May 1, 2016
After being at BVNW for two years, counselor Jacelyn Miller said she has gotten the chance to figure out how to best help students. She said she has many roles to fill, but her favorite is the role of a counselor for students when they are experiencing social and emotional issues.
“A kid can come walk in and be really mad at their mom that day and I’m happy to listen, or something huge could come on and I’m happy to work with that too,” Miller said. “The problems really vary; there’s really, really significant stuff, and there’s ‘I got into a fight with my best friend and need to talk it over with someone.'”
Miller said occasionally, she will not feel like she’s making progress with a student, so she refers them to a specialist. However, there are still students she checks in with in on a regular basis. To make all of her 360 designated students feel welcome, Miller said she makes an attempt to get to know each one.
“I try hard to get to know my kids and ask personal questions when we’re not in a counseling setting so they know me and they know later when they have an issue they’re more comfortable,” Miller said. “This year, I’ve tried to meet with every single one of my freshmen to just call them in and have a five minute chat of just ‘Who are you? What do you like to do? What are the things you want from me?’ that kind of stuff so that later, they know me, they can come find me and know that I’m someone they can come talk to.”
Senior Emily Staples was a photographer for one year and is now the photo editor for The Express and BVNWnews.com. She is involved in NHS, Quill and Scroll National Honor Society for High School Journalists and PEEPs. She likes bath bombs and Bernie Sanders, and her favorite part of newspaper is the dance parties.
