefitted the counselors that I worked with. I was able to take on duties that helped ease their workload. This project also benefitted the students I had the opportunity to interact with. I was able to be a friend to students who were in need of another person looking out for them. Quite a few students shared with me difficult things they were dealing with and I was able to make them feel like they weren’t going through it alone. I was also able to offer advise on how to deal with those difficulties which hopefully helped and made their lives a little bit easier.
This project definitely benefitted me. I was able to gain skills and experience working with students. I was also able to learn just what a school counselor does on a day-to-day basis. Being exposed to the job helped me determine that I want to become a school counselor. Before this internship I wasn’t sure what career I wanted to pursue. The biggest benefit from this project was providing direction for my future education and career plans.
“Having students share their lives with me and seek my help makes me like I can make a difference in their lives.”
