Rachael C. Marshall, PhD Candidate in Counselor Education, was given the 2017 Tennessee Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (TACES) Outstanding Doctoral Student Award at the Tennessee Counseling Association Annual Conference in Nashville, TN last month.

“I am honored by this award. Our department faculty helps us feel proud of our accomplishments. We all work so hard in our programs and it is nice when that work is acknowledged.”

This TACES award recognizes doctoral students who exceed the already typically high demands of doctoral work in a Tennessee counselor education program. Recipients have demonstrated excellence in scholarship, teaching, supervision, clinical work, service, program development, leadership, and/or advocacy for disadvantaged students, clients, or the counseling profession.

Marshall also said, “No work is done alone and I have many amazing supporting people in my life. I greatly appreciate all that.”

TACES is a branch of the American Counseling Association (ACA) and a division of the Tennessee Counseling Association (TCA). Its purpose is to foster the development of counselor education and supervision in the state, as well as providing an organization for members to exchange ideas, seek solutions, stimulate professional growth, and improve standards of professional services.

School Counseling

Anderson earned an EdS with the School Counseling program in 2006. Originally from Knoxville, she still lives and works in the city. We asked her to reflect on past experiences with EPC and discuss where she’s at now. Read her responses below.

Current Occupation

Facilitator
Secondary School Counseling at Knox County Schools

As a facilitator, I am responsible for training, professional development, and program development for middle and high school counselors in the district.

Awards and Accomplishments Earned as a Student

• Eugene and Mary Sue Akins Graduate Fellowship
• For the most part, I was working full-time at UT Knoxville while getting my EdS. As Director of Undergraduate Academic Services, I was responsible for First Year Studies, National Student Exchange, Undergraduate Academic Appeals Committee, and the academic programming for the Volunteer Living-Learning Community.
• At the end of my studies, I left my full-time job for a graduate assistantship in Career Services to finish my EdS.
• During my internship, I was offered an interim position at Ball Camp Elementary school where I served as M.A.P.S. Counselor for three days a week.

Accomplishments since Graduating

The most touching honor I received was receiving the W. R. Turner Award in 2011. This award was the top award given by students to faculty. When I was honored,  it was the first and only time a School Counselor was honored. The fact that it was given by students meant the world to me because, to quote a wise principal (John Bartlett), “It’s about the students.”

The next greatest honor was being in the top 16 semi-finalists and the first cohort of school counselors to be honored at the White House! The recognition that this award ceremony gave school counselors across the country was a pivotal moment for our profession. It was not about the personal honor; but rather about the importance of our work being recognized. I’ve seen conversations shift locally, statewide, regionally, and in the country about the importance of school counseling.

Personal Interests

Writing, walking, public speaking, humorous skits. As a mother, I have been an advocate at local, regional, and national fronts to enrich families whose lives have been graced with Down syndrome.

What do you think was the most rewarding/challenging about this program?

Completing the program while working full-time and raising two children was personally rewarding. It was a challenge that seemed extremely difficult, but when sitting in the movie theater with my son during my first “summer” as a secondary educator and hearing Nathan say, “This is awesome!” I knew then that the challenge was worth it.

What was the most memorable experience during your time here?

Joel Diambra’s TMI moment during Group.

How did your experiences as a student help you in your professional/personal life after graduation?

I think the single most significant experience as a student that shaped my professional life after graduation was Jeanine Studer’s encouraging us to become involved in our state organizations. Myself and many of my classmates became and are still active in SMCA, TCA, and TSCA. The connections made across Tennessee have helped shaped me as a professional in ways I would not have grown otherwise.

“If you can keep the well-being of students at the center of your work, most everything else will fall into place.” – Beverly Dickerson Anderson

Associate Department Head &
Director of Graduate Studies

Joel F. Diambra joined the University of Tennessee in 1999 in the Counseling, Deafness, and Human Services Department. Diambra has been part of the Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling since 2003. He currently serves as associate department head and director of graduate studies in EPC and is an associate professor in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Counselor Education, and School Counseling programs. We asked him to reflect on his experiences. Read his responses below.

What are some different roles you’ve served at UT and/or within EPC?
At UT, I was an assistant professor and now associate professor. I currently serve as a member of the Graduate School Student Diversity Enhancement Committee. I’ve also served on the Faculty Senate and Athletic Committee for a 3-year term. I’ve enjoyed being a Ronald McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program Mentor for a number of years, Office of Disability Services Admissions Appeals Committee member, visited incoming freshmen via House Calls, facilitated Life of the Mind to incoming freshmen, and teach two ongoing FYS 129 courses.

Within EPC I’ve served as a Human Services Field Experience Coordinator, Peer Mentoring Coordinator, School and Clinical Mental Health Program Committee Faculty Member, Counselor Education PhD Program Coordinator, and most recently Associate Department Head and Director of Graduate Studies. I have served as committee member and currently serve as a search chair for a faculty position search.

What are a few of your most recent accomplishments?
I recently won a state award and had three very recent efforts that led to students presenting and publishing for the first time.

1. In November 2015, the Tennessee Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Chapter honored me with the Charles Thompson Counselor Educator of the Year Award.
2. Brittany Pollard, Rose Gamble, Bre Banks and I just had Teaching a Human Sexuality Course: What are Students Thinking? accepted for publication in the American Journal of Sexuality Education.
3. Eric Heidel, John Breckner, Jeannine Studer and I just received notification that Psychometric Properties of the School Counselor National Model® Activity Scale (SCNMAS) will be published in the upcoming Tennessee Counseling Association Journal.
4. In December 2015, Brooke Bagley (CMHC alumnus and current clinical supervisee) and I had our ACA presentation and subsequent manuscript focused on her work as a Sexual Assault Crisis Counselor accepted for publication in Counseling Today. I believe this is Brooke’s first publication. She was also accepted to present a workshop on this topic at the Tennessee Counseling Association and Smoky Mountain Counseling Association.
5. I have been providing supervision to 3 current doctoral students with a focus on diversity/multiculturalism: Jennifer Moralejo, Derrick Shepard, and Nathan West. With their leadership, we submitted a newsletter manuscript outlining our efforts and it was accepted for publication in the Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (SACES) Newsletter. We also submitted proposals regarding our efforts to conduct a Tennessee Counseling Association workshop and American Counseling Association poster session, coming spring 2016 in Montreal, Canada. Both were accepted. I find great satisfaction in assisting current and former students achieve accomplishments for the first time.

In an attempt to help others first coming to UT, complete the following statement: If I knew then what I know now about UT, I would…

1. Buy a bicycle or hover board as my work transportation. You can park a whole lot easier and closer without a car.
2. Start boasting about UT sports. Over time, I’ve been amazed at a how well UT does nationally in various athletic venues: women’s basketball, women’s softball, track and field, swimming/diving, tennis, men’s basketball, and men’s football. “It’s great… to be… a Tennessee Vol.”

What do you think you would be doing if you weren’t in academia?
I can think of three things I’d likely be doing:

1. Buying low and selling high. 🙂 One of my hobbies is purchasing cars and motorcycles (and just about anything if the price is right), repairing them, enjoying them for a period of time and selling them for a profit.
2. I would likely be building a counseling practice too. Before entering academia, I had already established my own private practice and considered expanding the practice to include a host of other therapists to provide comprehensive therapeutic services.
3. I would likely be living overseas or traveling/living for long stretches of time in foreign lands. I back packed around the world for one year when I was 23 and could easily see myself moving to, settling-in, and working in different countries for about 1-3 year stints.

What sold you on UT?
The faculty. When I interviewed I was impressed with the faculty. They were bright, energetic, warm, genuine, challenging, and supportive. I had applied for a position in Australia and was one of three finalists. Australia was my 1st choice; however, I ended up being their 2^nd choice. I remember being so disappointed until I received an amazing follow-up email after my interview from Sky Huck. I cried when I read his email, realizing UT Knoxville was really the right place for me. I still have that email.

What do you think has been the most rewarding about your work in EPC?
In my role as a professor, it is most rewarding to assist students in achieving new accomplishments (e.g., presenting or publishing). As an administrator, realizing overall just how amazing and strong (i.e., students, staff, and faculty) we are as a department!

Name one fact about yourself that most people don’t know.
I lived in Brazil as a child, married in Japan during my world-wide backpacking trip, and minored in Japanese and Southeast Asian Studies. Okay, that’s 3 facts. I’m also very good at not following directions. Oops, 4 facts.