As this is the first blog post I have ever written EVER, I’ll start by telling you a bit about me. My name is Angie Goss and I’m in my 18th year as a high school counselor in northern Nevada. I took over as Chair of the Nevada Interests committee in July and I am looking forward to spending the next two years establishing a working committee that has representation from the primary areas of counseling associated with WACAC: admissions counselors from the college side (two-year and four-year), high school counselors (public and private), and independent counselors.
Previously, our committee was called Nevada GRAC and our primary focus was government relations. Though legislative issues will continue to be a primary focus, last year we changed the name of our committee to Nevada Interests and broadened our scope so as to address more of the issues that we face as counselors as we assist with students’ transition from high school to post-secondary education. These include, but are not limited to: admissions and transfer issues; diversity, equity, and access; and professional development.
Our membership in WACAC is small and I’m curious to know why that is. One of my first tasks is to survey Nevada counselors to see what they know about WACAC, whether or not they’ve ever been to a WACAC conference or event, whether they’ve utilized WACAC’s counselor toolbox, etc. I’m also curious about what other state, regional, and/or national associations our state’s counselors belong to and what they find to be the benefits of said associations.
I see 2015/2016 as a planning year and hope to utilize this time to gear up for Nevada’s next legislative session in 2017. It’s an interesting time of growth and change for our state. What that will do for education is left to be seen. I’m hoping our Nevada Interests committee can advocate for positive growth and change in the counseling field.
Please, share this blog with your co-workers and help me get the word out about WACAC. Feel free to e-mail me at wacacnevada@wacac.org with questions, concerns, suggestions, etc. Thank you!
By Angie Goss