President's Letter: Be Your Own Number One Fan

School counselors tend to be humble. We do our jobs and “other duties as assigned” without much complaining or fanfare. We don’t tell people about all the things we do…but why not? If we aren’t showing or telling others about how we have a positive impact on our students, who will?

A few years ago, I saw then-President Obama making remarks at the White House about the musical Hamilton. He stated that if the creator hadn’t believed that what he made was good, it might never have become a musical. In his words, “You have to be your own number one fan.” As a school counselor, I see this as me telling people about what I do for the school; I advocate for myself. Self-advocacy can be intimidating, but  luckily there are people and places you can go to for help. The DSCA website www.mydsca.org has an advocacy page that can help you get started. The ASCA website www.schoolcounselor.org has position statements for a variety of topics. Perhaps most important, it defines the role of school counselors for every level of learning. See the article on the role statements in this issue.

Use these resources as well as reaching out to the people on the DSCA Advocacy Committee or the Board of Directors if you have questions or concerns; we are here to help you. Don’t be afraid to ask for help; remember, that’s something we encourage our students to do on a regular basis.

Contact Andrew Capone, DSCA president, at andrew.capone@mydsca.org