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Good afternoon. My name is Jonathan Clate Matthew Johnson and my career goal is to

become a school counselor. I may not have fully realized it at the time, but the idea of becoming

a counselor for school students became ingrained in my mind at around eight years old. Growing

up on the small island of Jamaica I was familiar with several jobs; however, school counselor

was not one of them. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that school counselors did not exist in

Jamaica, however, the majority of schools did not have a school counselor as a member of

faculty.

Perhaps this dearth of school counselors is due to lack of funds. However, my belief is

that many heads of administration in Jamaica did not view school counselors as being a necessity

in their schools and chose to forego hiring someone for the position altogether. Many children in

Jamaica who act up in class or struggle to understand the material being taught are labeled as

“dunce” by their teachers. Subsequently, these students are placed in the very back of the

classroom to minimize the chances of them distracting their peers. It may seem like a rash thing

for a teacher to do, however, one must remember that these teachers are underpaid, and have a

large classroom in which maintaining order is a very high priority.

As I reassess several of my classmates who were labeled as “troublemakers” or “dunce”,

I realize that many of them more than likely suffered from mild learning disabilities or were

acting out because of their home situations. It saddened me to learn when I returned to Jamaica

that the majority of my former classmates who were not given the proper treatment or attention

throughout their early-education, ultimately dropped out of school, or worse died because they

became involved with the wrong crowd in their frantic pursuit of attention.

These young people who had the same opportunity which I did, many of whom could be

considered smarter than myself, weigh heavily on my mind to this day. Imagine how different

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things might be had these same young people who I shared a classroom with along with the

countless others that have come since then, had a school counselor who they could talk to about

their home difficulties, or who could refer them to the necessary psychologist or doctor to be

properly diagnosed for a learning disability. With the appropriate encouragement, one of those

aforementioned children may have gone on to do mission work in another country, or developed

into a world-renowned physician, or simply have lived long enough to be able to collect their

college degree.

I may not have been able to make a difference then, but I see the opportunity to

make a difference now. Since graduating from Southern Adventist University in December of

2013, I have examined several possibilities of getting a job in the counseling field. I contacted

numerous members of my church who are Counselors or Social Workers, stopped at several

privately-owned counseling businesses to inquire about job opportunities, and have interviewed

several current school counselors to gain additional understanding of the profession.

After concluding my job search and interviewing what I deemed as a satisfactory

number of school counselors, I came to two conclusions. The first was the reaffirmation that

school counseling is where my passion lies and what I wanted to pursue in my Master’s degree.

The second conclusion I came to was that Georgia State University is a fantastic school.

Several of the individuals who I interviewed and discussed job availabilities with

attended Georgia State University and spoke extremely highly of their respective programs

(Social Work, Psychology, and School Counseling). I was told that the faculty members in the

School Counseling program are very passionate about Counseling, and work diligently with their

students to bring the theme of the School Counseling program to life “Developing School

Counseling Skills to Maximize Students’ Potential for Learning.” Sadly, I have not had the

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opportunity to meet any of the School Counseling faculty, however, if I were chosen to be a part

of Georgia State’s School Counseling program it would be vital for me to build a rapport with

the various teachers I would get to know through the program. I understand that these teachers

have a wealth of knowledge to share and would be willing to help me develop into the best

school counselor I am capable of being. I am a hard-worker who would bring a unique

perspective and leadership to Georgia State University's School Counseling program. More

importantly however, I am eager to learn from the professors at Georgia State University and

become a school counselor truly capable of maximizing students’ potential for learning.