On Tuesday November 3 2015, Kiana and I visited Immokalee Middle School (IMS) to shadow and interview school counselor Dr. Gamez. IMS has a great school environment overall that is home to many multicultural students and staff. Over a quarter of the school staff is from Immokalee and went thought similar situations where the students are currently facing. With the staff having similar paths it has benefited the students overall. As a team, the staff including the school counselors at IMS really cares for the students and will go out their way to make sure that the students have a positive school experience.
Dr. Gamez has been in the education field for 20 years. For the first five years she worked as a teacher and spent the…show more content… Gamez, I began to notice her office space and how decorated it is showcasing both her family and her previous and current students. Right off the bat I realized that she is really tuned in for her students. During the interview process, when the student arrives to her office she drops what she is doing and focus on that student. According to her responses from the questions, the students are her number one priority. She likes to see all students do well in school, build relationships with them, and watch them pursue their dreams. This something that excites her every time she gets up in the morning and head to…show more content… Gamez in a middle school setting was really inspiring to me because of her attitude she has while working with the students. She is quite flexible when it comes to balancing work duties and students. It was quite refreshing seeing her connecting with students and doing it with a smile on her face. I was encouraged that even though she does not have common ground with her students (ethnic background, language, family), she still makes an attempt to connect with her students regardless. What was discouraging was that even though she has her doctorate that did not reflected positively on her pay. However, she is optimistic on how school counseling will change immensely in the next 5 years, which is also encouraging as
