When Alana Martinez speaks with other members of her school counseling cohort, she usually hears one of two reasons for pursuing a career in the field. Most of them either had a great counseling experience as a student or a bad one. “Unfortunately, I was in the bad school counseling experience,” she said.
That experience is a big part of why she is now a second-year master’s student in UNC Greensboro’s nationally-ranked school counseling program and an intern at Hairston Middle School.
“A lot of the times students may not have that support at home. School may be their only safe space,” Martinez said. “That’s my biggest why – to be supportive and provide that safe space, because I may be the only one who can provide that.”
A path that kept leading back to kids
Martinez earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology at UNCG and went straight into the master’s program. She expects to graduate in May.
When she arrived at UNCG, Martinez was a biology major who planned to become a veterinarian. It was when she had a moment of doubt that made her stop and ask what her passion really was. “I’m always going back to working with kids,” she realized. Since beginning the program in the Department of Counseling and Educational Development and crafting her counseling techniques, she has confirmed her choice, saying, “A lot of the things that it takes to be a counselor were already in me from the start.”
Hands-on from the start
Martinez chose to stay at UNCG because of the program’s reputation. UNCG’s counseling programs are ranked fourth nationally and first in the state by U.S. News & World Report. Just as important to her was the fact that the program was in-person. With many online counseling options available, she knew that was not for her. “I definitely take in more when I’m actually doing things hands-on,” Martinez said.
The program’s practicums are among her favorite parts of the student experience. Lecture is typically followed the same day by a small group session where students are able to practice the skills they just discussed.
The program also fills a gap that school-based experience alone will not. Martinez says, “A school will be able to teach you how to run a system, how to work in the school,” she said. “A school won’t teach you how do we actually counsel a student, how do we assess a student.” UNCG, she says, has allowed her to develop and hone those critical clinical skills.
Learning to trust her instincts
Martinez remembers being terrified before her first session with a client at the program’s Nicholas A. Vacc Counseling and Consulting Clinic, an on-campus training facility. The session was also virtual, which added another layer of nerves, including how to set up the technology and how to make a personal connection with someone who was “just a picture on a screen.”
“Once I started talking with the client, things just kind of started clicking and falling into place,” she said. “It just came out naturally. I relied on my training.” That client would become one of her longest-standing clients.
The supervision provided throughout the program helped her get there. Students in the program not only work with faculty members, but review sessions with doctoral students as well. Although it initially seems intimidating having many sets of eyes on a new counselor, Martinez realized having that support was key. “It actually is such a blessing to have all of those points of supervision, because they’re your safety nets,” she said.
Two mentors stand out as having had meaningful roles in her development. Her advisor, Dr. Jennifer Niles, has been able to show her the range of paths open to school counselors. Her supervisor, doctoral student Brittani Level, has helped Martinez understand who she is as a counselor. She shares that faculty members are accessible and take students’ questions and concerns seriously.
A cohort that gives each other grace
Martinez believes her cohort has built close relationships because the members share so many firsts, including practicum sessions, clients and internships. The group keeps a chat where they will ask for advice and others jump in with answers, and they check on one another outside of coursework too.
“We always emphasize having grace for each other,” she said. “We’re all just trying to make it to graduation.”
Why middle school
At Hairston, Martinez works with sixth graders, a placement she chose. She said, “(Middle School) is a really big transition period. It’s a time where they’re really starting to develop who they are as a person.”
Most of her earlier experience with children was in elementary settings. But she has come to love the age group and the fact that each day provides something new.
Her hope is to give her students a foundation that they can build upon. “One day when they are achieving their dreams, whether it’s graduation or something else, they’ll look back at middle school and be like, I had a really good school counselor, and because of that, that led to my success.”
She says that the work can be demanding and by the end of the wee she sometimes feels she has no capacity left to give. That is why the program emphasizes self-care. Martinez added, “It’s a very taxing field, but it’s also a very fulfilling field.”
What she’d tell future students
For anyone considering school counseling, Martinez says the question they need to ask themselves is what they are looking for in a career. If the answer to that question is that you want to connect with students, she says, take the next step. “Without that passion, you will not survive this field.”
For students weighing UNCG specifically, she points to the balance of lecture and hands-on experience, and to the people around you. She adds, “You’ll have a lot of self-growth. You will not be the same person by the time you graduate.”
Asked how UNCG is preparing her, Martinez says she is becoming a counselor who is confident and ready to “hold space for anyone, no matter where they come from.”
