Edwardsville High School Counselor Offers One-on-One Postsecondary Planning
EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville High School has introduced an exciting new position to help students prepare for life after high school.
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Samantha Kistner took on the role of college/career counselor last year. In this position, she works with seniors to fill out college applications, complete financial aid applications, apply to trade schools, and generally prepare for their next steps. She also works with juniors on SAT testing and one-on-one conversations about their postsecondary plans. The goal, Kistner noted, is to support students through whatever they want to do.
“As stressful as the job can be and as busy as it keeps me, it’s very rewarding because I like being able to ease some stress and anxiety with families and students if I can, and I just love being a resource,” Kistner said. “I’m hoping to just keep growing the program. I try to bring as many resources I can to our students because we’re a huge population here. I think the more that you put into these kids, the more they’ll bring back to the community and the world.”
Kistner has worked in the Edwardsville Community Unit School District #7 for over 10 years, most of which she spent as a comprehensive counselor. In this role, she helped students think about life after high school, but she was also balancing social-emotional concerns and scheduling tasks.
She was excited when the district introduced the college/career counselor position. Her time as a comprehensive counselor helped prepare her, but now she is eager to focus specifically on supporting kids in this stage of postsecondary planning. She recognizes this can be a difficult time for students, many of whom need guidance.
“It’s hard to give kids a more one-on-one approach for something that is so major in their life and something that can be so confusing and hard to navigate,” she said. “When it comes to this time, it’s a unique situation. Everybody is asking these almost-adults, ‘What do you want to do with your life?’ But at the same time, they’re still a 17-year-old kid, and so it's definitely balancing that. We’ve got to figure out what we want to do, but also, I see you. You’re 17. You’re still trying to figure out who you are at this point.”
This is Kistner’s job, to support students in this decision-making process. She also works hard to connect with universities, trade schools, and other organizations so students have more opportunities. She noted that she is happy to guide students through whatever route they want to take.
Some kids have had their lives planned since sixth grade, while others have never thought about their postsecondary plans, Kistner said. She enjoys working with the variety of students and their unique paths.
She was “thrilled” to take on this position, and she hopes more Edwardsville High School students take the time to come to her. Her goal is to alleviate some of the stress and encourage students as they reach their goals.
“Come see me and utilize me,” Kistner added. “I may not know all of the answers, but you have a person here willing to go find them and search for them and just help in any way I can.”
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