A LU M N I S P OT LI GH T
The American School Counselor
Association named Terri Tchorzynski 10
as the national 2017 School Counselor of
the Year this past January. She was
featured in several news articles and was
given the honor of speaking at the 2017
School Counselor of the Year event,
along with First Lady Michelle Obama,
at the White House in Washington D.C.
With years of experience and
knowledge, Tchorzynski demonstrates
that success comes from a place of
determination and purpose. She currently
works as a school counselor at the Calhoun
Area Career Center and received her
Master of Arts in Counseling at Spring
Arbor University. As a mother, a full-time
teacher and a girls basketball coach,
she was able to pursue her education at
SAU by scheduling it around what was
important to her. The location, timing
Alumni Spotlight: Terri Tchorzynski
ARBOR.EDU/JOURNAL
and course design of the MAC program
gave Tchorzynski the flexibility to live
her life while still obtaining her degree.
It gave me the experience I needed to
be effective in my position, she says.
Tchorzynski explains that she received
as much professional practice as possible
because she could interact with her
close-knit, diverse cohort and gain plenty
of field hours through the program. Having
a supportive network of individuals
to motivate and push her has provided
(SAU) gave me the
experience I needed
to be effective in
my position.
her with leadership skills that she
confidently portrays in her workplace.
She also implements principles that she
gained from her education to connect
with students and provide them with
effective counseling services. Educators
like Tchorzynski succeed in impacting
students by knowing them on a personal
level, resulting in fully developed
relationships that foster mutual respect,
an essential part of Tchorzynskis success
counseling her students. At the School
Counselor of the Year event, Obama
stated, Its the school counselors
that steer students through difficult
life decisions and to post-secondary
education and career opportunities.
Every day Tchorzynski encourages
students to pursue their dreams and
stands as a great model for what chasing
and achieving them looks like.
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