I was 15 years into my career as a professional school counselor when I met a young man who opened my eyes to the life of navigating the education system as a student with undocumented citizenship status. I was working in an upper-middle-class suburban high school in South Texas. This
Tag: immigration
In a small village resting in a valley watched over by a medieval castle, the women made their morning rounds. At each house, they were met by the same ritual. A warm greeting with a kiss on each cheek, an invitation to sit and at least three rounds of offerings:
Millions of human trafficking victims exist across the globe. In the United States, hundreds of thousands of victims experience trafficking. As society expands and evolves, human trafficking perpetrators find new ways to recruit and victimize others. The evolution of perpetration ensues because of increases in accessing technology, shifting state and
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of July 1, 2015, Latina/os made up approximately 56.5 million of the total U.S. population, making them the largest ethnic or racial minority in the country. The Latina/o population is projected to grow to 120 million by the year 2060. The question on
I love my job, my calling, as a counselor educator, and I take my role and passion as a graduate student advocate, public innovator and social justice change agent to heart every single day. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” His
The phrase undocumented immigrant, or its less charitable counterpart, illegal alien, tends to cause a stir in the media. The focus is on the paperwork, the lack of permission or legal status to be in the United States. However, for counselors to work effectively with this population, it is helpful
An innovative partnership in North Carolina is pairing counseling graduate students from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with clients of a free medical clinic nearby. Many of these clients are recent immigrants. According to those involved with the effort, the partnership provides the student interns with a chance
In Russia, counseling is often not considered a substantial profession. Unfortunately, the same is true for any country that used to be a part of the USSR. A very limited number of nonmedical-model counseling centers exist, particularly in rural parts of the country. The sad truth, however, is that most
They come by air, land and sea. In airplanes, on overcrowded boats, aboard shipping vessels, by train or even on foot. They are immigrants and refugees looking for the same things as previous generations of people who willingly came to the United States: hope, sanctuary and the possibility of a
“New word” is the empathic statement I find myself frequently using with my ninth-grade refugee group. As I attempt to explain what emotions are and as I ask each student how they are feeling today, I teach them a new word. That word being “mood.” When we discuss “stereotypes” and