A Journey Ends, a New Journey Begins

As my master’s degree journey comes to an end, it’s hard to believe time is capable of flying by so quickly. Although joining the School Counseling program at LIU’s Rockland campus feels like yesterday, and I remember thinking it would take forever to complete. I vividly remember sitting down with Dr. Nardi, the program director for the counseling programs, two years ago and discussing why I wanted to be a school counselor. While my reasons for entering this profession haven’t changed, my outlook on the career itself has changed entirely.

Before LIU, I was becoming a victim of the clock working in Marketing. I graduated from SUNY Cortland in 2010 with a journalism degree, and working as a technical writer wasn’t the dream job I was so convinced I thought it would be. A change had to be made and I created the criteria for what I needed in my ideal profession. It had to be different every day, I had to be doing something to make a difference, and it had to be something that wouldn’t force me to want to watch the clock all day.

I always knew I was great at working with kids. Being a camp counselor for nine summers, I developed a passion for becoming a positive role-model and confidant. It was amazing to me how open the campers felt talking to me, and I still have maintained relationships with many of my old campers through the years as they have grown up to become memorable counselors themselves.

It was intimidating joining a counseling program with no previous knowledge of counseling. I had trepidations that my lack of previous psychology courses would bring me to a complete disadvantage, but this wasn’t the case. While learning and experiencing about different counseling theories is essential, developing your own style is the ultimate goal. We were given the tools, but how we apply them to the field is completely individualized. Being a school counselor is much more than discussing schedules and grades, it is about being an advocate for each and every student and I can’t wait to completely be that for students I haven’t even met yet.

This program only solidified the fact that this profession is, unquestionably, where I am supposed to be. Learning different methods and theories put into practice not only taught me about what kind of school counselor I want to be, it taught me things about myself I never knew. The comfortable environment made learning not feel so much like work and turned the classroom setting into an interesting conversation amongst friends. I will never forget each and every class I took, where I sat, and the classmates that turned into family that surrounded me.

Hilary Rosen a student at LIU Hudson at Rockland will graduate with a MSED in School Counseling on May 15th.      

http://www.liunet.edu/Hudson