Lisa Reyes
High School Counselor
Yucaipa-Calimesa JUSD
Yucaipa, CA USA
“The better grounded and emotionally healthy you are, the better you'll be for your students.”
Milestones
My road in life has taken me all over.
I started college right after high school but changed my mind about becoming a lawyer after my first time at jury duty on a murder trial.
I took a few years off from college to figure out what I wanted to major in.
I started a nursing program when I returned to college. I wanted to work as a nurse with children. After my 2nd clinical rotation, I realized that this was not a good fit.
After taking a few more classes and exploring my options, and job shadowing a high school counselor for one of my class assignments, I finally found my perfect fit!
Education
High School
Duarte High School
Duarte High School
Career
High School Counselor
I am a high school counselor and the counselor for our Law & Public Safety Academy.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Education
Law
Helping People
Day to Day
For me, I schedule out every day with student appointments, parent meetings, IEP meetings, walk-in students, and depending on what time of year it is, many other duties as assigned. Many people do not realize all of the things that counselors do, which of course varies by school district. At the high school level, we are focused on academics, making sure students graduate on time, post-secondary planning, and a tremendous amount of personal and social counseling.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for college students
If you are not a teacher, I would recommend substitute teaching at all grade levels to not only get a feel of what goes on in the classroom, but also to figure out what age group you work best with. Also, if you have never been to a counselor yourself, I would highly recommend it. As a counselor, you deal with a lot of sensitive issues, so the better grounded and emotionally healthy you are, the better you'll be for your students.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Peers:
"Don't major in psychology because there are not enough careers that pay well with only that degree."
Challenges I Overcame
Financial
