Welcoming the New Year and New Leaders
By Sarah Ritchie | September 2022
A smile is a universal welcome. We extend a big, warm smile to all our fellow school counselors as we begin our back-to-school routines and look forward to a successful school year ahead. Many of us will smile as we reflect on memories of years past, smile as we make new memories each day and smile as we think ahead to where we are heading.
As school counselors, we often welcome joy with an open heart and an even more open mind. We are skilled professionals who are trained to be flexible, but also practical. This leads us to be open-minded when it comes to working through situations with students and families, and in turn plays into how we plan our calendars, groups, lessons, classroom management and how we connect with our communities. Being practical allows us to utilize our time wisely, staying positive and sticking to our goals and objectives, and in the end, it can bring us our own joy. We can turn those ideas into actions, clearly define our roles and prioritize time for ourselves.
Speaking of roles, please welcome our new appointed VSCA chair of the board, Amy G. Carroll, and our new assistant chair of the board, Jentae Scott-Mayo.
A Note from Amy
I am thrilled to serve school counselors, counselor educators and key stakeholders in the Commonwealth of Virginia as the chair of the Virginia School Counselor Association. In this position, I will lead our nine-member board of directors and eight committee chairs in service to our 1471 school counselor members of VSCA and all school counselors in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Currently, I serve as the director of school counseling at William Obediah Robey High School in Loudoun County, Va. I also teach graduate counseling students at George Mason University. I come to these roles with more than 20 years of experience counseling and teaching high school and college students, and researching and writing for a non-profit and the federal government.
A Note from Jentae
I am excited to serve as the new assistant chair of the board and energetically bring my years of experience as an active member of the board to this new role. I have more than 10 years of practice in the education and school-based/community mental health fields with additional experience in public speaking and parent education. I currently serve as a school counselor at the Steward School in Richmond, Va.
As I wrap this up, remember, “It only takes a split second to smile and forget, yet to someone that needed it, it can last a lifetime.” ― Steve Maraboli. You never know who may need it most. :-)
Contact Sarah M. Ritchie, VSCA communications and public relations chair, at vscacommunications@gmail.com.
As school counselors, we often welcome joy with an open heart and an even more open mind. We are skilled professionals who are trained to be flexible, but also practical. This leads us to be open-minded when it comes to working through situations with students and families, and in turn plays into how we plan our calendars, groups, lessons, classroom management and how we connect with our communities. Being practical allows us to utilize our time wisely, staying positive and sticking to our goals and objectives, and in the end, it can bring us our own joy. We can turn those ideas into actions, clearly define our roles and prioritize time for ourselves.
Speaking of roles, please welcome our new appointed VSCA chair of the board, Amy G. Carroll, and our new assistant chair of the board, Jentae Scott-Mayo.
A Note from Amy
I am thrilled to serve school counselors, counselor educators and key stakeholders in the Commonwealth of Virginia as the chair of the Virginia School Counselor Association. In this position, I will lead our nine-member board of directors and eight committee chairs in service to our 1471 school counselor members of VSCA and all school counselors in the Commonwealth of Virginia.Currently, I serve as the director of school counseling at William Obediah Robey High School in Loudoun County, Va. I also teach graduate counseling students at George Mason University. I come to these roles with more than 20 years of experience counseling and teaching high school and college students, and researching and writing for a non-profit and the federal government.
A Note from Jentae
I am excited to serve as the new assistant chair of the board and energetically bring my years of experience as an active member of the board to this new role. I have more than 10 years of practice in the education and school-based/community mental health fields with additional experience in public speaking and parent education. I currently serve as a school counselor at the Steward School in Richmond, Va.As I wrap this up, remember, “It only takes a split second to smile and forget, yet to someone that needed it, it can last a lifetime.” ― Steve Maraboli. You never know who may need it most. :-)
Contact Sarah M. Ritchie, VSCA communications and public relations chair, at vscacommunications@gmail.com.