Past USCC Events
Past USCC Events
Please check out our past USCC events below!
Lunch & Learns:
The Urban School Counseling Collaborative at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) hosted a virtual Lunch and Learn on the topic, “Securing a Job in Counselor Education.” This power hour session featured an expert panel that shared their expertise and tips for successfully navigating the job market in counselor education. Topics discussed preparing the application, preparing for the interview and job talks, and much more. The Lunch and Learn took place via Zoom on October 7, 2022 at 1pm.
The UNCC Urban School Counseling Collaborative hosted a “Lunch and Learn” on October 22, 2021, from 12-1pm and discussed navigating the grant writing process, the importance of collaboration, where to find grants, and much more.
The UNCC Urban School Counseling Collaborative introduced the “Lunch & Learn” Series. The Lunch and Learn Power Hours were designed to offer expertise in various areas of research, counseling, professional development, and so much more. USCC’s first Lunch & Learn was held on May 7, 2021 at 12-1pm via Zoom. This Lunch & Learn discussed information about navigating the research process and establishing a productive research agenda and featured UNCC professors: Dr. Sejal Foxx, Dr. Taryne Mingo, and Dr. Clare Merlin-Knoblich from the Dept. of Counseling.
Speaker Series:
USCC SPEAKER SERIES #4: “School Counselors: Negotiating the Legal and Ethical Complications of Working with Minors in Schools,” by Dr. Carolyn Stone
The Urban School Counseling Collaborative presents a Speaker Series. On Monday, August 14, 2023, from 10am-12pm, USCC hosted a Zoom session:
“School Counselors: Negotiating the Legal and Ethical Complications of Working with Minors in Schools”
The school environment poses competing interests between a student’s need for confidentiality and the legal rights of parents as established by the U.S. Supreme Court to be the guiding voice in their children’s lives. Participants analyzed legal and ethical issues through the application of court cases, ethical codes, law, and community standards. Through discussion of case studies, participants were given the opportunity to consider their actions in the context of each situation. Topics of discussion included areas such as confidentiality and duty to warn, responsibilities toward children and suicidal ideation, civil and criminal liability, sexually active minor clients, defamation, child abuse, case notes and educational records, malpractice in academic advising, sexual harassment, LGBT students, and personal conduct.
Speaker Bio
Carolyn Stone is a Professor of Counselor Educator who researches in the areas of school counselor development; legal and ethical issues. Dr. Stone was the 2006 President of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) and in July 2022 stepped down after 20 years as ASCA’s Ethics Chair where she chaired the last four revisions of the ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors. Dr. Stone was awarded ASCA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010 and the Florida School Counselor Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. Dr. Stone has written 100 legal and ethical columns for ASCA’s SchoolCounselor and the only legal and ethical book exclusively for school counselors now in the fifth edition. Dr. Stone has provided keynote addresses and/or preconferences for all 50 state school counseling associations; presented 840 presentations (approximately 700 on legal and ethical issues for school counselors) to international/national/state school counseling conferences and school districts. She has completed dozens of webinars for ASCA and guest lectures in counseling classes around the nation on legal and ethical issues. Dr. Stone hosted Michelle Obama’s third Reach Higher White House Convening in November 2015. Prior to becoming a counselor educator in 1995, Dr. Stone spent 22 years with the Duval County Public Schools in Jacksonville, Florida where she served 239 school counselors as their district-level supervisor and prior to that role was an elementary and high school counselor and middle school teacher.
USCC SPEAKER SERIES #3: “Sustainable School Wellness: Starting with the School Counselor and Reaching Students,” by Doctoral Candidate, Bethani Cogburn
The Urban School Counseling Collaborative presents a Speaker Series. On Friday, April 14, 2023, from 1-3 PM, USCC hosted a Zoom session:
“Sustainable School Wellness: Starting with the School Counselor and Reaching Students”
As mental health rates rise among students and burnout increases among school staff, it is now more important than ever for school counselors to serve as leaders of sustainable school wellness. The only way that school counselors can sustainably serve in this capacity is to first attend to and prioritize their own wellness. In the first half of this workshop, we discussed the nervous system and models of wellness, learned about strategies for being a wellness leader and engaged in experiential wellness activities. In the second half of this workshop, we engaged in discussion and experiential learning around tools and techniques that can be embedded in the comprehensive school counseling program to address whole-school wellness.
Speaker Bio
Bethani Cogburn is a third-year doctoral candidate in Counselor Education and Supervision at UNC Charlotte. She was an urban secondary school counselor for six years, working with a range of populations and programs, from Title I to public Montessori. Throughout this time, she developed a passion for nature-supported education, mindful movement, and creative expression as avenues for social-emotional learning and wellness in schools. Since beginning her doctoral career, Bethani has had a spectrum of teaching, research, and supervision experiences. For the past few semesters, she has been working as a graduate research assistant with low-income engineering college students; this has given her the opportunity to publish her first paper on cultural wealth and present at the International Conference for Urban Education in Mexico this past year. She has had teaching experiences in the professional school counseling, group counseling, and multicultural counseling courses. For her dissertation project, she plans to explore low-income engineering college students’ experiences of eco-wellness.
USCC SPEAKER SERIES #2: “Hidden in Plain Sight: Identifying and Supporting the Needs of Students Impacted by Homelessness,” by Dr. Ami Waller, Ph.D., NCC
The Urban School Counseling Collaborative presents a Speaker Series. On Monday, March 27, 2023, from 12-2:00 PM, USCC hosted a Zoom session:
“Hidden in Plain Sight: Identifying and Supporting the Needs of Students Impacted by Homelessness”
This presentation addressed the types of homelessness and presented specific strategies for identifying students who are homeless, and supporting their academic, personal, social-emotional, and postsecondary needs.
Speaker Bio
Dr. Waller is an Assistant Professor of Counselor Education at East Carolina University. Prior to becoming a counselor educator, Dr. Waller served as a high school counselor in Charlottesville, VA where she supported the academic, personal, social-emotional, and post-secondary development of students. In addition, she has professional experience working in community agency settings as a counselor for adolescents at-risk of out-of-home placement and a case manager for adolescents in foster care.
Dr. Waller is passionate about educating and training future generations of culturally responsive school counselors. She has examined through research the efficacy of school counselors supporting students experiencing homelessness, multicultural counseling and social justice advocacy, and child-centered play therapy. Moreover, Dr. Waller has presented at national, regional, and state conferences and has publications in several flagship journals such as Counselor Education and Supervision, Professional School Counselor, Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, and International Journal of Play Therapy.
USCC SPEAKER SERIES #1: “Found in Translation,” by Dr. Maylee Vazquez, Ph.D., NCC
The Urban School Counseling Collaborative presents a Speaker Series. On Friday, November 11, 2022, from 12-1:30 PM, USCC hosted a Zoom session:
“Found in Translation”
Language is at the center of counseling. Aside from basic communication, language helps to establish and build trusting relationships between client and counselor. It assists counselors in understanding cultural influence in the client’s thoughts and experiences. With the raising demand for bilingual counselors, it is vital to prepare new professionals beyond learning a new language or understanding cultural differences. In this presentation, Dr. Vazquez explored the preparation of bilingual counselors and discussed the impact of personal cultural beliefs within the counseling session.
Speaker Bio
Dr. Vazquez is currently an Assistant Professor at North Carolina A&T University. She is a graduate of the Counselor Education & Supervision Program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dr. Vazquez is a Licensed Professional School Counselor (K-12), Licensed Professional Counselor Associate, and National Certified Counselor in the state of North Carolina. Dr. Vazquez has a certification in College Counseling and Student Affairs. A former NBCC Minority Fellow, her research interests include equity access in education, Latinx family functioning and community development, and ethnic and minority issues. She is currently interested in exploring facets of burnout and promoting best practices.
Affinity Group:
The Urban Education Collaborative (UEC) and The Urban School Counseling Collaborative (USCC) worked together to reestablish the UNCC College of Education (COED) Diversity Affinity Group for Students of Color.
The information on topics is below:
Fall 2022 Schedule:
October 18th – “Navigating Spaces” – Networking as Students of Color/Mentorship
November 15th – “How to Get Started” – Research Collaboration
December 6th – Holiday Self-Care Drop-in
Spring 2023 Schedule:
January – “Finding Resources” – Grant Writing & Funding
February – “Entering the Job Market” – CV & Interviewing
March – “Navigating Faculty Relationships”
April – “Maintaining your Wellness” – Self-Care Strategies & Affirmations
