Written by: Cheyenne Brading and Flora Wade
High school includes some of the most important years of any student's life. It is the foundation of what we learn and what we know; it teaches us social skills, academic skills and personal skills. But we don't always know where to start, that's where counselors like Jennifer Martin come in.
Martin, who recently announced her retirement from Salem High School after 17 years, didn't always plan to be a counselor. She started out teaching and often thought about going back to school to do more with helping students or something along that profession. But the opportunity arose quickly and she took it.
“I got to be counselor faster than I thought I would but I have not regretted it,” she said.
She was hired at Salem alongside Chris Mahuron, who was previously a seventh grade teacher before becoming a counselor herself. Mahuron respected Martin a lot throughout their career together, having taken note of her addition to the school and staff as a whole.
“Mrs. Martin brought experience, ideas and networking capabilities along with her vast knowledge of counseling, diploma requirements, the college process, and all that goes with scholarships, financial aid, etc.,” she said.
Mahuron added that Martin introduced many services into the school, such as LifeSpring. She influenced Mahuron and motivated her to keep going and better herself as a coworker and friend. Martin had a desire to help kids be their best and Mahuron saw that.
“Her desire to see students succeed drives her actions to make sure they do. Some get upset by how hard she pushes sometimes, but those same students are often the ones who come back with the sincerest thank yous,” she said.
Martin took pride as a counselor, finding connections with students and teachers through her work. She often found that the most rewarding part of her job was seeing her students and peers grow into successful adults.
She demonstrated her strong leadership skills with the new sophomore/freshman counselor Andrea Pitcock, who was hired last summer at the high school. She has helped transition Pitcock into her first year of counseling at SHS seamlessly.
“Mrs. Martin has been a wonderful mentor to me this year, and I can't thank her enough for her leadership and support,” Pitcock said. “She has such a wealth of knowledge and wisdom in her field, and I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to work with her.”
Some students, like junior Audrey Bower, viewed Martin as a friend just as much as a counselor. She received help from Martin in the beginning of the year with her schedule. She influenced a lot of Bower’s decisions with her classes and helped fix any errors.
“She is the person you go to for almost anything, she always has something to help,” she said.
Bower reflected on personal moments with Martin, one such memory is when Martin came into her English class and requested a cookie that Bower had homemade.
“It sounds silly but it meant a lot to me that she wanted to try one,” said Bower, “She was always so kind to everyone.”
Next year, administrators will be working with a newly-hired career coach to help fill a gap between students and their decided futures. This coach is not deemed a specific grade level counselor, but someone who will help organize the new graduation plans for the incoming eighth graders. The board hired Karen Barry to fill that role at their last school board meeting. The career coach will not replace the role of the grade level counselors, but will work alongside them.
Martin hopes that in the upcoming years the counselors will enjoy their position as much as she has.
Her decision to retire was not an easy one; there were a lot of factors that led her to consider retirement. A major one was the changes made at the state level that required so much more from counselors. She came to a point where she felt like she couldn't help students due to the time she had to take out for the state.
“We used to have four counselors at school when I started, and now we have two, so now we have twice the work as we did,” said Martin. “I just felt like I was getting to the point where I couldn't work with the students as much and had to do all this other stuff.¨
She stressed that she is not unavailable in her retirement, she plans to still work as a substitute for the school and mentioned that students can contact her through social media. She plans to meet with the junior class at the start of next year and go over things she hopes they will complete by the end of their senior year.
When asked if Martin had any advice for the next counselor taking her place, she replied that they should connect with the students and staff. She emphasized taking a breath and taking it a day at a time.
Martin, who spent 29 years in the field of education, worked closely with her students, whether it was personal or a schedule change, she found the best route and helped create a safe and welcoming environment. She will always be missed as she was the core of Salem High School.
“It's never been a job to me,” said Martin “It’s a passion.”
Watch SLNN's interview with Martin here: