Michelle Obama stunned the 2018 School Counselor of the Year honoree when she called her Thursday to congratulate her on the award. The former first lady also informed Kirsten Perry that she would introduce her at the ceremony. 

“It’s because of school counselors like Kirsten Perry that our young people dream a little bigger, and reach a little higher,” Obama wrote in a tweet.

Perry has been a middle school counselor for six years, and she's worked in her current position at Lawndale Community Academy in Chicago, Illinois, for about two years. 

When speaking on why she decided to become a counselor, Perry told College Board, “I felt unfulfilled, and felt I had so much more to give. I chose school counseling specifically because I wanted to be able to help youth like myself stay on track from a young age.”

She credits her friends and family for leading her in right direction after she struggled with school. Perry explained to College Board that she had a lack of passion for education as a young adult, became pregnant at age 18, and she struggled to raise her son while his father was in-and-out of jail for gang activity. 

At Lawndale Community Academy, Perry works with students from diverse backgrounds and aims to prepare them for college by teaching time management, organizational skills, goal setting, ACT/SAT preparation skills, and prevention tactics for the real world. 

“I address topics related to dropping out – sex education, drug prevention, and gang prevention. The goal is to get students thinking about their futures, seeing how their work and choices made in middle school are preparing them for success in high school,” Perry said.

While these topics are valuable to students, Perry also provides familial support to parents and guardians. She also helps to educate families about financial planning, grants and scholarships so college can be seen as attainable.    

When reflecting on the advice she would give to other counselors, Perry said: “You will learn the first third of what you need to know during your coursework; you will learn the second third of what you need to know during your internship; and you will learn the final third of what you need to know during your first year as a professional school counselor. In other words, do not feel like you know everything. You are still learning, and it is OK not to know what to do sometimes.”

The 2018 Counselor of the Year award ceremony will take place in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 2. Obama's involvement in the ceremony is continued from when she began hosting it in 2015. 

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