Counselors Ms. Ashley Saylor, Mrs. Jane Cottingim, and Mrs. Summer Brown dedicate their time every day to meet the needs of the EHS students.

The counselors help the students make decisions on college choices, career paths, and other student issues. They try to make sure the students plan to meet their future goals. They also help and work with individuals that are struggling either at home or at school. 

A day in the life of a counselor can feel exciting, frustrating, and oftentimes, upsetting. Being a counselor comes with big responsibilities and challenges. Cottingim states that her biggest challenge as a counselor is, “balancing all the duties and responsibilities bestowed upon me while doing a good job and not letting others down.”

The counselors are pulled in many directions throughout their day and try to meet everyone’s needs. Brown recently moved from being a teacher to a counselor and she noticed some big differences.  

“I think my biggest challenge is managing my time between all of the different roles I serve,” Brown said.  

In addition to delivering good quality services across all of their roles, the counselors have to also ensure their own needs. Saylor realizes that the counselor’s time is not just the regular school day. They may stay after a busy school day to get extra work done.

“At times this impacts our time outside of our contracted time because we will have to work more than what we are contracted for,” Saylor said.  

Separating work and home life can be tricky for anyone. But for counselors, their job can be difficult to do due to the number of emotional ups and downs that occur at school. Cottingim describes it as a “balancing act.” Saylor does what she can to keep the two separate. 

“I never mix home life and work life,” Saylor said. 

Being a counselor can be extremely overwhelming at times, but Cottingim has one reminder that keeps her going throughout the day.

”Some days are tougher than others and sometimes outright exhausting, but all it takes is one student to remind you why you do what you do,” Cottingim said. “This alone makes my job at Edgewood so incredibly rewarding.”

Brown was previously a teacher at the elementary school before she was a counselor. She states why she decided to become a counselor.

“After teaching for 17 years, I knew that I wanted to work with students in a different way,” Brown said.

Brown has really loved her new position.

“It has been an exciting experience and I feel lucky to have this opportunity as a high school counselor,” Brown said.

Saylor used to be an Edgewood student, and it was her end goal to return to the district that made her who she is today. 

“I wanted to give back to this amazing community and the amazing staff,” Saylor said. “I am honored to work with the majority of the teachers that I had as a student.”