The College of Education and Health Professions announced the hiring of 15 graduate students in the college’s counseling program to help high school students plan for college or career-training programs.
A three-year, $1.5 million grant from the Walton Family Foundation awarded last fall supports the Northwest Arkansas program, which is organized and funded through a partnership between the Walton Family Foundation, the University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Professions, the Northwest Arkansas Council’s Educational Excellence Work Group and the Northwest Arkansas Education Service Cooperative.
The career coaches will guide at-risk high school students in 17 Northwest Arkansas high schools and their families in pursuing the students’ best opportunities after high school graduation.
Kristin Higgins, assistant professor of counselor education, serves as principal investigator of the project. Dan Kissinger, associate professor of counselor education, Arie Greenleaf, assistant professor of counselor education, and Gary Ritter, holder of the Twenty-First Century Chair in Education Policy, serve as co-principal investigators. Josh Raney, who formerly worked as coordinator of graduate student services in the department of rehabilitation, human resources and communication disorders, was hired to direct the day-to-day operations of the Razor C.O.A.C.H. program. The name stands for “Creating Opportunities for Arkansans’ Career Hopes.”
The students and their school assignments:
- Bonni Nickens Behrend of Fayetteville, a master’s student in counseling with an emphasis in school counseling, will be assigned to Fayetteville High School. She earned a Master of Science in educational statistics and research methods from the University of Arkansas and a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Missouri State University.
- Tiffany Bushee of Fayetteville, a master’s student in counseling with an emphasis on clinical mental health counseling, will be assigned to Elkins High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and sociology with a minor in psychology from the University of Arkansas.
- Sarah Campbell of Omaha, Neb., a master’s student in counseling with an emphasis in school counseling, will be assigned to Bentonville High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
- Brittany Chunn of Fayetteville, a master’s student in counseling, will be assigned to Heritage High School in Rogers. She earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Virginia Tech.
- Whitney Farrar of Fayetteville, a master’s student in counseling with an emphasis in clinical mental health counseling, will be assigned to Gravette High School. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Art from Pittsburg (Kan.) State University. She graduated from Neosho (Mo.) High School.
- Angela Harless of Fayetteville, a doctoral student in counselor education, who will be assigned to Siloam Springs High School. She earned a Bachelor of Music Education from Southern Arkansas University, a Master of Counseling Psychology from Texas A&M University-Texarkana and completed post-graduate work at Henderson State University and Texas A&M-Commerce. Harless is a graduate of Ashdown High School.
- Lauren Elizabeth Jones of Fayetteville, master’s student in counseling with an emphasis in clinical mental health counseling, who will be assigned to Pea Ridge High School. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Arkansas Tech University. She is a graduate of Clarksville High School.
- Carolyn Kelch of Belton, Mo., a master’s student in counseling with an emphasis in school counseling, who will be assigned to Decatur and Gentry high schools. She earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Missouri State University.
- Rhiannon McKee of Fort Smith, a master’s student in counseling with an emphasis in clinical mental health counseling, who will be assigned to Har-Ber High School in Springdale. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.
- Bethany Mitchell of Sheridan, a master’s student in counseling with an emphasis in school counseling, who will be assigned to Farmington High School. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Arkansas Tech University in 2011.
- Kaitlyn Moritz of Prairie Grove, a master’s student in counseling with an emphasis in clinical mental health counseling, who will be assigned to Prairie Grove High School. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Baylor University.
- Katie Rice of Fayetteville, a master’s student in counseling, who will be assigned to Springdale High School. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in American studies and international relations from Hendrix College. She graduated from Kirkwood (Mo.) High School.
- Taylor Scott of Fayetteville, a master’s student in counseling with an emphasis in school counseling, who will be assigned to Rogers High School. She earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a graduate of Cherry Creek High School in Denver.
- Heather Spickard of Clinton, Tenn., a master’s student in counseling with an emphasis in school counseling, who will be assigned to Lincoln High School. She earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
- Betsy Walker of Fayetteville, a master’s student in counseling with an emphasis in school counseling, who will be assigned to West Fork and Greenland high schools. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and deaf education from the University of Tulsa. She grew up in Fort Smith and graduated from Southside High School.
