In the pursuit of becoming a school counselor, I had the distinct honor and privilege of attending UCCS's Counseling & Human Services program. Throughout my experience in graduate school, what I've learned about myself and have continued to train and develop is my professional identity as a humanist counselor. I believe that everyone, not only every student, but every parent, teacher, administrator, school counselor, is entitled to be treated with respect and with a sense of inherent dignity. I believe this is not only ideal and best practice from a moral/ethical point of view, but also that the more we learn about what makes leadership successful, or how coworkers work best alongside each other, what we come to discover is that dignity and positive reinforcement can go a long way.

Regarding theoretical lenses, I've always been fascinated with existentialism and am drawn to counseling theories focused on the present instead of modalities concerned with the past. Fitting that preference into the realm of school counseling has been an easy adjustment, as the school counseling programs following the ASCA National Model heavily prioritize using and collecting as much data to address current student needs.