During my undergraduate degree, I studied psychology. A constant theme throughout all of my classes was that everything in a person’s life flows from the state of their mental health. If an individual is mentally well, then they will be able to thrive and create a life that they enjoy living. If this is not the case, and someone is struggling psychologically, then they will have a very difficult time planning and thinking about what it is that they want from their life. As a College Advising Corps adviser, I remind myself constantly to look for clues that my students may be dealing with some very real mental health challenges.
Sometimes, when a student comes into my office and expresses that they have no idea what they want to do when they graduate, it’s no big deal–they just haven’t thought about the future that much. Or maybe they’re resistant to making plans because they’re receiving pressure to choose one path or another. Other times, though, it sets off some alarms for me. General apathy about planning for one’s future can be a sign that, maybe, that person can’t picture a future for themselves. Or maybe, they don’t have the energy to plan a future. Maybe they’re dealing with feelings of hopelessness, or perhaps immense anxiety about making the right decision.
High school and college students in America are experiencing higher rates of mental illness than ever measured before. It’s unnerving to know how many students are struggling, and it affirms our need for counselors both in high schools and colleges. Having a counselor who can recognize signs of mental health issues is crucial for intervention. Here at Brevard High School, we have two school counselors for about 800 students–that’s why I’m so grateful that I get to focus on just the senior class.
One of the best parts of this job is that I’m here, at Brevard High School, every single day. That way, my students see me in the hallway or participating in school activities, and they can know that I’m committed to being here to help them everyday. They have the ability to stop in to my office whenever they need to, and I think that allows for a lot of progress to be made in a relatively short period of time. We get to work on things like college applications, FAFSA, and scholarships while simultaneously talking about whatever is coming up for them that day.
Talking about college or looking for potential jobs is a great gateway to me getting a glimpse into how my students are imagining their future. I want to be able to understand how much they think they’re capable of because this can often show me how confident they are or how positively they think of themselves. Being a college adviser opens up conversations that need to be had. I hope that my students find themselves leaving my office with a little more breathing room and a bit more confidence in their future. And, if not, that’s okay too because we can keep working on it.
Written by Peyton Johnson, Adviser at Brevard High School
Peyton Johnson
