Personal motivations and career aspirations in school counseling

¶ … Career Aspirations Relating to the Field of Counseling

Ambitious in the long run, and pragmatic in the short-term, I have strong aspirations in the field of counseling. My initial goal is to secure my doctoral degree, acquiring the knowledge and experience necessary to embark on the next phase of my career. With a Masters degree in counseling and six years\' experience in the classroom as a teacher, I have already begun to secure my role in the counseling field. My long-term goals are to operate a thriving private practice that focuses on life coaching and helping young people to set goals and overcome challenges and obstacles with inner strength and determination. Throughout my career, I hope to remain involved in school counseling (K-12), to provide young people with guidance as well as cognitive tools they can use throughout their lives.

b) One or more significant events for seeking a career in counseling

The most formative event in my early life that set me on the path towards becoming a school counselor was when I sought the services of my own school counselor in elementary school. My family had recently moved us to Texas and because I had no friends, was an only child, and had left all my favorite cousins behind in Oklahoma, I felt uprooted and insecure. My teacher noticed that I struggled socially and so she asked the school counselor, Mrs. Smith, to speak with me. One day, Mrs. Smith pulled me from recess and she instantly made me feel comfortable because we started discussing things that I was familiar with about Oklahoma. I felt like Mrs. Smith and I had a bond from that day forward. She helped me adjust to my new environment with ease, and she gave me some valuable tools to help me always feel more comfortable in new surroundings. Mrs. Smith and my other elementary school teachers are what initially inspired me to become a teacher and a school counselor.

c) One or more activities demonstrating leadership for commitment to the field of counseling

Because I have long cultivated a desire and determination to be a school counselor, I have strong ideas about where the field should be going and how we can be of help to each successive generation of students. I intend to be a thought leader in the field of counseling, someone who stays abreast of emerging research and new technologies that can improve our ability to help young people cope with stress, change, and challenges. As an educator, I have already demonstrated leadership and commitment to the field of counseling in the way I have worked closely with the school principal to strengthen our outreach services for students.

What personal characteristics do you possess that will enable you to form effective relationships that also attend to cultural differences?

Being a counselor requires professional and cultural competence, and I possess the personal ambition and determination to continually pursue paths of personal and professional development. Counselors need to remain open to new ideas and points of view. To form and maintain effective relationships with clients as well as colleagues, I will remain open-minded, caring, and passionate about learning and applying research to daily practice. My greatest strength is my ability to listen without judgment, a quality that helps me to become a better counselor in a diverse occupational setting. Other personal characteristics I possess that are directly relevant to the counseling profession include diligence, patience, and compassion.

What are your career goals and how are they aligned with this graduate-level counseling program?

My goals align with this graduate-level counseling program because I am passionate about applying evidence-based practice to the educational setting. When I was in the fourth grade, I had a transformative experience with a school guidance counselor that put me on the path towards helping others. As I became an educator, I soon realized that I needed more than passion for the field and compassion for students in order to help people in the long run. I also needed to become aware of emerging research and understand what works in school settings and what does not work, with the ultimate goal of helping educational institutions maximize their budgets for counseling and providing the most effective resources and services for students.