From freshman year to graduation, life after high school is one of the most important subjects on students’ minds. For the last 15 years, Sherrie Mueller has been helping students achieve their post-graduate goals as Plant City High School’s college and career counselor.
Now it is Mueller’s time to move on to the next stage in her life. She retired Aug. 1, but teachers and students won’t forget the contributions that she made to the school during her career.
Seven years prior to becoming the college and career counselor, Mueller, who has a degree in accounting from the University of Florida, worked as a volunteer while her children attended PCHS. After they went to college, she was called mid-year to fill the open position, which she gladly accepted.
From the start, Mueller’s goal was to increase the number of students who had post-graduate plans at the end of high school.
When she started as the college and career counselor, only 60% of students had plans in place, which included pursuing higher education, joining the military or getting a job.
By the time of her retirement, over 90% of students knew what they wanted to pursue after graduation.
Mueller said part of the reason for this increase was because students were given more options and encouraged to pursue their goals.
“We wanted kids to say, ‘I can do that,’ Mueller said. “It evolved into more than a job for me. It was more of a passion.”
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
Scholarships were especially helpful to students who did not have money for college. The scholarship program at Plant City High School grew from a few thousand dollars each year to over 70 donors presenting scholarships at the school’s award night, held every April.
Two weeks after the awards night is the honor banquet for graduating seniors who have maintained a 4.0 grade point average. The event is held at the John R. Trinkle Center, and is a prestigious event complete with crystal, china and candlelight. Mueller had to raise $10,000 to put on the event. This past year, about 170 graduates were honored with dinner and personalized gifts, such as monogrammed beach towels.
“I couldn’t pull this off by myself,” Mueller said. “Because of the scope of the job, I relied on a lot of parent volunteers. The parents are very helpful.”
Mueller said that the prestige of the banquet has encouraged other students to work harder to maintain the perfect grade point average. Parents are also invited to the event, where they can take pictures with their honor student and the principal.
Mueller also made sure that students and their parents were aware of essay contests and other opportunities that would allow them to earn money for college. She put the information in the school’s monthly newsletter, which was available online and emailed to parents.
Mueller had a file system for scholarships. She made copies of each application and created a scholarship board in her office of the scholarship’s requirements, deadline and award amount. Each Thursday, she donned a college shirt and went on the morning announcements to discuss opportunities with students. She gave seminars, conducted night programs and encouraged parents to fill out necessary forms, such as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
The more students knew about possibilities the more they could take advantage of them, Mueller said.
“Anytime any of the students won, I won too,” she said. “The best part was seeing their achievements. It’s satisfying to see them reach milestones.”
Mueller also sat down individually with students and went over their college applications with them. She encouraged students not to rush through the application process and taught them how to create a proper resume.
“It’s helping them establish themselves,” she said. “It makes them so proud.”
FUTURE PLANS
Now that she is officially retired, Mueller is looking forward to traveling, doing zumba and spending time with her friends and family.
Currently, Mueller attends First Baptist Church of Plant City and is one of the Library Board’s newest members.
“I’m taking what I know and applying it to a different avenue,” she said. “I do know my area. I feel like I know it well.”
Mueller plans to continue to be involved with Interact, formerly Civinettes, which she co-sponsored with Jo Beth Newsome. Each month, members of the club feed the homeless.
Mueller is also a former Florida Strawberry Festival queen and helps staff the festival’s information booths.
She has two trips planned so far, one to Jackson Hole in Wyoming and one to Greece. The best rates for travel, she said, are during school days. In the past, it has been hard for her to fit all of her travel into one summer.
Mueller will also see her family more, especially her six grandchildren who are based in Tampa and Plant City. She is looking forward to attending their school-related events and eventually helping them with their college applications. Like her and her two sons, she hopes that her grandchildren will also attend the University of Florida.
She still continues to answer emails from students.
“Most of them know how to contact me because I’m very active in town,” Mueller said. “I love hearing from them and just knowing they did it. I gave it everything I had. It was rewarding.”
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.