The person that I interviewed for the FSHD 384 assignment is called Jessica Acosta; she works as an elementary school counselor. I decided that I wanted to interview a counselor that specializes in working with children because is a career that I am interested in working in the future. In order to interview a school counselor I went to the elementary school that is near the area I live in. After explaining to the lady at the front desk that this was for an assignment, she talked to the counselor and we scheduled an appointment for the interview. The reason why I wanted to interview this person is because in the future I would like to be a counselor myself, however I am still not sure which population I would serve once I get my Masters degree in counseling. Therefore, with this interview I will have the opportunity to learn what it is like to be in this career, and working with children. I want to know what to expect in the future, as well as what steps Jessica took in order to achieve her career path. Furthermore, by hearing about Jessica’s interactions with children, can influence me to work with children in the future. Also, I think that it is important to network with people that are in the same field, and that have great knowledge and experience. What I learned from Jessica during the interview is that she has worked hard in order to be where she is right now. She is a Mexican American woman who since a young age has found great pleasure in helping others especially young children. She is 31 years old and has been an elementary school counselor for about 4 years. She has been living in Tucson most of her life, except when she went to study for her Master’s degree on Psychology at the Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, upon receiving her Master’s degree she came back to Tucson to work with her community. While working on her Master’s degree, not only was Jessica a full time student, she also worked as a preschool teacher. She said that there were times were she felt exhausted about working and being a full time student. However, she is really motivated about what she does, and said that she is glad that she chose this career path, even if she struggle for a while. The job of school counselor consists of talking to the children to get to know them better, but especially if they are experiencing a difficult time with their life.
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She enjoys visiting the classrooms and interacting with the children at lunch, talking to the children individually or in groups. Jessica mentioned that as a counselor, every day is different therefore; she does not have to be doing the same thing every day. Her job requires her to speak with the children about the adversities that they may be experiencing at school or at their home. For example, she speaks to the children on how to cope with the divorce of their parents. Also, there are times when the students are experiencing bulling at school, and she has to intervene. Furthermore, there have been cases where she speaks with the children about the different strategies on how to deal with the loss of a loved one. She says she is passionate about what she does and that her love for her career has always been her motivation. Jessica’s career path has been changing over the years. When she graduated from university with a Bachelors degree she was not sure where she was going to work at. She was indecisive about being a case manager or if she wanted to be an educator. She finally decided to be an educator and started to work as an elementary school teacher of 4th graders for a period of 2 years. She found great pleasure working with children, and seeing different patterns of behaviors in them. After teaching for 2 years she spoke with one of the counselors at the elementary school, who recommended her to get her masters in Psychology. Jessica, however, didn’t think that she wanted to get her Masters or that she wanted to be a counselor. After meditating about her options, and after she thought about what she was going to do with her life she finally opted for starting to work on
She enjoys visiting the classrooms and interacting with the children at lunch, talking to the children individually or in groups. Jessica mentioned that as a counselor, every day is different therefore; she does not have to be doing the same thing every day. Her job requires her to speak with the children about the adversities that they may be experiencing at school or at their home. For example, she speaks to the children on how to cope with the divorce of their parents. Also, there are times when the students are experiencing bulling at school, and she has to intervene. Furthermore, there have been cases where she speaks with the children about the different strategies on how to deal with the loss of a loved one. She says she is passionate about what she does and that her love for her career has always been her motivation. Jessica’s career path has been changing over the years. When she graduated from university with a Bachelors degree she was not sure where she was going to work at. She was indecisive about being a case manager or if she wanted to be an educator. She finally decided to be an educator and started to work as an elementary school teacher of 4th graders for a period of 2 years. She found great pleasure working with children, and seeing different patterns of behaviors in them. After teaching for 2 years she spoke with one of the counselors at the elementary school, who recommended her to get her masters in Psychology. Jessica, however, didn’t think that she wanted to get her Masters or that she wanted to be a counselor. After meditating about her options, and after she thought about what she was going to do with her life she finally opted for starting to work on