As a school counselor of 13 years and now a professor for 6, there are certain topics on which I’m accustomed to presenting on: school counseling programs, RAMP, the ASCA Model, data, and my personal current favorite, technology. But today is not a lecture and the message is not one of the intellect but of the heart. Today I honor and celebrate you and your legacy.

I am here because of the legacy of many others who have helped shaped my identity: former students, their families, colleagues and coworkers, professors and mentors. You and I are a part of each other’s legacy.

May 28, 2014, nearly 20 years ago I began my internship.
This is my legacy box. I hope each of you has something similar. (share story of the box)
Each intern I have had has received one.

“It always seems impossible until it’s done” by Nelson Mandela

A favorite quote for getting through until the bitter end that I share with my students when they are working on large, long projects. Appropriate for the end of another school year.

But let’s be honest, your work rarely ever feels “done.” And many days it feels "impossible."

You chose this profession because you wanted to have an impact, to shape lives and to do meaningful work.

“Thank you for what you do”

I ‘ve heard this and I’ve always felt it was cliché. Many who say it are blindly grateful and the words seem empty when they say it.

“Do you know what I do? Really? I am what I do but there is more to it than that. In order to know what I do, you have to know who I am, my purpose, my identity.”

Thank you for WHO you ARE!

“Doing” school counseling is not the same as “being a school counselor” just as “parenting” is not the same as “being a parent.” The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Your identity as a school counselor does drive your school counseling activities. But being a school counselor, that is your identity and that is your legacy. Your legacy as a school counselor is about being an advocate, a leader, a collaborator, a champion, a cheerleader, a teacher, a mentor, a confidante, a mediator, a consultant, an expert, a coordinator, an orchestrator, a facilitator, a developer, an innovator, a provider of courage, hope, opportunity, access, motivation and inspiration. You are more than a set of activities or spreadsheets of data, you are a FORCE.

You ARE the implementation plan

Your activities can be measured but YOU have immeasurable impact. The activities are only as good as you are.

Theory, technique and data are nothing outside of the context of the relationships you build with those you serve.

What they will remember is YOU.

Your legacy is your reach.

Your reach depends on you to BE a school counselor not just for you to DO school counseling. Your legacy requires the same. YOU are where the magic happens, YOU are what makes the difference.

What they will remember is YOU.

Your reach is wide.

Stop and think about how many students you have impacted, how many families, even how many school staff. We all know you counsel more than just the students but also the adults in their lives.

Imagine this is YOUR process data, the sheer number of students you have impacted

Think of that first student you met with as a new, nervous school counselor to the last one that you met with yesterday, and all those in between.

What they will remember is YOU.

Your reach is deep.

Consider the knowledge you possess as an expert in your field, what you know that others in your building do not, that students’ families do not. How much YOU know now compared what you knew in the beginning whether you are finishing your first year or retiring.

Stop and think about think of this as YOUR perception data, the skills, attitudes and knowledge your students have gained from countless lessons, interventions and activities you have coordinated and delivered.

YOUR knowledge and YOUR skill grow exponentially with every small triumph and every major obstacle. And OH, the stories you can tell! Especially the ones that no one but another school counselor would believe. (sharing humorous stories)

What they will remember is YOU.

Your reach is far.

Think of this as YOUR outcome data, the contribution YOU have made to students’ achievement, their behavior, their attendance, their personal circumstances, their equity, their access, their opportunities and their futures.

Thousands of students out there have you to credit for the fact that they have gotten where they are in school, work and life.

You are agents of change. You are a FORCE of impact.

What they will remember is YOU.

“What we know matters but not as much as who we are” by Brene Brown

Today is about celebrating not just what you know or what you have done but who you are.

You already are a legacy. You’ve already made an impact that will last. Your legacy as School Counselors is for the love of your work, each other and your students, yesterday, today and always.

What they will remember, and what we celebrate today, is YOU.

Thank you!