Seth Strause, '29
How far are you in the program, and what is your work experience?
I'm currently six credits in. After this semester I’ll have 12 credits. I’m in the accelerated program, so I have the opportunity to take 12 credits of graduate classes as an undergraduate student. I anticipate completing my master's degree in 2029.
I am working as a behavioral technician at the James A. Casey House, which is a halfway house for men in recovery from substance use disorder. I'm also an intern at the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ School for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students.
What drew you to the U¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ program?
Originally, when I was looking for programs, I probably did less research than most. Covid made it difficult to learn about a school and its campus thoroughly because there were no tours. I knew that ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ had one of the best counseling programs in Pennsylvania, and that was about it. I put my faith in that, and I’m grateful that I did. Over the past four years in undergrad, I grew closer to all of my professors, building professional and personal relationships. I love the professors at ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥. They are passionate about teaching and knowledgeable, and they genuinely care about the progress of all of their students. That is the main reason I decided to come back and enter the graduate program.
What are your favorite aspects about the school counseling program?
There are many things to love about the school counseling program. My favorite aspect is the small class sizes. In one of my first classes, "Professional Issues: School Counseling," there were only four students. This really challenged me more than a class of twenty would. I was pushed to be my best every class and I felt myself improve every week. This class not only prepared me for the rest of the classes within the program, but forced me to be better because I had to be prepared to contribute insightfully.
My next favorite aspect is the professors within the program. Dr. Wilkerson is a challenging professor, but he ensures that you will think critically about unique problems -- which is one of the most important parts of school counseling. I have not had the opportunity to have Dr. Tierney for a class, but I have heard good things.
How has the program prepared you for your future profession so far?
I have not taken many classes within the program yet, but so far, I have learned the framework of school counseling. I understand what a comprehensive program is and how to use the national model when creating a program. Knowing how to define what is needed within a school, deliver the services, manage the planning of the program, and assess what is effective and what is ineffective holds importance.
Knowing the importance of documentation has helped prepare me for the future. Learning how to lesson plan and thinking about strategies for classroom management has helped me think about the future. More importantly, after a lesson, knowing how to measure attitudes and beliefs, skills, and knowledge on the lessons is necessary for improvement.
However, one of the most important parts of being a school counselor is data which can be summarized with the helpful acronym PARMIBO. This stands for Participation Data (how you spend your time as a school counselor), Mindsets and Behavior (assessing lesson plans which uses the three domains that I mentioned earlier of attitudes and beliefs, skills, and knowledge) and Outcome Data (which focuses on achievement and achievement-related data which focuses on big picture improvements).
Another important part of data is knowing how to read it and analyzing disaggregation or longitudinal data. Also, to improve any school, you must be able to identify gaps within the school that need to be equitable, including information gaps, opportunity gaps, achievement gaps, and attainment gaps. Overall, using all of these parts, a school counselor creates a program that ensures that ALL students are being thought of and involved.What would you like a prospective student to know about this program?
The professors will challenge you throughout the classes to think critically. Being able to think critically is important within this program. From what I have seen, it has always been scaffolded appropriately and they will offer assistance if needed. They challenge you because they care and they want to ensure that you will be a competent school counselor.
What's your favorite moment or memory from the program so far?
Since I have had the opportunity to be in ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ for my undergraduate and graduate degrees, I want to share a memory of both. During my undergraduate studies, I took the class "Counseling LGBTQ Persons." One of the major projects of this class was to conduct a presentation on a population within the LGBTQIA+ community. A friend and I did our presentation together, and Dr. Datti gave us the opportunity to create a larger-scale presentation and present with him at the Pennsylvania Counseling Association’s Annual Conference.
I will forever be grateful for the opportunity that Dr. Datti gave us to present with him, not as students and professors but as colleagues. Being able to go to this conference, give our presentation, and attend other professionals' presentations allowed me to witness the dedication and changes that go into this ever-changing and evolving field.
My favorite memory in graduate school was when I was working on my advocacy act project in the class "Professional Issues: School Counseling." During this project, I was expanding upon my research of the intersex community. Dr. WIlkerson helped me use this research and knowledge to attempt to help the school counseling field become aware of issues facing students who are intersex.
During this project, Dr. Wilkerson guided me to focus on the American School Counseling Association’s (ASCA) position statements. There was nothing on intersex. There were position statements that focused on gender identity, nonbinary youth, transgender youth, and the affectional orientation of students, but nothing on intersex or sex at all. Noticing this information gap, I reached out to ASCA, not expecting to hear back. However, I received a response within a few days, and I was able to offer my input on this topic, and I was able to discuss with ASCA back and forth. Knowing that my research might improve the field one day was something that I was proud of, and I am grateful that Dr. Wilkerson gave me the opportunity to collaborate with him on this project.