Tia Weidenfeller
High School Counselor
Memorial Early College High School
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
During my junior year at Texas Tech, I discovered I had no idea what I was going to do with a college degree in Spanish, so I got a secondary teaching certification "just in case."
I was accepted into the UT Social Work graduate program, but could not find a teaching job anywhere near Austin, so I ended up teaching in Fredericksburg, TX.
After teaching for a year, I decided that I wanted to do more to help children and protect them from the difficult situations they were sharing with me as their trusted teacher / adult.
I moved to Dallas and began a seven and a half year career as a Child Protective Services caseworker. After having my daughter, I discovered working at CPS was too difficult on both me and my family.
After an 11 year hiatus, I decided to get my master's degree in school counseling instead of social work. I wanted to be on the same schedule as my children.
While in graduate school, I worked as a school social work / family specialist and eventually transitioned to an elementary counselor.
In 2012, I finally made the move back to high school and I couldn't be happier with the work I do with my students at Memorial Early College High School.
Education
High School
Brackett High School
Brackett High School
Graduate
Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services
The University of Texas at San Antonio
Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services
The University of Texas at San Antonio
Career
High School Counselor
I help students graduate from high school.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Education
Technology
Helping People
Day to Day
Every day is different. Some days your are in training. Some days your are in meetings. Some days you are listening to students talk about serious problems. Some days you are talking to parents and teachers. Some days you are listening to students talk about not so serious problems. Some days you are working on the computer and doing paperwork all day. Some days your are so overwhelmed you don't know where to start. You have to be flexible enough to change your plan based on who needs you
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for high school students
Find a mentor in the field you want to pursue. Go visit your high school or university advisor and career center. There are lots of people out there that want to help you be successful.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Family:
"You're too smart to be a teacher, social worker, counselor. You are going to be poor!"
