Supporting Student Wellness with Derrick Westry: Counseling in a Virtual High School

Supporting student wellness is essential to learning, especially during the high school years when students are navigating academic expectations, relationships, and future decisions. In a virtual environment, counseling must be intentional, accessible, and grounded in strong relationships.

In this episode of GCA Unmuted: Voices of Virtual Education, we’re joined by Derrick Westry, a high school counselor at Georgia Cyber Academy. Derrick shares what counseling looks like in a virtual setting and how he supports students’ academic planning, mental health, and overall well-being.

The conversation explores how trust is built with students online, how counselors identify and respond to student needs, and how collaboration with teachers, graduation coaches, and families supports a whole-student approach. Derrick also reflects on the challenges and opportunities of providing counseling at a distance and addresses common concerns about whether meaningful support can happen in a virtual school.

This episode is part of GCA Unmuted’s ongoing documentation of how virtual schools support student wellness as an integrated part of learning.

Thanks for listening to GCA Unmuted: Voices of Virtual Education, a podcast documenting how virtual school works in practice at Georgia Cyber Academy.

Each episode features educators, staff, and leaders sharing real stories and systems that support teaching and learning in a virtual environment.

Learn more about the podcast and explore past episodes at:
 https://www.georgiacyber.org/about/unmuted

You can also watch full episodes and highlights on our YouTube channel:
 https://www.youtube.com/@GCAchampions

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:03

Welcome to GCA Unmuted, the podcast where we share the stories and strategies that show how Georgia Cyber Academy makes online learning work. In high school, students are navigating academics, identity, relationships, and big life decisions. When school happens online, supporting student wellness takes intention, trust, and strong relationships, sometimes from a distance. I'm joined today by Derek Westry, a high school counselor at GCA, who works directly with students to support their academic planning, mental health, and overall well-being in a virtual setting. We'll talk about what counseling looks like in a virtual school, how GCA supports student wellness, and why connection still matters, no matter the format. So, Derek, thanks for joining us here to come on and chat with us. But can you tell us a moment or an experience that really highlights the role that counseling plays in a virtual high school?

unknown 1:08

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

And thank you for having me halt in today's pleasure to be here today. This is my 18th year uh in high school counseling. And so uh the uh first 13 was spent um in brick and mortar, and now uh six has been here at Georgia Cyber Academy. Um, and um the the moments that that really uh matter stick out uh that I've uh that I have had the pleasure of encountering was definitely like when we um go out into the community, right? Or when we have our community days, or when I do face-to-face college tours, things of that nature. And uh I have students that come up to me and say, Are you Mr. West Street? You know, oh my God, it's it's it's it's such a pleasure to meet you. And it's like they meet me like I'm some sort of rock star or something like that. And I'm like, I'm just Mr. Westry. I'm just I'm I'm just the the counselor that you guys see um and assist you as far as meeting your your goals, your academic goals, your career goals, your personal goals. But for them, uh the counseling that I bring to them as far as assisting them in those three areas means something. And so when they see me uh out and about and they finally get to meet me outside of the virtual world, like it means something to them, especially to them. And that makes me realize that um, although this is a virtual um school district, um, you still are touching your students. Uh you see they still feel you, um, you know, although you're in the virtual component, you're not there face to face, but then you still you still reach them. And so those are the moments that make me realize that, you know, as a counselor here at Georgia Cyber Academy, uh this this you know, despite not seeing not being in front of them, I'm still reaching them. And I'm still uh, you know, a presence that's helping to guide them uh towards those goals. And so for me, um, those moments that made me realize, man, that you're really making a difference uh despite them seeing you know in the virtual capacity. So those are always the times that I always share as halting and it just encourages me to keep on going and keep on doing what I'm doing.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Man, that's such a great reminder, this idea that um you are still building trust, you're still making a connection with these students despite being online, because the proof is in the pudding. If you see them out and about and they're like, hey, Mr. Westrew, what's up? What do you think it is about what you're doing then? Uh before we like move on, is clear because clearly you're building a connection online with them because otherwise they would probably act like they don't know who you are or they'd run the other way, right? They're they're they're they're excited to see you. So do you can you pinpoint any like specific thing that you think that you're doing uh with these students that's actually building connection with them online so that they feel comfortable like coming up and excited to see you in person at these different in-person events?

SPEAKER_00 4:04

I I think the biggest thing, Holton, that I that I create, man, is just hope, belief, and just the opportunity for them to feel comfortable in their own skin and feel like they're not being judged and to feel like uh it's okay with being one of one of one, right? And so for me, uh one uh for my my case though, we're called the Weshi Squad, right? We call the Weshi Squad, we call the Bowtie Gang, as you all see here. I got the bow tie on here. Um, and that actually came from a student uh when I first started here who said uh when I came on and I had the bow tie on, he was like, Man, if I if more students wore bow ties, I would probably listen more. And so I had that ever since. And so um I offer the opportunity for them to feel loved. Um, you know, when I greet them, I say, you know, young kings and young queens, you know, uh, which makes them feel special. Uh they feel a part of something. And so I'm I'm always not being too serious with myself. I see them and I'm always encouraging them. Uh when I meet with them in my home room, I'm providing inspirational quotes. Uh, you know, when I'm talking with them as far as their goals and their aspirations, I let them know that it's okay for you to you know look at what you want to do and not just feel like you have to fall in line with what everybody else does. And so my my thing is for them to feel love, my thing is for them to feel included, my thing is for them to feel that they are special and they are unique and that they, you know, that at the end of the day, they are part of a GCA family, and so family is real important, and so because you know, I I make sure that they feel um included, I think that creates a unique connectivity with them as well. Because for uh I get a lot of stories where they say, hey, you know, when I was in my old school, I didn't know who my counselor was, or um, I never met with them. And I say, No, you're gonna you're gonna know who I am, you're gonna make sure that you know that, hey, you come to Mr. Westry, you know, in Westry Squad that you are going to be heard, that you're gonna be seen, and that you are going to be supported. And so as long as I provide those beliefs with them, um, it it makes them feel like, hey, you know what? Seeing the seeing the counseling isn't too bad. Uh having a part of my life isn't too bad. And I'm glad that the GCA council department, you know, really supports me as far as my future endeavors and also with my my present endeavors as far as who I want to be and who I am currently.

SPEAKER_01 6:21

That's so good. And now I feel like I need to go get a bow tie. Now I can now I can join this bow tie gang over here. Uh Derek, what what would you say? Like, how would you explain your role as a high school counselor in a virtual environment? What are you really doing? Can you break down your kind of day-to-day, week to week, year over year? Like, how do you see your role as a high school uh counselor in a virtual school? And how how would you explain it to other people?

SPEAKER_00 6:53

Sure, sure. Although my role is to support, support, love on, care for, influence, push, motivate, um, uh, you know, uh give resources, um, you know, just whatever the student needs, you know, to meet them where they are and to push them to where they want to go. So, you know, a typical day uh in a school of uh in a counseling world is never the same day twice. All right. So uh in that world, uh you have you know students who may, uh students and parents may uh ask you questions regarding uh their schedule, what type of classes I need to go into. Hey, I'm interested in going into uh this career field. Do you have any resources uh that provide me more insight into that? Um, you know, I need help, Mr. Westry, as far as finding scholarships. How can I how can I do that as well? Uh we know we'll have uh counseling uh meetings that are created, you know, to go over, hey, what can you know what are my future schedule looking like? Um you know, I'm thinking about going into dual enrollment. Uh, what does that look like? Uh I am the military careers uh coordinator as well. So um I'm interested in military. What does the ASVAB look like? Um how you know what do these different branches have to offer me? What how do I get into those? Um I do the face-to-face college tours as well. So, Mr. Wesher, I'm interested in this college. You know, are you guys having a college tour that's coming up quite quite soon? Um, I I didn't do, you know, I didn't do well on my my my tests. Okay, Mr. Wesley, how can I do better? How can I be better at how you know what type of organization skill, what type of study skills I can do to make sure I do better next time? Uh my grade is lacking. I got two weeks left. Mr. Wesley, what can I do to get things uh going to make sure that I pass it by the end of the some the end of the semester? Um and so my my my everyday focus is to support students wherever they are, wherever, whatever they need, and for wherever they need to do, whatever they need to do to make sure they push forward. And so um that's why I love school counseling because no day is ever the same. Um my my duties and my roles may change. Um I'm I'm I may be father, uh father figure. And so I'm having a tough time talking with my family. So um, you know, you know, what can I do? Or, you know, I'm still trying to struggle with my identity, or I'm still trying to tell my parents about you know things I want to do with my life. Mr. Western, how can I best do that? And so by having all those multitude of questions, it keeps me fresh, it keeps me on my toes, and it keeps my my role ever changing. And that's the beautiful part about it, is that in 18 years, because my role changes every day, as far as how I can support a student, it never gets boring. And that's the reason why some people count down to retirement. I'm like retirement who? Because it is because just being able to support these students where they are every day, um, it creates such a fire and a passion in me. And that fire and passion is actually what draws students to me as well, as far as you know, assisting them as far as their present and future endeavors.

SPEAKER_01 10:03

Well, Derek, it sounds like you really have nothing going on, and that you're just sitting on your hands all day and you're just trying to figure out what to do with your time. Uh, you know, give me something. Well, it's you you have so much going on with your your role, right? That you just explained. So can you tell us the how then? How do you do those things? How do you support uh these students and meet all these different needs that you have and these different things that you have going on uh when your interactions with these students are typically and primarily online? Can you kind of tell us the the how piece now that you that you do the support uh when it's uh when it's online? Is it a bunch of phone calls? Is it a bunch of uh like Zoom meetings like this? Um the the frequency of it, that sort of stuff.

SPEAKER_00 10:57

So um man, it's it's a it's a multitude of ways that we uh connect with our our students, right? So in the council department, we have one homerooms, we have it, you know, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. And that's really where you know we're able to connect with our students. Again, mine is just titled the what you call Bowtie Gang. Um, you know, we come in, um, you know, we we vibe out the music, uh, we have quotes, but at the same time, uh, we know we go over you know various important information um as far as um assist students as far as their personal brand, learning what credits they need for graduate graduation, um, you know, scholarship information, military information. Uh so just important period of information that we need them to connect to and have them to ask questions about. We know we get to have that during our homeroom Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 8:20. And it's a very important component because that is, of course, where we build relations as well with our students during that time frame. Uh outside of that, yes, there is a um, you know, we have our own virtual offices. So um when my students make my appointment with me, uh, we go into my virtual office. And you know, we just have time where we just just kick it, we just talk, right? So whatever the issue is, they'll put it in the appointment and then we'll talk about it, but then we'll go into depth as well. And so, you know, it's not just a piece of you ask the question, you know, you go on. But at the same time, in those meetings, uh, what I'm doing is I'm trying to find out, okay, you know, what all do you need? You know, uh, do you know me? Do I know you as far as as well, so that you know, as time moves on, we have this chemistry and connection where I'm able to uh you know address your concerns and you you're not um you know, you you feel comfortable with coming to me as well. So that's important. So though in those meetings, uh that's very important. Those meetings can uh either in my virtual office or even whether it's a phone call as well. When I'm when I'm making a phone call, I'm talking with the student, but I'm also talking with the family as well, introducing myself, letting them know who I am, and letting them know that, hey, it's important for us to work together collectively as a family to make sure that everybody's successful. And also to make sure that, hey, you know, um come to these events and let's build, you know, um in person as well, because um, although we see each other in these virtual platforms, we do I do go out, I do see the face-to-face, I do go out into the different community events. Um, you know, I do go into the secondary grade band and middle grade band events from our community uh events team uh to be able to be seen as well and to build that relationship as well. And so as we do all those things, and I'm I'm I'm you know building the support with them each day in these different platforms, um, it's creating just a connection uh with them that they really appreciate. And it allows me to continue to stay productive as their counselor. It allows me to continue to make them feel like, hey, you're just not you know number 264 on my case load caseload. You are a special unique person that I get to serve every day. And so with that, um, despite it being a virtual platform, they still feel like I'm still touching them every day uh, you know, uh as well by my support with them.

SPEAKER_01 14:00

Sure. No, that's huge. And you mentioned these different uh community events that you can get out to. So, like community day, uh being there, seeing the students and interacting with them. You also mentioned uh uh college tours. Yes. Okay, so tell us a little bit about that. Just just briefly, how many of those do you do, Derek? And is there a specific college that you're always touring, or do you just find one and then you kind of go when your bowtie gang is there? What's what's that all about?

SPEAKER_00 14:34

Yes, sir. So um, so in the council department, and that's um the the face-to-face college tools is one of the the many, many, many committees that we have uh where we're you know, as far as resources to support our students, right? Um, and so um the face-to-face college tour was just is just one of the committees that um I'm a part of, uh, that I'm you know I'm the lead on. And uh what it is is that we actually send out a needs assessment, Halton, to uh students to see what type of you know colleges they're interested in or what they want more information about, or you know, where they would like to actually go and visit. And we take that needs assessment and uh we take that and we kind of orchestrate the the colleges um that we decide to visit for the year. And so typically Halton, we do about 18 a year um as far as face-to-face class. But then we also often have virtual college visits as well, so um um, which is uh a component uh that my colleague Amy Grosso is over. And so uh with that, um, between the both of us as far as college college tour, whether virtually or in person, uh we probably do about 40 uh a year often, just making sure that students get to actually experience and get to have questions uh regarding their college experience because at the end of the day, I know that um you know they hear these names and you know they're discussing between the families and the peers, but we want you to get out there, we want you to feel it, we want you to experience it. So whether you come to uh to the campus with us and we go through it together, and um, you know, we try to do at least you know two a month where you know students and parents are able to come and visit um the college with us. Um and you know, we typically have about 35 to 40 students that come and visit those, or either the virtual ones where we have a college representative that comes in and you get to log in, you get asked questions, and they go through a virtual tour with you as well. It just helps us to continue to make that connection with you and to continue to support you and to guide you. And so it's one of those opportunities um that um I've been privileged to have uh as far as leading those face-to-face college tours. Uh, you know, this is year five for me doing it. And uh since that timeframe, uh, it has led to so many of our uh GCA family um just applying to colleges while we're there, uh, whether at the face-to-face or whether the virtual, because uh they get the opportunity, and now they are actually you know on those campuses now based on uh those experiences. So uh it's it's important. Um it's something that we definitely chose in the in the council department, and it's another opportunity for us to connect with our students and assist them as far as support.

SPEAKER_01 17:01

Man, what a smart uh what a smart event to do, and how beneficial is that? What would you say then are some common challenges that you see? Uh, what are some common challenges that students face in a virtual setting? And how do you help address them? You know, what what are some things? Is it like navigating technology or is it you know making sure they get all the courses that they need to graduate? Is it like what college do they want to go to? Like, what would you say are like some common things that you see that you kind of have to help students address?

SPEAKER_00 17:36

Definitely, definitely, definitely. Um, of course, I think with any um platform, um, whether it's virtual or in person, you know, you have to deal with just the organization and time management and just the motivation, because here um in the virtual world, um, you know, you're not in a uh, you know, you're literally not in a classroom where you have a teacher in front of you that's making you work. You have to get up, you have to have your own uh motivation and and push for it and not fall behind. So a big thing that I work with with students um in the setting is uh, you know, time management organization, uh, you know, staying on track. And so I know for my uh I do something called weekly academic progress monitoring with students, uh, definitely who have those difficulties. And so we sit down every week and we actually log in and we make sure that we go through the classes, make sure that you're not turning in late or missing assignments. Uh, you know, I'm looking at deficits to see where we can do or how we can organize to see what's going on. And then we create interventions and game plans to make sure that we get back on track. And you know, that has been very successful because that one-on-one interaction and talking with them and helping them to build and uh you know increase their skills uh actually you know allows them to actually get into the course and really uh helps them to bring up their averages. And so, you know, so those are the you know big things that we work on. Um just you know, just learning that is is different from brick and mortar, um, that you know, you you know have to, you know, you have the intrinsic motivation to make it work, and then also just you know inadequacies, you know, you have students who you know deal with self-esteem issues um, you know, here and so you know, having them to find out their uniqueness and find out you know how special they are and just how you know every student is one-on-one. So you have to find your own uniqueness and you know be okay with who you are, and understand that you have you know your own superior level of intelligence and uniqueness about you that you can use to be able to uh you know be an achiever as well. Um, of course, you know, with our students as well, we have different um, you know, just emotional situations such as family, friends, girlfriend, boyfriend, or we even have you know death and grief as well with our students too. And so uh with that, um, you know, we've created uh different small groups. Uh we have something amazing called Hazel Health, uh, which allows our families to be able to get uh free counseling sessions, uh, to be able to um um you know be able to deal with you know those you know heightened emotional situations um that may be you know a little tough. Um or again, like I said, we have our small groups where we meet those students as well to assist with those matters. Uh we have something called movement and mindfulness, man, where we're trying to get them as far as just physical activity as well. So I know that you know we sit down in these chairs all day, but we'll have something called movement and mindfulness where we'll get things going, such as yoga, things that nature as well. Um, and so you know, so we'll give these different resources to assist kids, getting money for college. We have a scholarship team that where we do the different scholarship nights, different scholarship workshops, um, you know, virtual lunch and learns uh to assist students as far as you know getting scholarship money to pay for pay for college because they're doing all these wonderful things at GCA to meet those goals, but we need to make sure that they can pay that they get a free ride as well. So, you know, so we give them that that that situation as well. Um, you know, uh just just as far as just finding out, you know, what's that next step. Uh, you know, we use platforms such as you know, Georgia College 411. Uh I'm sorry, not I'm sorry, Georgia Futures to um that's the old name, Georgia College, but Georgia Futures to be able to go and find out about the Hope Scholarship and you know, different uh type of careers, things that nature as well. And so, you know, we do different um, you know, just opportunities. Um, uh we do such thing called as signs of suicide, where you know, if students are going through emotional pieces and you know they think about suicide or our friend thing about suicide, we go through learning how to spot the signs for that and uh you know what type of intervention needs to happen or how to talk to a safe adult uh with that as well. Um, you know, we have Moni Burr that talks about sexual harassment. So if they're talking about sexual harassment or sex trafficking or things that are going on sexually, we help them to identify that as well. So, you know, we talk about just an array of things with these students because these are things that they're actually facing and dealing with. And we want to make sure that we are prepared, we're equipped, and that we provide resources that allow them to effectively resolve these situations and at the End of the day, um, you know, teaches them as far as you know, moving forward as young adults that hey, if I can you know resolve these situations now um here at GCA, then I can resolve them you know once I leave GCA as well.

SPEAKER_01 22:12

And it sounds like we have a ton of resources available and smart systems and different uh groups available to students to make sure that they don't slip through the cracks, even though you are in charge of so many students, like you said, over 260 or something. What do you think, Derek, other schools could learn, whether they're virtual or brick and mortar, from how GCA approaches counseling and student wellness?

SPEAKER_00 22:44

The the biggest piece, um, especially when you're talking about just you know, as counselor, and and one of the biggest reasons why I became a counselor halten was because when I was in high school, I didn't know who my school counselor was. My school counselor, you know, uh uh, you know, uh was not out there as much. And so one of the biggest things is that as a council department, we are out here, you know, like we are not hiding in the shadows, we are not um you know, hiding behind walls or anything like that or whatever. You know, we are out here and we present ourselves um as such, and we create different opportunities to celebrate the students and to support the students and to be there for the students. And so people always ask me, especially when I go to different um uh counseling workshops, um, like, man, you live in a virtual world. Like, how do y'all do that? I'm like, it's because we want to, and because although we're in the virtual world, we still make the choice to reach out and we still make the choice to say, you know, um, this hand is gonna still come through this screen and touch you on the shoulder, uh, because um the virtual setting does not stop us from being able to support you and being able to celebrate you. And at the end of the day, our energy is gonna be different as well. Um, our energy is gonna come out here and you're going to feel us. Okay. Uh, we do something called our senior shout-outs and um, our senior shout-out, and that's on the I, you know, when you go and you see it, we our last senior shout out, we had over 300 people that attended and just celebrated our seniors. Um, you know, uh again, we're always doing our newsletter to put out just more opportunities. Uh, we offer just different uh just studying opportunity resources for the SAT ACT. Um uh at the you know, again, the scholarship things, we we're always doing something every week, Halton, to make sure that our name is out there, to make sure that they see us as far as the counseling department. And that's the difference. That that's the difference, is that you know, we don't just pop out when it's time for schedule time, you know what I'm saying? We pop out every week, making sure that you know who we are, making sure that you know we prepare our students and make sure that they that that at the end of the day they know that they're they are loved and that you know we're not just people who do their schedule, we are people who genuinely care about them, support them, love them, and we'll always be here for them, you know, when they're here and also when they leave as well. They still reach back out, they still reach back out and ask for assistance and help. And so if school if school council departments uh show that same type of commitment as well, um, then you will see a thriving council department such as we have here at Georgia Cyber Academy.

SPEAKER_01 25:14

No, Derek, that's a great point. The idea that is your counseling department just gonna be the schedule and that's it, sit back? Or, like you said, are you gonna be one who's out there that's available, that's reaching out to the students, that's being a lot more proactive rather than um sitting back. Is that what you would say then? Would you add anything else to the question? What do you think makes GCA's counseling model effective in a virtual environment? Because you've already like you know, explained and shared a ton of resources and things y'all are doing and different initiatives and available and the ways y'all support the students. But is there anything you would add to like, hey, this is really what makes GCA's counseling model effective in our virtual environment?

SPEAKER_00 26:10

No, definitely. So one, we have you know uh amazing, amazing, um, um, amazing um council department administration um that believes in us and that has you know that vision and and that actually comes in as um, hey, how can we support y'all? Um, you know, what what is necessary, what is needed, what do you see out here to make us an even better uh department? And it and that is is tremendous because um a lot of times you know you may see administration um that just kind of you know dictates, but we don't have that here. We have a council department family where we work collaborative collaboratively. Um, you know, just even when we have our different um you know events where we are either meeting virtually in or mean face to face, uh the you know, the from the first things that happen is um, hey, how you guys doing? Hey, here is our you know, our council member of the month. Uh, hey, what are the wonderful things that are happening with you guys? Hey, you know, what are you all seeing out here that we need to address? And while you by you having those type of components, man, it creates uh a foundation where you feel like you have a voice. Um, and at the same time, you know, you're willing to go back and support with whatever is needed as well. And so even if something comes up last minute, uh, you know, you're able to jump out there and say, hey, we'll do it because you have a supportive team, you have a supportive administration that makes you feel like, man, you know, they go to bat for us, so why wouldn't I go to back back for them as well? And by having that, you know, your your work productivity increases, um, you know, your ability to be flexible and be in and do different things, it makes the counseling component, you know, amazing. And because at the end of the day, we have so many committees as well, as far as things to do, then that's different as well. You know, uh, Halton, you know, we have everything from a current wonderful career day, which you know, uh which takes a lot of work, but you know, the student of the students see the different careers that they that they can go into and may not have thought about that. Fire prevention, cyberbullying, red ribbon, apply to college week, which is a big huge thing that we that we create connectively to help students apply to college for free and be able to find the colleges that they look for. Okay. Uh, where does Bridgeville, 12th grade, 11th grade, 10th grade, parent night, ninth grade parent night, governor's honors program, uh, UGA City of the Merit Man, post-second uh again, the post-secondary days, uh, the scholarships, man. We take the time. Our our department does so many initiatives to come out there and show you know GCA you know how to know how we support them, that that's what makes our our council department so unique is that you know we are willing to you know put out there so many initiatives to show who we are um and to show the students how we support them. And at the end of the day, we have a administration that supports us in all of those pieces as well. So it's amazing. As long as you know, council departments learn how to do that, that then they can be as great as the Georgia Cyber Academy counseling department. But in the meantime, we will continue to set the standard.

SPEAKER_01 29:17

That's so important, and that's a great reminder to know that to be an effective department, having that strong leadership at the top, guiding the way, that's so important and a good insight for you to share for us. This might make your bowtie fly off in anger, pop off, but I could be wrong. But what would you say to somebody who believes, you know what, you can't have meaningful counseling online. You you just can't you can't do it, it can't work online. Uh, what would you say to somebody who believes that or says that?

SPEAKER_00 29:54

Well, you know what, Halton, you know, it it it didn't, my top, my vote I still here, so you know it didn't fly off. Um, but um, of course, you know, there there's something that you realize, you realize that there's always going to be some type of doubt um with people because some some things are just new, some things you know, people just can't, you know, see or believe because they already have you know you know premeditated thoughts regarding this. And so so for me, when somebody comes into that, it doesn't make me mad, but it but it makes me want to understand as far as oh okay, I I see that you feel that way, but let me show you something. You know what I'm saying? Come over here for a second, let me let me let me talk to you and let me continue to to build with you and continue to have that belief with you. And I think the the biggest piece with us is being able to, you know, um have those opportunities to connect with students. Um, I can truly say, Halton, that you know, having counseling homeroom Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, uh, I think it answers some of those doubts and some of those questions as far as uh virtual, you know, for us counseling in the virtual setting. Because when they get to see you and experiencing you every day for those, you know, for literally 60 minutes a week, then it makes them see, oh wow, it is counseling here in the virtual world. Oh man, look at all this wonderful information that I have. Oh man, let me create an appointment with my counselor because in these home rooms, I'm actually seeing the information that they provide me that I need, and I want to talk with them as well. Um, in these, you know, in the home room, I'm actually able to say, Hey, you know, saying, How you doing, Mardasha? You know, everything's good with you. I'm able to build those connections and it allows them to be able to see that, man, you know, we are genuine people. We have the title as a counselor, but we genuinely love and are here to support you. And it creates a euphoric feeling for them that allows them to believe that there is real counseling in the virtual world, there is not a disconnectivity. Uh, you know, I've had where students have been like, hey man, I I I wish you know some of our classes were just like our homeroom because they feel that connectivity there as well. And in our department, we make that uh a must. It's it's essential for us because by us being able to do that, it creates those pieces where the doubt goes away, the belief comes in, and at the end of the day, um, you know, they're coming to us on a consistent basis, uh, reaching out to us for support and making sure that they have what they need to reach their academic career and personal goals.

SPEAKER_01 32:22

Yeah. You could also tell them to just listen to this episode, right? Because you have totally just nailed uh nailed it in terms of like all the different ways that we make counseling work here online. Leave us with this, uh, Derek. Last question for you. What would you say is the biggest lesson or maybe a lesson that you've learned about supporting students? You know, you've said that you've been doing it uh 18 years total. I think you said you've been doing it six at GCA. So through all those years, like what's something that you've learned really about supporting students uh as a high school counselor in a virtual school?

SPEAKER_00 33:02

Definitely, definitely, definitely. So for me, Halton, my main thing was was that um I was gonna give students the counseling that I would want myself if I was in high school. You know, one of the things about being able to be at the age we are now is being able to be reflective, right? And being able to look back and say, hey, you know what, maybe if I had this guidance, you know, maybe I wouldn't have made this this choice. Or maybe if I knew this, um, you know, maybe you know, I could have started this this journey a bit earlier. And so I always go back to thinking about, man, what type of counsel would you want, you know, would you have would you have wanted when you were in high school? And that creates um a foundation for me as far as being able to address my address my students as well. Um, number two, man, just um not being robotic and not just feeling, you know, not not just feeling like you can't be able to let loose and be able to be yourself and have personality. The kids gravitate towards that, you know, saying the more personality, the more energy, the more passion you get to them, the more belief you create uh with them as a counselor as well. And that's what all of our counselors do here in the council department is that, man, we create that energy, uh, that belief. We're always thinking about different ways that we can uh be able to you know create just you know energy with our students as well. Um, and and that is so important. And on top of that, man, giving them love, man. Like I call them kings and queens because that's who they are. You know, they are young kings and queens in the making who are going to take over, you know, who are going to be our future and who are going to you know um be managing our future. And so to understand that we are building them uh up to be able to facilitate that and make these grand decisions and be the kings and queens of society um that makes decisions um that move us forward, um, that's important. And so if you take those components and you help them to you know feel the love, uh, you know, if you create different energy with them as well, and at the end of the day, you just think about how what type of counsel you know would you want to, you know, so that you can get that to them as well, then you actually create just a synergy, Halton, with these students that doesn't make them feel like they are in a virtual world, but just makes them feel like they are in a conducive environment that supports them, that loves them, that makes them believe in themselves.

SPEAKER_01 35:17

Man, I love that. That's so good. You your guiding principle of I'm gonna counsel the way that I wish I received counseling. That's so good, Derek. So here's today's big idea. When students know they're seen, supported, and heard, wellness becomes part of the learning experience, not separate from it. Thanks again to Derek Westry for joining us and sharing his perspective. If this episode offered insight into student wellness or counseling, be sure to subscribe and join us next time on GCA Unmuted Voices of Virtual Education. Thanks, Derek.

SPEAKER_00 35:51

Thank you, Holden. My pleasure. GCA family polite.