In an insightful question and answer session, Printed Word Reviews (PWR) asks veteran school counselor and Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) Nancy Regas to recount her experience and share her wisdom. Reflecting on her 22-year career and her book, Art of Being a School Counselor, Regas provides profound wisdom on balancing the clinical, emotional, and bureaucratic demands of the education system, offering a roadmap for educators, parents, and counselors alike.

PWR: You structured the book as part memoir, part guide. Was there a specific moment or breakthrough with a student in your 22-year career that made you say, “I need to write this down and share it with the world?”

Nancy Regas: The COVID shutdown occurred six months after I retired as a regional college representative. I found myself thinking about and missing my students. Faces came to mind, then their stories, e.g., a girl who never spoke and would only write short responses on a tablet. Yet, I got her to sing Taylor Swift’s song with me in my office. The twinkle in her eye warmed my heart. I awarded her the counselor scholarship that year. I knew I had to document the gift of being a school counselor.

PWR: You explicitly mention that your book is also for teachers, administrators, and parents-not just counselors. What is the number one thing you wish parents and principals understood about the reality of a school counselor’s day-to-day life?

Nancy Regas: Counselors are jugglers, bouncing between advocacy for their students, responsibilities to administrators, and support for teachers and parents. Each entity sometimes thinks it has exclusive rights to the counselor; an effective counselor’s attitude and actions ensure that all groups feel seen and heard. That was my goal every day. My open-door policy was for everyone. Ultimately, everyone wins when there is collaboration in working for and with every student.

PWR: Public education can be notoriously bureaucratic. How did you protect your time and energy to ensure paperwork didn’t consume your face-to-face with students?

Nancy Regas: I got to work an hour to an hour and a half before school started. I did email, checked voicemail, and reviewed the to-do list I made the day before when I wrapped up my day. Students came first. If I was absorbed in something and a student came, I would explain my deadline, why I couldn’t stop at this moment, and ask them to return at a specific time: I respected their time, and they respected mine. They KNEW they could count on me. 

PWR: If a rookie school counselor is listening to this/reading this right now and feeling completely overwhelmed by their caseload, what is the single most important piece of advice you want them to take away?

Nancy Regas: A professor said this in a class, and it carried me: “A career is an expression of who you are.” Make sure you are living that daily and not just doing a job. Be your authentic self. Hold onto your passion; no one can take that from you. It will ignite even when the flame is flickering or circumstances are trying to snuff it out. Finally, always take it ONE STUDENT AT A TIME.

Listen to Nancy speak about her experience and book at https://www.independentpressaward.com/theartofbeingaschoolcounselor