Perceived Roles - Angela

I perceive the roles and responsibilities of the guidance counselor as those similar to a liaison officer. Guidance counselors are the link between students, parents, faculty and the community. Additionally, I feel the counselor’s role is multi-faceted and varies according to each student’s needs. Over the years, I am certain that their responsibilities have changed. Once upon a time, the counselor was someone that assisted students with their academic needs. However, with the rapid social changes of today, the role of counselor has changed to someone that can help students with everything from class schedules to connecting them to community resources to acquire a bed for their young child. In closing, counselors’ connected to academics, but equally they do link students to resources that assist with staying in school. For instance, the assistance could be online financial aid applications or online part time employment applications. Either way counselors are a critical part of the educational process.