President's Letter: Our Work Goes Beyond

Welcome back for the 2017-2018 school year. I hope you enjoyed my welcome video and update email via the listserv. If you are not on the listserv, please get connected via our MSCA website, www.mnschoolcounselors.org.
 
In considering the theme for this issue, “Beyond Your Building,” I realized that is where the fruit of our work is for school counselors. As you have noticed in the media and news, our world and country have been going through a lot of different issues. These issues, no doubt, have an effect on our students and community. If you’re like me, you may have felt like you do not even know where to start with these bigger issues on top of the daily grind. Well, I suggest doing an intake assessment with your student body to figure out what they need. MSCA’s listserv is a great place to ask for resources, and we are working on getting them posted to our website. If you are an ASCA member, which I highly recommend, that organization offers tremendous resources as well.
 
Sometimes the issues in our personal lives, on top of our students’ issues, on top of our world issues can feel very overwhelming. Remember, we may not be able to save the whole world but we can make a difference one student at a time. We can be the bridge between our students and college and careers, between a teacher and a student, between a student and their parents, between the community and our demographics, and the list goes on.
 
The moment when you want to quit is the moment you need to keep pushing. Keep up the great work you are doing for your students and community and reach out to the MSCA network for support.
 
Contact Leah Kent, MSCA president, at leahkent@isd593.org.