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Folge 76: Counselor Appreciation Week mit Pahoran Marquez

Sup with the Sup
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Folge 76: Counselor Appreciation Week mit Pahoran Marquez
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Welcome everyone to this week’s episode of Provo City School District’s What’s Up With The Sup’ Podcast. I am Superintendent Wendy Dau, and this week is National School Counselor Appreciation Week. So for today’s episode, I wanted to speak with one of our amazing school counselors. I am joined by Pahoran Marquez, the lead school counselor at Provo High School, and he’s going to talk about the many roles a school counselor plays and how they help our students every day.

You’re going to love this analogy that he uses that counselors are at the heart of the school. So pay attention to that because they do a lot more than we traditionally think of when we think of a school counselor.

First, let me give you our updates.

  • The district will be hosting two parent nights.
    • The first meeting will be on February 11th at Centennial Middle School between 6 p.m.
    • The second will be on March 5th at Shoreline Middle School between 6 and 7:30 p.m.
    • At these events, parents can find support for topics related to mental health, substance abuse, suicide prevention, and internet safety, connect with resources for child care therapy, psychological assessment, food, housing, and other needs, and they can visit with other parents and community organizations, such as the United Way, Empowered Parents, Wasatch Behavioral Health, Central Espanol, SafeUT, Provo Fire, and more.
  • The district will be hosting two information nights to discuss lease revenue bonds and the district’s upcoming plans to use a lease revenue bond to finish construction at Timpview and begin the design phase for the Dixon site.
    • The first meeting will be held on February 13th at 6 o’clock p.m. in the choir room at Timpview High School.
    • The second meeting will be held on February 20th at 6 o’clock p.m. in the auditorium of the old Dixon Middle School. Myself, Superintendent Dau, our business administrator, Devin Daly, and several school board members will be there to answer questions and to talk about the need for these lease revenue bonds and how we want to be accountable and transparent to our Provo community so that you know what impact this will have on your family.
  • The next school board meeting will be on Tuesday, February 11th. The study session will take place in boardroom one and the business meeting will be in the Professional Development Center. Public comment is welcome during the business meeting and the business meeting begins at seven o’clock p.m.
    • Please check the district website for start times for the study session and for specific agenda items as the meeting gets closer.
  • Continue watching for my weekly video casts in your email every Monday. These video casts provide one place for you to learn about important things happening across the district.
  • And please stay engaged with your Utah state legislators. Our Utah legislative session is ongoing. There are many bills that are tied to education.
    • Stay up on these as they affect our families and our students, and make sure that your voices are heard by reaching out to your legislators. If you would like to contact legislators, we can direct you to those individuals, or you can also look at the Utah State Legislative website for information about your specific representation.

And now let’s talk with our guest about School Counselor Week and the roles that counselors play in the lives of our students. Welcome everyone to this week’s podcast of What’s Up With The Sup’. I am here with Pahoran Marquez. He is our head counselor at Provo High School. Welcome to our podcast.

Pahoran Marquez: Hi, thank you so much for having me.

Wendy Dau: Tell us a little bit about how long you’ve been at Provo High and how long you’ve been a counselor there.

Pahoran Marquez: Yeah. So this is my fifth year at Provo High School.

Wendy Dau: Okay.

Pahoran Marquez: Um, I’ve been there since I graduated from my program. And so I, I graduated. I applied for the job, I got the job and I’ve been there since then.

Wendy Dau: Das ist großartig.

What made you want to be a counselor? Tell us a little bit about kind of that pathway because it is counselor appreciation week. So we want to honor the great work that all of our counselors do. So tell us how you ended up in this great profession.

Pahoran Marquez: Yeah. For me. It’s been a journey, right?

I don’t think I necessarily said since I was a little kid, I want to be a school counselor. And that’s, it’s something I share with my students too, when we talk about classes and what they want to do for life, things like that. I always tell them it’s a journey. And for me, that was the case. I grew up in Mexico and I started doing my education there.

But I did it through a pathway program. So online, things like that. And originally I was majoring in healthcare administration. I thought I was going to do something kind of like finance in a hospital setting, you know, but at the time I was taking my psychology class and I just fell in love with psychology and human behavior and understanding why we as humans do what we do.

And so at some point I said, if I’m able to go to the U.S. and, you know, finish my education there, I want to change my major to psychology. And that happened. Uh, I was able to go to Rexburg in Idaho. I went to BYU, Idaho. I changed my major. And at the time there were some concentrations and one of them was health.

So. That’s where the journey started. I, I did psychology. I, I loved psychology, but I didn’t know that I needed to get a master’s degree. Right. Oh, yeah. In order to do some counseling, because at the time I was like, you know what, I, I would like to help people. Right, right. And to, uh, counsel them or do some kind of therapy, things like that.

So I did some exploration, career exploration. I, I evaluated my options. I also felt like I needed to combine things that I liked. I liked teaching. I love to be able to see in someone’s expression. happiness when they learn a new concept. And for me it was, how can I combine education, teaching and counseling?

Is there something related to that? And so that’s how I came across to the school counseling program. And I just liked it. And when I started my program and taking the classes and doing internship, I knew that I was doing the right thing for me in terms of my career. So in school counseling, because it combines both teaching, having crucial conversations with students, but also in a different setting.

In my, in my office, I can have those conversations, but at the same time I can go into the classroom and teach about a particular topic, right?

Wendy Dau: Ja.

Pahoran Marquez: College, career exploration, colleges, mental health too. And so I think I have the best of both worlds teaching and counseling in one.

Wendy Dau: You can kind of work with students in a slightly larger group.

I don’t think many people realize that counselors actually go out into classrooms and it’s not just these one on one sessions that you’re doing a ton to support students outside of that. I don’t think people realize that, right?

Pahoran Marquez: No, no. And in my experience, when I have asked. people, Hey, what was your experience with your counselor?

They say, well, I just met with my counselor one or twice just to talk about a class and that’s it. They don’t know what it takes to become a school counselor. And they’re really the impact that we can have in the school, right? In the classrooms, individually, in meetings with stakeholders and community council and, uh, 504 meetings and IEP meetings and how we, our role is to really advocate for a student in multiple ways and at different levels.

Wendy Dau: I love that. I feel like always the counselors were kind of like an extension almost of the administrative team because you guys always inform our administrators on things that we don’t know that will help us to help kids better. So it’s so incredible the work that you do.

Pahoran Marquez: Yeah. The American School Counseling Association defines the school counselors as the heart of the school.

Because of that same reason, we are able to connect to students at a different level, right? Yep. Because we get to see them, uh, to choose classes, but we also create that connection with them and say, hey, Jamie, uh, how’s your day been? Right. And when we have those conversations in a casual setting too, it’s just allow students to create that bond with us.

That is what allows us to help them even more, right. When we need to advocate for, for the students in different capacities.

Wendy Dau: And it sounds like your journey has really helped you to be able to help students because you’re able to say to them, hey, what you’re thinking you might want to do right now might not be what you end up doing.

And so there are some ways in which you can actually kind of open up some of those opportunities in a better way in high school even.

Pahoran Marquez: Yeah. And, and I think when, when they hear that from an adult, I think it gives them a sense of relief almost, right? Because they’re like, you get me, you understand what I’m going through.

I didn’t know exactly what I want to do with my life, but hearing from you that you try a million things, right, gives me hope that, okay, I can do this too, right? And it’s okay to explore different things and to go into different careers. And it’s okay to change my mind at some point if I want a different major, because I want to feel good with the things that I’m doing, right, in my career. So,

Wendy Dau: Yeah, we’re going to be spending a long time in these careers. Right. And so we want it to be something that’s really fulfilling. Tell me what a typical day looks like for you specifically at Provo High School.

Pahoran Marquez: Um, well, every day is similar, but completely different.

In my case, um, meeting with students right now we’re in the CCR season or college and career readiness. So tons of meetings with students and families to talk about their career goals and plans for the future, choose classes. But really sometimes those are meetings I need to meet with administration as a department chair to talk about how we can support students at a different level.

Right. They, they have specific questions and sometimes they ask for input from counselors in how they can do certain activities at the school level that have a bigger impact on students. I also have a meeting with our special education coordinator where we talk about how we can support our students with an IEP, right?

And we, we have to make decisions also for referrals, right, where there are some concerns that we get from teachers and, and families even. So advocacy in that, in that regard too.

Wendy Dau: You’re like the hub of everything. So like that heart of the school, you’re seeing, I’m seeing that as you’re just describing your day, right?

Pahoran Marquez: Yeah, exactly. And that day also could include a presentation. Today, especially, we had our Utah Higher Education Day.

Wendy Dau: Ja!

Pahoran Marquez: So we also have counselors in the hallways, walking around, visiting classrooms, seeing firsthand what students are learning from our presenters. Coordinating with our College and Career Readiness Center as well at FAFSA nights.

And we also have. To, or we get to, uh, organize other meetings for our incoming freshmen like Dixon in the past. Dixon and now Shoreline. No, shoreline.

Wendy Dau: I know. It’s okay. It’s okay. We still call it Dixon and it’s all right.

Pahoran Marquez: But as you see, like a lot of activities, a lot of things are happening and counselors are involved in every single one of them.

Sometimes my day could be meeting with a student and to say, Hey, let’s work on. Putting a folder together with all of your assignments. So you make sure that you turn them in and you don’t lose points. And, and sometimes my day also includes responding to crisis event, even when a student is having a bad day, a lot of things are going on at the same time.

We respond to those crisis too. And then we collaborate where a social worker still say, Hey, this student needs extra support, let’s meet together and discuss how we can help the student better. So. So that’s my every day. It’s similar in nature, but at the same time, completely different. And you don’t know, it’s kind of like a box of chocolates.

You don’t know what you’re going to get.

Wendy Dau: It’s always going to be good.

Pahoran Marquez: Exactly. It’s always good, but you don’t know what’s going to happen.

Wendy Dau: I think one of the things that I’ve had to explain to people is they try to ask, Why do you need both counselors and social workers? And I tried to explain to them the roles that each one plays.

Talk a little bit about that and the collaboration and how that’s helpful in a school to have these different layers of support for students, because sometimes people don’t understand that they’re different roles, but we’re all working towards the same thing.

Pahoran Marquez: Yes. For school counselors, every grade level, we have a different emphasis, right?

We do the same things, but in a different way. And the emphasis is different. A lot of the times, elementary, middle school is more for that social emotional development because of the nature of the age group, high school, because we are helping them to move on to the next chapter in life, which is either college, vocational or career, right?

We do a little bit more of the college readiness, right? However. We also help with mental health. The difference between social workers and school counselors is, the way I see it is, school counselors are kind of like the front desk, right? We always know what to refer students when they have questions in terms of classes or additional support for ACT testing or additional support in mental health, right?

So our social workers, we’re normally do the long term mental health support, counselors will do short term counseling, right?

Wendy Dau: Richtig.

Pahoran Marquez: And this is where the collaboration part comes into play, right? Either with our school psychologist, um, social workers, the special education, but we are at the center. We were, we are the first one who to respond to the needs of our students, emotionally, academically, developmentally, psychologically, physically, everything.

Like, this is why, again, the school counselors are at the heart of the school because we, we normally know a lot of things, right? Like, what do you refer to a student when they need extra support after school program, right? Or who their assigned administrator is, or what a specific policy on something is.

Again, we’re at the center of what is happening in the school. And so I would say. academics, social emotional development, um, mental health, obviously, and, and really advocacy and, and collaborating with other, other people.

Wendy Dau: Yeah. You’re always keeping the student at the center of what you do and figuring out all of the different components that that student needs to be successful in school, because it’s not just the academic skills.

They need all of the other pieces as well to thrive.

Pahoran Marquez: To provide a safe space for our students, right? I always tell, you know what? Sometimes we have amazing days and we want to share good news with someone. I’m here for you as your counselor. I want to hear all of those things. I want to be part of your life in that regard, right?

Wendy Dau: Richtig.

Pahoran Marquez: And sometimes I tell, sometimes we have not super great days and we still need someone we can say, hey, can you listen for a minute? I’m just. Not having a good day because of, I don’t know, friendships or relationships or uncertainty or whatever is in their minds. The important thing for me as their counselor is to make sure they know they have someone in the building they can go to and talk to in a safe space, right?

They can speak freely. I always tell them, if you want to come and tell me about your crush, you know, you can come and tell me, if you can tell me about, um, prom or whatever, I’m here for you. That’s the most important thing. They know. They have someone in the building who can listen to them.

Wendy Dau: That’s really key to helping kids feel connected to school.

They need to have at least one adult they can go to that they see as their ally. Right. So that becomes really important. What’s the best part about your job? What’s your favoritest?

Pahoran Marquez: I’m going to say having those conversations with my students because I get to see how they have changed with time.

Wendy Dau: Oh, yeah.

Pahoran Marquez: When I see them as freshmen the first year.

Wendy Dau: It’s so different.

Pahoran Marquez: Exactly. To, uh, four years later when they’re ready for graduation and I get to have those conversations and say, hey, tell me about your experience when I cleared them before graduation, right? What do you learn? What is something that you will always take forever with you now that you are moving on to the next chapter in life, right?

What is something that you appreciate it? Yeah. That from the school, right? Something that we can improve even right. To help the next generation and in general, just to see them grow and change, to see how they have become a different person, the things they have learned with time, their own experiences to me is the most rewarding thing when I see them succeed, not only in academics, which is what we do as a school, right? But just in life, just to say, hey, I learned this. I, I, now I know how to have a crucial conversation with a, with another person, right? Conflict resolution. I know how to need to be intentional when I’m, when making decisions in terms of my schooling, in terms of life and things like that.

So for me, those crucial conversations are the most. important part of my job and the ones that I really enjoy the most.

Wendy Dau: And they’re the most important for our students to like, to be able to navigate all of the different things that are on their plates, you know, especially in high school.

Pahoran Marquez: Sometimes we say a lot of things, right?

Between academics and some of the things. And I’ve had amazing experiences when a student, after four years, they come back and say, Hey, do you remember when you told me this? And sometimes I don’t even remember, like, what did I say? And they’re like, you said this, this, this, and this. And that is what make a huge change in how I was looking at, you know, at something.

And because of that, now I want to do this. Or now I feel like I can do, I can be successful. I can do all those things. And so it’s, it’s incredible the impact we can have on people, even with small and simple things sometimes that we say, or sometimes that we do. And to show them that we care, that we are there for them, that we see them.

That’s. Something very powerful to me.

Wendy Dau: I think it is too. I think that our students do want to be seen. And sometimes I don’t always know how to ask for help. I just, you know, your job is also to kind of identify what they need help with even before they might know what they need help with. And helping them get there.

I feel like it’s just such an, you’re just such an incredible resource and support in our schools. You’re so important. Tell me if you had to give a piece of advice to parents. What would be a piece of advice you would give them about helping their child be successful or about interacting with your counseling team and what that looks like?

Pahoran Marquez: I would say the same thing I tell my students, be intentional. I think that applies to everybody, right? Be intentional in scheduling appointments with your counselor. We’re there for you. We want you to say, Hey, can you have a minute? Right. Can I, can I talk to you for a minute? And come ask us questions, right?

Hey, what’s the difference between AP and concurrent enrollment? Hey, I noticed that my kid, you know, is struggling with school. Is there a resource that we can use that we can help and support our student? I think that’s what makes a huge difference. And something I’ve noticed in my short experience as a counselor is that when students see that level of intentionality and involvement from their parents, something changes.

Wendy Dau: It does.

Pahoran Marquez: Their attitude about school, how their approach to life is, is just different. They see their parents taking the initiative to ask, hey, how was your day at school? Right? What did you learn? What can you tell me about this? Oh, that is so cool that you got to take these classes. That’s why for me, I’m going to speak for myself.

I, I always invite my parents to their CCRs, right? Since they’re ninth graders and sometimes juniors, uh, don’t feel like they need the parents in that meeting.

Wendy Dau: Like you do need your parents in that meeting.

Pahoran Marquez: Yes, yes. And there’s something special when the parents come and they’re part of those decisions and they help their own kids to, to choose their classes and to think about the multiple options and resources they have.

You know, once I graduate from high school, I see a change in the students, their faces. They’re also happy and smiling. They always look at the parent like, what do you think about this class? I’m like, well, yes, no, you know, those kinds of things. So it’s powerful when we have parents in our meetings. So I would say being intentional, being involved, ask about resources of the school.

We have a ton of resources, uh, at our high school. Our administration team works really hard to make sure that all of those resources are available to all of our families in this school. Right. And so I think that would be my advice. Just be intentional, be involved and ask questions.

Wendy Dau: Yeah. Oh, I love that.

I know when I was working at a high school, we’re always sharing information with students and we’re like, how come parents aren’t finding out about this? And when we were intentional about bringing the parents on board. We had so many more students taking advantage of those opportunities because now you had parents collaborating with our counselors and really helping and directing students to make really good choices for themselves.

And they’re like, why wouldn’t you do this? This is such an incredible opportunity. And then all of a sudden the students like. Okay, I guess that sounds great, I guess I will do this, right? That partnership becomes really important and powerful. What is one of the greatest challenges in your job as a high school counselor?

Or maybe even something that you wish people would know about being a counselor, anything you want to share.

Pahoran Marquez: I don’t think people really understand what school counselors do, right? And it starts with, even with the title, right? Sometimes people say guidance counselor. That is the old title, right? Now it’s school counselor, especially because of the many things that counselors do in the schools, right?

Wendy Dau: You wear like 50 million hats.

Pahoran Marquez: Exactly, exactly. Well, compared to when guidance is just limiting, right? Just to get students to, you know.

Wendy Dau: Yeah. In their career. That’s it.

Pahoran Marquez: Exactly.

Wendy Dau: That’s not what it’s like anymore.

Pahoran Marquez: So I would say that would be the biggest one, like not knowing exactly what we do other than just.

Making class changes for students, right?

Wendy Dau: That is what most people think you do.

Pahoran Marquez: Yeah, exactly.

Wendy Dau: We have to turn that around, for sure.

Pahoran Marquez: A lot of the times people don’t know we need to get a master’s degree in school counseling, right? Because we need to be able to respond to the many situations that we will face in the school, right?

And that our students need help with. Also, the lack of Involvement, intentionality, we sometimes explain it like, do you know that you can do this, concurrent enrollment, AP classes, MTECH, you know, and it seems like there’s not a lot of interest sometimes about those things, right?

Wendy Dau: I think you’re right. Like when, uh, we just met with the student advisory council with students from both high schools, and when you Look at the students and that are involved in that and how many AP and concurrent or they’re involved in MTECH or those pieces.

Like they really feel like there’s this incredible purpose to their education. It makes all the difference when they’re recognizing that intentionality becomes really important as they’re planning their futures. That’s a big deal. That’s something I could do better to as a superintendent to help parents know better about how to access those kinds of things and be part of that.

Pahoran Marquez: It would be beneficial to hear also from those parents, right? I do remember we host a parent night completely in Spanish. We have tried multiple times, evening, late nights, Wednesday, Friday, Monday, multiple things.

Wendy Dau: You have to be creative.

Pahoran Marquez: And still we haven’t been able to have all the people that we would love to have, right?

Wendy Dau: Richtig.

Pahoran Marquez: And that a challenge for us, right? Is that how can we help all these families know that we have all the resources? What can we do to support them better, right? So. If we hear from them, that would be awesome, right? If they can tell us, Hey, you know what? Can we do this meeting instead of a Monday on a Thursday night?

Or, you know, I think hearing from them is crucial for us in order to know how to support them better. And for them to, to really feel like, you know, this school is really trying to, you know, help me and I love this. So I’m going to do this. I don’t know if that makes sense. I don’t think I’m just rambling, but. Yeah.

Wendy Dau: No, you’re not rambling. It absolutely makes sense. And it’s always a, always a challenge to figure out how to reach all of our parents and help them understand we’re here to help their children. Like we’re in this together, like we really want to partner with them and be supportive and help their children be successful.

As you have watched kids and their successes. What do you see are the common characteristics of the students that seem to be the happiest, the most successful? Are you noticing any of those common characteristics, and could that be used as maybe some advice for maybe some of our incoming freshmen that are, that are starting to pick their classes for Provo High School next year?

Pahoran Marquez: I’ve told this to my students, it’s not about who’s the smartest in the room, if you want to get a better grade. To me, it’s about the journey, right? It is true that some things might come easy to some of us, right? Maybe some math, maybe some English, maybe some science, but to me, and I explained this to them, it’s about the journey and the journey is what are you going to choose to do every day?

Those little things that will lead to a particular outcome in this, in this case, having straight A’s, right? If that’s a goal, I tell them you need to show up to school, show up on time, be engaged, ask questions, and it’s okay if you don’t know everything. That’s okay. This is why you can ask questions.

Wendy Dau: That’s why you’re at school.

Pahoran Marquez: Exactly, and if that’s the case, we have additional supports to help you. But you need to be aware of the power that you have to choose and you are able to choose what your outcome will be. Just work on those little things and you will be fine. That’s what I told them. If you struggle with something, this is why we have counselors, social workers, the admin team, your teachers, your family, a million people in the school.

But you are the one who needs to make the choice of being successful. Now, if you don’t know how to, don’t worry. This is why we have counselors, social workers, admin, and we’re here to help you, right? So I would just say for our incoming freshmen, just keep that in mind. Just be intentional when we meet with you to choose your class for high school, right?

Be intentional, have those conversations with your parents, and make the decision to work on the little things that will lead to a great outcome.

Wendy Dau: I think that’s such great advice because I think it can be really overwhelming, especially for a freshman that comes in and is like, I have to do all of these classes and get all of these credits.

And people are talking about scholarships and college. And, but if it’s just like, what am I doing today to open up the opportunities for tomorrow? What one thing am I, oh, I’m choosing to go to all of my classes and put forth my best effort. I’m going to choose to ask a question and be vulnerable and realize it’s okay if I don’t know something and just being intentional about that.

Because education is not something that’s done to you. It’s something that they are empowered. They, they, at least I would hope our students feel empowered to be able to utilize this opportunity to do some great things. I’m so grateful our kids have you at Provo High School. They are so lucky. I hope they see that and just your passion and your energy and desire to help students. And yeah, please share.

Pahoran Marquez: It’s just not me. I’ve had the opportunity to spend some time at Timpview High School.

Wendy Dau: Oh, excellent. Good.

Pahoran Marquez: And something that the lead counselor at Timpview and I were trying to do is to collaborate even more among high schoolers. And so I spent a day at Timpview, he spent a day at Provo High School and we’re learning from each other.

Wendy Dau: I had no idea this was even happening. This is amazing.

Pahoran Marquez: And so for us, it’s just this idea of let’s keep growing, right? Because there are some things that. I can learn from you, you can probably learn from me, I don’t know, and I can tell that all of my colleagues, because I’ve seen them, right, how they interact with their students, when we also go to Shoreline for the middle school, how they really care about their students.

We’re very lucky at Provo High School that we have great people, great counselors who are very intentional, who try to help their students in many ways. And something important is also that we utilize our own talents to do that job. Like one of my colleagues, Guy Golightly, he plays the guitar and students love him.

Right. And I can hear sometimes the conversations he has with his students about, Hey, no, you need to do this with the guitar. And, and they come and seek advice from him. And that also creates a bond between those students and their counselors, because we’re very unique. We have a lot of the same interests, you know, and even something as simple as that can create an impactful connection with a student, because that student will say, hey, do you really like those? I do too, you know? That’s right. And so, that is another way where all of the counselors in our district are trying to be intentional in what they do for our students. And so, I just wanted to say, since we’re celebrating National School Counseling Week, Congratulations to all of our counselors for everything they’re doing.

You’re rock stars. And I just wanted to give them a shout out.

Wendy Dau: Well, we should, we should give them a shout out. It’s hard work that you guys are involved with and you really all are the heart of our school. So thank you for all that you do. Appreciate you being with us today.

Thank you everyone for joining me for this week’s episode of What’s Up with the Sup’. As always, all episodes will be posted on the district website, YouTube, and anywhere you get your podcasts. If you have any topics or questions you would like us to discuss. That’s all we have time for. If you are going to be joining us again, please email us at podcast.provo.edu.

And don’t forget to join us again next week for another new episode of What’s Up with the Sup’. Have a great weekend.

Alexander Glaves
  • Spezialist für soziale Medien/Marketing
  • Alexander Glaves
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