My name is Melanie Kay and I am a part-time graduate student in the combined M.Ed School Counseling and College Admissions Counseling Certificate Program at Suffolk. Because I am completing the program part-time, it will take me three years to complete and I am currently in my second year. Though it is sometimes difficult to balance, I am so grateful that I am able to complete the program part-time, while continuing to hold a full-time job. This requires a little bit of flexibility on the part of my job, but the schedule of the Suffolk classes also makes this possible.

Now, in my second year, I am in the process of completing my pre-practicum observation hours. The Suffolk program approaches the 75 hour pre-practicum component required for licensure in Massachusetts in a different way than many programs and I feel as though I am learning quite a bit as a result of that. Suffolk requires students to observe at a variety of different school sites rather than setting up a regular weekly placement at a school (that will come next year when I complete my internship) in their first year. So far I have had the chance to observe at an three urban public high schools – two in Boston and one outside of Boston, two independent high schools, and a charter middle school. It has become apparent to me that the guidance department is a clear window into the culture of a school.

I find it so interesting to be able to observe the real life application of concepts that we have discussed in classes or heard about in the news. At one observation, I had the chance to observe a freshman guidance seminar where students were learning about bullying. Because of the new Massachusetts state law, schools are required to have a bullying policy. Though much of the attention can be on the consequences of bullying in schools, I was glad to have the opportunity to witness some of the prevention programs that schools are employing. This school was addressing bullying in the seminar but, being aware that students had been inundated with bullying information lately, they reframed the lesson to be about respect. It was so encouraging to be in a few classrooms of freshman who were so eagerly discussing the concept of respect and brainstorming very real situations and potential solutions within their own school community. In that same freshman seminar, the counselors took a few minutes to make sure the freshman remembered the limits to confidentiality when they talk to a counselor and to remind them of study habits they had discussed in previous seminars. It reminded me of the wide range of areas that the school counselor is involved in at a school and in the students’ lives.

As I continue to observe at different schools, I look forward to picking an internship site for next year where I will spend 2-3 days each week. With the knowledge of the schools that I am gaining, I feel confident that I will pick an internship site that will prepare me for the type of school I want to work in after graduation. I look forward to posting more updates as I continue to observe at schools and explore the career of school counseling! Please feel free to contact me at mkay@suffolk.edu if you have questions about the program at Suffolk!