Wildcat Spotlight: Jodi Beland

Jodi Beland is a new addition to the counseling department this year and is prevailing in her first year here as a counselor. 

    “Trying to meet everybody, and starting to build those relationships, I think is really important,” Beland said.

    Beland brings a number of different life and career experiences to the table in her new role as counselor.

   “Coming back and being a school counselor is like my fourth career path, so I just graduated from VCU and got my Master’s of Education to become a school counselor,” Beland said.

   Beland’s jobs have varied, from accounting to working in youth ministry. Throughout her life, she has been interested in mental health and psychology. Her last job before going back to school for counseling was working for the Cameron K. Gallagher Foundation, which was a non-profit organization whose mission is to raise awareness for teen mental health. Her role in the organization ultimately inspired her to become a school counselor.

   “I was able to come into schools, primarily middle and high schools, and I did classroom lessons about stress management and self-care and knowing how to take care of yourself and your mental health. And seeing how great that need was what motivated me to go back to school,” Beland said. 

   Since she arrived this summer, she has been busy. Beland has many different responsibilities that change throughout the year. 

   “Right now, at this time of year we’re focused on all of our senior meetings, so we’re meeting with all of our seniors to talk about what their plans are after graduation. I also see students that put in a request to come see their counselor,” Beland said.

   Later on in the year, she will meet with every student in ninth through eleventh grades to discuss what their classes for the following year will be. In addition, Beland will do classroom lessons to discuss the social and emotional needs of students. At the time of interviewing, she was preparing to teach the Signs of Suicide classroom lesson, which was conducted in November with sophomores. 

   “That’s a really big focus of ours, is how do we care for the student as a whole, not just academically, but also their mental health, considering life can be very stressful,” Beland said. “We help students manage and balance school, life, all that kind of stuff.”