A few weeks ago, a student who was new to Simmons Career Center found herself in the office of Andrea Thurston, a guidance counselor at Simmons. Overwhelmed by the process of transferring and acclimating to her new academic responsibilities, she told Thurston she didn’t think she could do it.
Thurston told the student that this kind of negativity was not allowed in her office. Her role is to encourage her students and ensure they stay on track and become successful.
“Now this fire has been lit in her, and she’s finishing classes, and she can see herself graduating,” Thurston said.
Thurston’s dedicated support for students such as this is one of the reasons she was chosen as High School Counselor of the Year by the Hillsborough School Counselor Association.
Thurston was nominated for the award by Janis Perfetto and Laroseate Hill-Lucas, both teen parent teachers at Simmons. Perfetto was the one who called Thurston to share the exciting news that she had been chosen.
“I thought maybe she was kidding, playing around, and then the next morning, I got the official call,” Thurston said. “Knowing how many high school counselors there are in the district … I was really shocked, but honored that they chose someone from a career center.”
Soon after the announcement, Thurston’s students had decorated her office with signs saying “Congratulations,” and some of the staff at Simmons arranged a small surprise party for her. There’s no question that the students and faculty at the school appreciate Thurston and what she does.
Thurston earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in school counseling from University of South Florida.
“I come from a family of educators. My mom always told me if I decided to go into education, to find something that’s not necessarily in the classroom,” she said.
Thurston has about 18 total years of counseling experience, and she has been on staff at Simmons since it relocated to its current campus in 2004. Her daily responsibilities include helping students with scheduling, graduation status, preparation for statewide assessments and more.
As a general counselor for the career center students, as well as the counselor for students in the teen parents program at Simmons, Thurston guides about 150 students. Compared with previous schools where she has worked, where she was responsible for up to 500 students, it is easier for her to get to know the students on a personal level, she said.
“Some of our students just overcome so many different challenges,” Thurston said. “Just to see them start believing in themselves because we believe in them and we show them on a regular basis … you start to see the lightbulbs go off.”
Many of the staff at Simmons will be joining Thurston at an awards ceremony and reception Monday, April 13, where she will be honored with the other seven award winners.
Contact Catherine Sinclair at csinclair@plantcityobserver.com.