BOONEVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) - Members of the Mississippi Counseling Association Northeast Region were in Booneville for their fall meeting.
It's a chance for the area counselors, most of whom serve students from kindergarten to seniors, to learn what others are doing in their respective schools.
A few Northeast Community College counselors were also part of the program.
Association president Joey Williford said, "We understand that anybody can make a difference in students' lives. School counselors and other counselors are definitely in a position where they can make a huge impact upon students and upon people."
Around 30 counselors were at the school Friday for some inspiration from guest speakers.
The group says they'd like the public to know their jobs involve much more than just academic counseling.
It's for the overall well-being of students.
New Albany Elementary School Guidance Counselor Ronnie Boyd said, "We deal with academics, of course. That's very important. The emotional side is we try to help kids deal with things going on in their lives and help them understand themselves what's going on."
The theme of this meeting was to learn to make a positive impact on their students and also encourage others to reach out to young people.
Williford said, "It's not just school counselors, although, that's our focus today. Anybody can, though, make a difference in people's lives."
The ultimate goal is to make sure every student is able to successfully complete school.
The Mississippi Counseling Association is made up of 1,000 members with the northeast region comprised of six counties.
Those counties are Tippah, Tishomingo, Alcorn, Union, Prentiss and Benton.
