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Name: Nancy Brandes
School: DePaul University, Chicago
Degree: MA Educational Counseling Back to School for a Degree in Guidance Counseling With an undergraduate degree in marketing, Nancy Brandes never anticipated finding her calling in counseling several years after graduation. She is like many people who graduate from college knowing exactly what they want to do, only to find themselves years later doing something completely different. Living in Chicago, where the pace is fast and the competition tough, Brandes found that surviving in a big city was more a priority than fulfilling her dreams in marketing. Nancy landed a series of "survival jobs" before settling into an unrelated career in financial securities. "Don't ask me how I got into securities," she says. "It was the first decent-paying job I had since college and I just didn't question it." Making a Change Sometimes we make changes in our lives and sometimes change comes to us without warning. Such was the case with Nancy, whose job was eliminated in 2005. Rather than letting it upset her, she took the layoff as an opportunity to re-evaluate what she wanted in a career. With a desire to be of service to people and positively affect their lives, Nancy decided to get her master's degree in counseling.  Choosing a Counseling Master's Program and School DePaul University in Chicago was Nancy's top choice of counseling schools. After compiling her transcripts, references and seven pages of essays detailing her motivation toward a guidance counseling career, she was accepted. She chose DePaul for all the right reasons: - Location – "They're right in the city, where I want to be."
- Reputation – "They have an excellent reputation in the Chicago area. I also had a friend who went there and loved it."
- Programming – "The counseling program at DePaul meets the requirements set by the American School Counseling Association."
Paying for School Counseling Graduate School In addition to student loans and government financial aid, Nancy is involved in a work/study program at DePaul. "I work in the Academic Resource Center, updating their website. Being a school employee means I get my tuition paid for. It's a way for me to go to school and work at the same time." Working in the Academic Resource Center has helped Nancy further define her goals in counseling as well. She is leaning toward a specialty in school counseling and hopes to find an internship either in DePaul's student affairs office, or at a local high school. Completion Time of a Counseling Degree It will take Nancy three years to become a professional guidance counselor. The first two years are dedicated to earning her master's degree, and the following year she will begin working as a practitioner. During her first year of practice, she will be supervised by a licensed counselor. She will also be documenting 300 hours of service in order to qualify for the counseling licensing exam. "It's a job for helping people," she says. Whether she's working at the college level, high school, or helping adults learn new job skills, Nancy has chosen this profession so that she can make a positive difference in people's lives.  |
