President’s Letter: Sharing Stories

USCA members, welcome back! I am very excited to serve as your 2018-2019 president. Counselors are doing amazing work across the country, but especially counselors in Utah. I attended the 2018 American School Counselor Association conference in July and learned first-hand how progressive Utah’s Comprehensive School Counseling Model is. One of our main USCA board objectives is to support your programs and make sure you know how much we appreciate the good work you are doing.
 
Another priority for the board is to provide you with high quality professional development. We are excited to see all of you at the 2018 USCA Fall Conference, October 11-12 at the Ogden Eccles Conference Center. We invite you to register on our website. The theme we have chosen for our conference this year is “Inside the Story.” Fundamental to every individual is a continuous narrative that originates the moment we enter this world and lasts until the moment we exit. We all have a story. These stories influence the way we perceive ourselves and the way we perceive others. Our stories influence how we interact in the world.
 
As counselors, we are often privileged to hear the stories that underlie the life experiences of our students. If we create safe sharing spaces, they will reveal narratives about themselves that may be unknown to anyone else. Some of the stories written in the pages of our students’ lives are heartbreaking. There isn’t a single person who doesn’t have a chapter of challenge in their book of life. Students may lack the coping skills and resilience necessary to manage these challenges in a healthy and productive manner and they will often react in self-destructive ways. It can be difficult to read between the lines of outward behavior and see the underlying trauma, mental illness and other factors that fill the pages of their life stories.
 
The logo for our conference contains the image of a lotus flower. The lotus grows deep in the muddy waters, far away from the sun. In time, the lotus reaches the light and transforms into a beautiful flower. As counselors, we can help students to reach the light and transform out of the muddy waters that might be under the surface. Listen carefully to their stories. Pay attention to your own story. My hero, Fred Rogers, said, "Frankly, there isn't anyone you couldn't learn to love once you've heard their story.” He reminded us all to embrace our individual power: "Never underestimate the impact that your mere existence can have on another human being," he said. "There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.”
 
Never underestimate the power you have as counselors to impact the lives of your students. I hope this year is a wonderful chapter in your lives and the lives of your students.
 
Contact Holly Bell, USCA president, at holly.bell@jordandistrict.org.