“I decided to become a school counselor largely based on my experience with school counselors at Lakota while I was growing up. My parents divorced when I was young, and I attended a group with the school counselor,” she said. “This experience truly helped me through a difficult, changing and unknown time in my life. I was able to connect with other students at school who were going through a similar experience and did not feel alone. School felt safe for me, and I was able to continue focusing on learning, despite the changes happening in my home life. I never forgot the impact this had on me as a small child and always knew I would like to help others in this same capacity.”
The Today’s Pulse found out more about Kohler.
Q: What has been your educational journey?
A: I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Miami University, minor in Child Studies in May 2004. At Xavier University, I completed my Master of Arts degree in School Counseling in May 2006. I have been in education for 10 years.
Q: What do you enjoy most about working at your alma mater?
A: I love the staff, students and community that is Lakota East High School. Each day is a new challenge and new adventure. We have an extremely supportive team at East, which makes coming to work each day exciting.
Q: What is the biggest challenge facing educators today?
A: I think one of the biggest challenges educators face today is proactively preparing for the ever-changing world as we develop into a global society. It is important to keep up with new trends, technology, careers in order to best prepare students for future success.
Q: What is your counseling philosophy?
A: My philosophy in working with students as a school counselor is to create relationships with students in order to best support their needs and future goals.
Q: What is a favorite memory from your career?
A: Sharing in the successes of students graduating from East and moving on to their next steps in life, whether that be college, military, career. It's exciting to see students grow over three years and mature into young adults.
One student in particular this year thought college was out of the question due to many factors outside of school. She finally decided she wanted to apply to college, and we worked through that process together. One Saturday morning, I received an email from her including a picture of her first acceptance letter. Seeing the excitement from her was truly inspiring.
Q: What are some of your hobbies?
A: Spending time with my two children, Logan, 10, and Camryn, 7. I enjoy reading and running.
I am also the JV Cheerleading Coach at Lakota East. I love working with students in the athletic capacity in addition to academics.
Contact this contributing writer at lisa.knodel@gmail.com.
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