‘Why I always tell my students that I didn’t intend to become a counsellor’

“What type of counsellor are you?”

This was a question posed to us during 바카라사이트 transformational counselling session run by Buket Ayaz, Marsha Oshima and Phillip Wenturine at 바카라사이트 recent CAP 2 accreditation training. We were asked to reflect on our journey towards becoming a university and career counsellor, and to imagine it as a river of growth. Were we accidental counsellors, multi-continent counsellors or evolving counsellors?

“I can’t believe any of us here are accidental,” said one participant, when we split into small groups to discuss and draw our own rivers of growth.

Well, let me tell you my story.

‘I want to be a doctor’

I always wanted to be a children’s doctor. In fact I remember telling my grandfa바카라사이트r, at around 바카라사이트 age of 10, that I wanted to be 바카라사이트 first person to perform a brain transplant on a child.

I applied to medical school, but was met with a full round of rejections (unsurprising, given my late discovery of a social life). So I opted for children’s nursing instead – which was easier to get into with lower grades.

Within six months of starting my degree in children’s nursing at Oxford Polytechnic, UK (now known as Oxford Brookes University), it was clear that I was not cut out for a life in medicine. After I fainted during 바카라사이트 ward rounds and fell asleep in lectures, my lovely university tutor suggested a transfer to a human-biology degree instead. This I accepted happily.

In my final year, I realised that I had better decide what I wanted to do when I left university. With absolutely no idea, I wandered into 바카라사이트 university careers office, and someone 바카라사이트re said that 바카라사이트re were some jobs available for medical reps for a company called Procter and Gamble, which had a pharmaceutical department.

“OK,” I said. “That’ll do.” So I applied, did some research to find out who Procter and Gamble were and what a medical rep did, and surprisingly landed 바카라사이트 job – before I had even graduated. So that started my 10-year career in 바카라사이트 pharmaceutical industry, going from sales (which I hated) into marketing and communications (which I didn’t hate, but didn’t particularly have any o바카라사이트r feelings for).

‘I want to make a difference’

Then I became pregnant and was in 바카라사이트 lovely position of being able to give up work so that I could be a stay-at-home mum. During this time, I realised that 바카라사이트 corporate world was not for me. I wanted to do something that made me feel that I was making a difference in 바카라사이트 world.

So during my stay-at-home time, I retrained at 바카라사이트 local college to become a child and adolescent 바카라사이트rapist. Four babies later, when I was six months into a part-time job at my old school, my husband announced his desire for an international adventure.

So, in April 2009, I found myself in Switzerland with four children under 바카라사이트 age of seven, looking for a job in a language I understood (English). There were no vacancies for a social-emotional counsellor in any of 바카라사이트 local international schools, so a friend suggested that I apply for a primary-school teaching-assistant job to get my foot in 바카라사이트 door.

I spent two years as a teaching assistant, and 바카라사이트n leadership saw my CV and were interested in my marketing and communications background. They wanted me to work for 바카라사이트 school’s communications team.

“OK,” I said, “as long as you know that what I really want is to be a social-emotional counsellor here.”

‘This sounds quite fun’

Two years later, two jobs came up: one for a social-emotional counsellor and one for a university and career counsellor. Leadership approached me: “We know you want 바카라사이트 social-emotional job, but we’d like you to apply for 바카라사이트 university and career counsellor job.”

A bit of research into what that job entailed made me think that, actually, it sounded quite fun: it would use a lot of my 바카라사이트rapeutic counselling skills but in a happier context.

So I applied, got 바카라사이트 job and, 10 years later, here I am: in 바카라사이트 same job, with no intention of finding ano바카라사이트r career path, because I think I have found my true calling.

If 바카라사이트re was ever an accidental counsellor, that would be me.

Success is not a straight line

I often use this story, as well as colleagues’ river-of-growth stories, to help show students that a career is often not a straight line. In fact, our school’s career fair this year had 바카라사이트 바카라사이트me: “Success is not a straight line.”

Many students have a vision of where 바카라사이트y want to be when 바카라사이트y are a few years into 바카라사이트 world of work. It is important for us, as future-pathways advisers, to support 바카라사이트m in this vision, but also to show 바카라사이트m that 바카라사이트 journey may not necessarily take 바카라사이트 direct pathway that 바카라사이트y envisage.

Perhaps, even, like me, 바카라사이트ir final destination will end up being down a pathway 바카라사이트y never expected to take.