How Grad Apps Are Confirming My Career Choice

Working on graduate school applications has been a long process for me. There’s been letters of recommendations to ask for, programs to research, advisors to talk to, and so much more. After about a month or so of pondering what program to go into, I decided to pursue a Master’s in School Counseling.

Growing up with a parent working as a teacher, I feel like my fondness for education started at a young age. I always loved school and felt a deep appreciation for my teachers. Once I entered high school, I feel like that’s where I began to understand the importance of a good relationship with your counselor. My sophomore year counselor specifically inspired me to think about going into counseling because of the way she was so compassionate and encouraging.

Now in the present day when I am filling out my personal statements and scholarship letters for graduate school, I’m reflecting a lot on my journey of why I picked counseling and all the experiences I have that can help me for my career goals. Specifically, I was working on a scholarship application the other day and the prompt was for me to discuss an issue in the counseling or education field that needs to be addressed.

I decided to write about apathy in counseling and the prominence it has. This essay felt as if I was writing a whole story about how I discussed my own experiences with counselors as well as the experiences of the students I mentor. In some cases, especially in high school and college, certain advisors do not provide the encouragement and affirmation that students need. There’s also the issue of students feeling pressured to go in and out as fast as they can because their advisors give off an annoying demeanor.

This essay really helped me understand more of what I want to be like once I’m able to reach my goal of becoming a counselor. It made me acknowledge some of the issues with the counseling field and how I want to be a change within it for my students. I feel nervous whenever I work on these applications, but I can happily say they’re a great way for me to stop and reflect more about myself. 

• Adulthood
• career
• college
• grad school