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Meet the Peoria High School counselor named Illinois high school counselor of the year

Myskeshia Mitchell, a school counselor at Peoria High School, was named Illinois High School counselor of the year.
Camryn Cutinello
/
WCBU
Myskeshia Mitchell, a school counselor at Peoria High School, was named Illinois High School counselor of the year.

A Peoria High School counselor was recently named the Illinois High School Counselor of the year.

Myskeshia Mitchell started her 20-year career in education as a kindergarten teacher. It was her time as a teacher that inspired her to pursue counseling.

“I taught kindergarten at the time, and the students were coming in and over breakfast, they were having these conversations about like, what took place in their house, what was going on with what their mom and their dad were doing, any type of fight,” she said. “Kids tell it all. And I will be sitting at my desk and they will be having these conversations, and it sparked discussion.”

Mitchell said she would read textbooks from a friend who was in the counseling program at Bradley University and found the field to be interesting. After four years of teaching, she graduated from Bradley University with a bachelor's and master's in Human Development Counseling and got a doctorate degree in Philosophy from Illinois State University. She worked at a school in Cook County before coming to Peoria Public Schools.

Mitchell says the job of counselor has changed to better meet student needs.

“We don’t only deal with just academics, but we deal with the social, emotional aspect of the students as well,” she said. “We deal with the college and career aspect of the student, as well. So it's a more encompassing role than what it was before, it was just students, their classes and schedules.”

Mitchell said her approach to the job has changed over the years, especially since making the switch to the high school level.

“I've been greatly impacted by students that I have either taught at the middle school level here in Peoria, or I've been their counselor at the high school level, that they're no longer here,” she said. “And so when you take that not just at the high school level, but every level of schooling, our students are seeing more and more what's happening in the community is affecting our students.”

Mitchell said she takes this into consideration when students are struggling in school.

“You can't really touch the academics and the attendance without looking at the whole child and seeing what's going on,” Mitchell said. “And how is that affecting their attendance in school, their behavior, their grades.”

She said she’s always been able to build a good rapport with students, and works throughout the year to connect and talk with students. Sometimes she’ll stop a student in the hallway who seems down and write them a pass to come talk.

She said for students to know that they have someone to talk to who will advocate for them is “golden.”

“That opens the door for them to talk to you more, and let you in on what's going on,” she said. “And once they see that you're consistent, you really do believe in them. It's only up from there.”

Mitchell said getting recognized for her work means a lot, because she loves her job and strives to do the best job she can.

“I know I do good work,” she said. “And I just do it, because I love it. So it's not like work to me. And so I'm always going above and beyond.”

Her advice to other school counselors is to put 100% into the work, but make sure you’re still staying grounded. She said education is a rollercoaster with mandates and laws, but at the end of the day everyone is there for the kids.

“We see the fruits of our labor when we see those kids graduate, when those kids come back to us when they're older and say you made a difference in my life,” she said. “If it wasn't for you, I don't know if I would have gone to college. If it wasn't for you. I don't know if I would be able to handle how college works. So stay in the game, be authentically you and do it and do it well.”

Camryn Cutinello was a reporter and digital content director at WCBU.