“I’ve always had people say, ‘You’re so easy to talk to. I feel like I can tell you anything.’ It’s something that has kind of happened organically.

“Becoming a counselor is definitely something that’s been in the back of my mind. During the quarantine I had a lot of time for self-reflection. I kind of took inventory of what I needed in my life. And I’ve decided that I need a little bit more. That the opportunities teaching has given me have not filled me up the way that I feel like I need to be filled up. Let’s just say I got hungrier.

“I looked back across my teaching career, and I decided to make a list of my top accomplishments. When I examined them, only two out of 10 were in regard to actually teaching English. The rest were from interactions that I’ve had with students, in which I had helped them personally. Whether I had helped somebody come back from thinking about suicide, helped somebody deal with the death of a parent, or encouraged someone to come out of their shell and become something that they previously were not. It’s these kinds of experiences that make me feel like I have more to offer these kids.

“Being an English teacher has been a really great experience. But I think that becoming a counselor can give me a larger platform to help people in this way. Instead of just having access to 150 students a year, I could help a great many more as a counselor. I really feel like this is my calling, this is my duty, this is my purpose.”

— Jeff Derrickson

Jeff teaches English at North Shore High School. He recently began taking graduate school courses to become a counselor.

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“In the same way that physical education is mandated in schools, I would like to see mental health education become a policy in schools as well. I would love for every single person who steps onto a school campus — students and staff alike — to have some sort of training in mindfulness, meditation and breath work.

“As a wellness counselor and a counselor advocate, I’m only one person. I can impact one to one. But if we had legislation that stated students and staff need to have an authentic experience in managing their stress and negative emotions, that would be a brilliant thing.

“I think it’s starting to take off. I see it more and more where counselors in schools are able to attend to the social and emotional aspects of students. I feel really optimistic that the tide in education is turning, where administrators and educators are starting to see the real need for social and emotional wellness programs in our schools.

“One day, I would love to play a part in implementing meditation as a policy for schools across America. I think it will happen. People are waking up.”

— Marisol Mendez

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“I was a newcomer teacher. I taught high school students who were just coming to this country and learning English. But it was much more than teaching them English. It was creating a community of belongingness for these new Americans, many of whom didn’t have a sense of family here. I felt like it was my duty and my joy to create that for them in the classroom.

“I absolutely loved teaching. But I realized that I could have a greater impact if I could work with more students. That’s why I moved into counseling.

“Most recently, I began working as a wellness counselor serving Santa Fe Junior High. Last year, there was a shooting at Santa Fe High School. As a consequence, funding was allocated for a variety of wrap-around resources for that community. One of those is mental health for the education piece.

“I provide counseling services to the students at the junior high. They may or may not have been impacted directly by the shooting incident. But certainly, the community trauma of that event may still be affecting them.

“Santa Fe is a very small community. It’s a tight-knit community. They really do operate like a family. So while they’re very supportive of each other, there are still times when students may need specialized assistance in dealing with something that’s bothering them. It takes a lot of courage for these kids to come and say, ‘I need help.’ It’s my job to provide that for them.”

— Marisol Mendez

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“I think my background has a lot to do with developing a passion for helping kids. I went through a lot when I was growing up. I left home when I was 18, and I never wanted to go back. Twice in my life, I wanted to commit suicide.

“I got involved in modeling. I was trying to escape who I was, so that kind of allowed me to be somebody different, to get into character and become a different person. I worked at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, and was on this show called ‘Out of the Blue’ and another one called ‘SeaQuest.’ The acting part was a lot of early mornings and late nights. It was very draining. So I started working as a Marlboro girl, going to different places and handing out promotional items. Then I was a Hawaiian Tropic girl, so it was all the runway stuff.

“After that, I got into trade shows. I learned about different products and got to talk with a lot of people. I really enjoyed that. That’s when I had moved up to Ohio, where it was such a different culture than Florida. I got to know people on a different kind of level.

“After being very sheltered growing up, I became much more open. That experience helped open up a whole new world for me. I feel like that’s kind of when I really started living.”

— Cissy Clearo

Cissy helps lead a program at Old River Baptist Church called The Landing, where she provides guidance for teenage boys and girls.

(Photo by Olivia Garza/Liv’s Looking Glass)

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“The youth pastor at Old River Baptist Church asked if I’d be interested in helping lead a group for troubled teens called The Landing. After I heard a little about it, I said, ‘Absolutely.’ It’s for males and females in grades 6 through 12, and we’re averaging about 15 students per session. We’re trying to help these kids understand that what they’re going through right now is just temporary. They shouldn’t look at their teen years as their whole life. That can be pretty challenging for kids who are going through things like being bullied, who feel the need to harm themselves, or are involved in addictive behaviors like vaping.

“Bullying is a huge factor in schools these days, especially at the high school level. People say that it’s been around for years, but not like this. I mean, I was bullied as a kid. I was thrown in the trash can in the boys bathroom. But that’s nothing compared to what’s going on today. Now there’s social bullying, where someone can use an app to bully another person anonymously. You can’t track it back to whoever did it. They’re hiding behind their phones. And some of these kids are very mean. The things I’m seeing and hearing about, it’s so sad.

“No matter what they’re going through, I try to be that one solid person who is there for them, who will listen to their issues, and advise them as best I can. To be honest, this whole experience has kind of helped me to be a better parent. I talk to my own kids more. I spend at least 30 minutes with them every night. I tuck them in — even my 16-year-old. I lay next to him, and I’m like, ‘How was your day? What’s going on?’ I think it’s more important than ever to just let them know that I’m there for them.”

— Cissy Clearo

(Photo by Olivia Garza/Liv’s Looking Glass)

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The post She helps teens deal with bullying and much more appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I don’t think you can be a counselor and not draw on your own life experiences. At least, I couldn’t.

“I grew up in a dysfunctional home in a military family. I’ve had a daughter who was very ill. I’ve had all of the things that everybody ever has, and I’ve been very fortunate. I’ve had people to talk to along the way. When you don’t have that — and lots of people don’t — then that’s where the real issues come in, because you don’t know where to put all that stuff.

“It’s important for everybody to have someone to turn to. I happen to be married to probably one of the most intelligent, most humble, most loving people that I’ve ever met. It’s helpful to have that in your life. When you don’t, it can be a very dark place.”

— Micki Rios

A deacon at Trinity Episcopal Church in Baytown, Micki counsels congregation members as well as people in the community.

The post Life experiences help make her a better counselor appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I grew up in La Porte and he’s from Missouri. I worked for 14 years in the Baytown school district before we lived here. Now I work in Deer Park. I’m a licensed specialist in school psychology. I mostly work with special ed students. I do testing and counseling and lots of reports.”

“She’s very highly sought and one of the best around, I think. I also think she’s lacking in resources. She has much more to do than there’s time to do it in.”

“We could use more people. We have tightened up. But I tell you, the public schools do amazing things with not very much. It’s almost like we have just drilled down to the point where we do extraordinary things with almost nothing. It’s getting pretty creative, but it’s pretty tough.”

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