Every year, freshmen at Judge Memorial are immediately assigned both a school counselor and a college counselor. During our student’s first two years at Judge, they will primarily be in contact with their school counselor. In the final two years of a student’s Judge career, they will start working with their college counselor, preparing for the coming college years.

School counselors assist with schedules and help our students every day in a multitude of ways. Sometimes students need someone to talk to on a difficult day, or sometimes they just have a question. Whatever the call, the counseling department is always ready to answer.

I sat down with Dr. Kladis, the director of counseling and student services here at Judge Memorial, to discuss the overall importance of counseling. When asked why school counseling was so important, she responded: “The big piece is that mental health, that social-emotional component that we’re here to celebrate with students when they’re having successes but also be there to provide support and what that looks like when they are struggling.” 

According to the American School Counselor Association, there are almost 34,000 school counselors in the United States. But school counseling requires a special person. When asked what attributes were important to a school counselor, Kladis stated: “[One] of the most important attributes to being a counselor is the ability to listen to young people and meet them where they’re at.” She went on to say that counselors also have to know what resources are available to help their students get the help they need and desire. 

The Judge Counseling team is located on the third floor, and offers 6 counselors, 3 of which are college counselors. You can follow the events in Judge Counseling on Instagram at @judgecounseling.