Rewards and Challenges

Rewards and Challenges......They are so closely related that sometimes it's hard to separate them. I think that the rewards and challenges a guidance counselor would be closely related to that of a parent.
Let me see, the first challenge would be to connect to the student and to try and get the student to understand that you really do have their best interest at heart. You try and get them to understand that what you are telling/suggesting to them is not for your benefit but for theirs. You can only get "through" to a student if they respect and trust you. As a counselor, if they trust you they may possible open up to you about some of the things that are going on in their lives that may be affecting them on an academic level.
Rewards - seeing that a student gradually matures and comes into their own. They start making intelligent decisions regarding their lives or they take hardships and/or mistakes and use them as a learning experience. For me, it wouldn't so much be about them graduating or going to college, it's more about them becoming young adults who can reason and rationalize what their next move for the future is going to be....setting their future goals.