Graduate Program: Master of Education in School Counseling (MEd)
Janell Daniels ’20 MEd started her school counseling career in 2020, shortly after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. She said the global health crisis “brought unique challenges to the table that were really hard to navigate,” but what she learned from Lynchburg’s Master of Education in School Counseling program helped her get through it.
“Lynchburg taught me that the main focus of counseling is the relationship with the student, so despite navigating a whole new virtual world during COVID, I was able to focus on the positives of fostering relationships with my students despite the lockdown,” Daniels, a counselor in the Stafford County, Virginia, public schools, said.
At Lynchburg and even after she graduated, Daniels has benefited from the relationships she formed with her classmates and professors.
“I still speak with some friends from my cohort, specifically my former classmate [who] works in the high school setting and started the same time as I did,” she said. “So having someone truly understand the struggles of the career has been so beneficial.”
She added that one of her professors, Dr. Jeanne Booth ’76, ’88 MEd, has also been there for her. “Dr. Booth has always been an amazing sounding board and even helped me to pick the right setting for me during my job search, high school vs. middle school.
“She truly helped guide me throughout my graduate school experience, and I’m so grateful to now call her a colleague.”
