University of Iowa alumna Heidi Hassen enjoys helping students build their resiliency by using their strengths.

This is one of many reasons why Hassen was recently named the 2024 Elementary School Counselor of the Year by the Iowa School Counselor Association (ISCA).

“I absolutely love working in the schools and having the ability to talk with my students each day about their lives, hopes, and futures,” says Hassen.

Hassen, who received a Master of Arts in School Counseling from the UI College of Education in 2014, says her journey to becoming a school counselor has not always been linear. 

She originally went to school to be a teacher at Luther College. Hassen says she then took a brief detour from teaching and accepted a position as a youth and family advocate for a sexual assault/domestic violence advocacy organization. Working as an advocate changed the way she saw how systems helped or harmed children and families. These experiences ultimately resulted in Hassen finding her passion in becoming a teacher again.

“I missed being in a school setting and decided I wanted to work in the counseling realm,” says Hassen. “I started to look into programs for school counseling, and I learned that University of Iowa's school counseling program was one of the top ranked programs in the nation. Pursuing a career as a school counselor through this program seemed like the perfect path.”

Hassen believes that ethics, counseling theories, and collecting data for evidence-based programming were some of the biggest takeaways she gained from the program. She also credits the professors as being valuable resources during her time at Iowa. 

“I cannot say enough positive things about my experience in the school counseling program at Iowa,” says Hassen. “I still feel like I can reach out to these professors for support and help navigating current issues in schools.”

Hassen says that there are many activities and counseling skills that she still uses regularly in her career such as awareness of body language, tone, questions, and feedback she gives students now as a teacher. In the program, she learned how to employ her micro skills and get feedback from peers and professors on the use of these skills.

“We talked often in our classes about being a genuine, authentic person and how this is so important as a counselor - especially with kids. Through the program I was able to reflect on my values and ethics and take action to live in congruence so I can show up as a loving adult each day at school. The program also helped me gain confidence in data collection and crisis response and that gave me direction as a new counselor after I graduated.”

Hassen says that it feels like being a school counselor is her dream job. Despite hearing some difficult stories and challenges between some individuals, she also gets to witness their resilience.

“I am very passionate about working towards equity and access to education for all students. I learn a lot about this by listening to my students and collaborating with families and staff.”

Hassen currently works at Alexander Elementary School in Iowa City, her third school in the last 12 years. She says that the school counseling program helped prepare her to use data, sharpen her leadership skills to coordinate and lead Social-Emotional-Behavioral Health (SEBH) programming, and to show up as an authentic caring adult each day. She also learned how to support diverse student populations and families in the program.

“The school counseling program equipped me with the tools to be realistic and also always strive for what's best for our students,” says Hassen. “I learned how to collect important information to show the impact of our work, to keep advocating for the needs of our students, and to keep reimagining how we can develop programming to meet our students' needs.”

Hassen has several pieces of advice for students who are currently involved in the counseling program, or who seek to in the future.

“Get grounded in your values and ethics,” says Hassen. “You can't control everything that happens in a day at school or what students coming to school carry emotionally. But you can control how you choose to show up.”

Hassen wants students to remember not to come into the profession hoping to be a rescuer – that puts individuals in a deficit mindset and disempowers your students. Instead, reframe the situation and look for their strengths to build on their resiliency, says Hassen.

“Listen to your students, families, and staff from marginalized groups,” says Hassen. “When we see ourselves as partners with our students, families, and staff, we can help be bridge builders to amazing futures.”

The School Counseling Program is part of the Department of Counselor Education in the UI College of Education is home to several nationally ranked programs, including the School Counseling Program, which is ranked the No. 12 School Program in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. 

Other highly ranked programs in the Department of Counselor Education include the No. 3 Rehabilitation Counseling Program and the No. 11 Counselor Education and Supervision Program, also according to U.S. News and World Report.

The Department of Counselor Education develops exceptional, ethical, and socially-just mental health advocates, counselors, and counselor educator for diverse and ever-changing communities.