Mr. Barron was featured by the Vermont School Counselor Association this December. In this article, they recognize his outstanding support of our students, commitment to continuous learning, and promotion of positive mental health and wellbeing in our school community. We are happy to have him here at Rice!

Here's a summary of his interview: 

What influenced you to become a school counselor?
Finding a career where I felt like I could make a difference was really important to me.  After spending the first part of my career serving individuals with developmental disabilities and coaching high school sports during my free time, a friend/coworker inspired me to explore school counseling.  I had never really imagined myself working in a school and was not aware of what the role entailed.  After looking more into it and starting my journey of graduate school, I realized that it was a perfect way to blend things that I was already passionate about.  Last year, I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to join an established and experienced team of wonderful counselors at Rice Memorial High School and am excited to come to work every day. 

What's your favorite part about being a school counselor?
My favorite part about being a school counselor are the impromptu interactions that happen with students.  Whether it’s between classes or when they stop by our office area for lunch or a study hall, I really value the small moments of connection, even if they are just for a second.  Oftentimes I leave those interactions having learned something new about a student; some new phrase they’re using or a TikTok trend I’m oblivious to, and I think it’s important to help them feel seen and help me understand the world that our students are living in.

How does the ASCA student standards (Mindsets and Behaviors) inform your work as a school counselor?
Being a newer school counselor comes with a steep learning curve, particularly having not come from another role within a school.  Having the ASCA student standards to help inform the work that we do is extremely valuable as I’ve learned the role of the school counselor has inherent flexibility that is oftentimes based on the needs of the school.  Referring to the ASCA standards is something that has been helpful in keeping me on track with how I approach my work with individual students, as well as a tool that is helpful when assessing larger, more universal programming we provide as a department.

What’s unique about your school community?
There are many unique parts of Rice given that we are a private school and have a smaller student body than most of the surrounding schools in our area.  One thing that stands out is the focus that our leadership team has put on student support.  While we have around 400 students in our building, we have expanded our department to ensure that our counselor to student ratio stays well under the typical numbers.  This allows us the time and resources to create relationships with students who otherwise may never come into our space.  Having the ability to do this helps establish an environment where students know who they can access for support and if something challenging comes up, we’ve already had the opportunity to do some relationship building ahead of time.  With the pressure of different needs throughout the school, ensuring student mental health and wellness remains a priority makes us feel valued as a department as the needs of our student body grow and change.

What do you see as a top priority for VTSCA?
I feel very appreciative of all the work that VTSCA does on a regular basis.  Given that we work in a small state, having so many great people as a resource who have experience doing this work is invaluable.  In my short time as a counselor, I’ve come to learn that opportunities to connect with others doing the same work but in different schools throughout the state is incredibly helpful.  There are so many phenomenal school counselors in Vermont and I hope VTSCA continues to prioritize ways for us to connect whether that be through the annual conference, professional development opportunities (like the School Counseling Cohort), or other creative ways.  I believe these opportunities promote a feeling of unity and support that I think we all benefit from.

What are some of your favorite resources?
My favorite resources are the amazing people who I share office space with every day.  They all do incredible work while also providing me with consultation and support whenever I need it.  Outside of my colleagues, I have used many of the professional development opportunities within ASCA.  As a new high school counselor, the ASCA U College Specialist Training was particularly helpful as I continue to try to develop my knowledge around supporting students with the college application and financial aid processes.  Something less formal that I’ve recently started using is the Greater Good Magazine website.

There is a lot available throughout their site but I’ve found some interesting articles and resources in their education section that relate to both our work as school counselors and just being a positive member of our community.