Calvin Craig, a 2019 PSC alum, was recently recognized by the North Carolina School Counselor Association (NCSCA) as an Emerging Leader. The Emerging Leaders program provides opportunities to identified leaders within the profession to become involved with NCSCA. These leaders earn several responsibilities and benefits such as committee membership and an assigned Board mentor. Calvin became interested in the role while fulfilling a PSC program requirement to attend the NCSCA conference. He saw this role as an opportunity to “be the change you want to see” — a quote he says often to his students.
Calvin believes the PSC program’s heavy emphasis on professional development and community engagement helped him acquire and prepare for the role as an Emerging Leader. In particular, leadership positions as President of Chi Sigma Iota (Alpha Sigma Upsilon chapter) and as a Graduate Ambassador, a conference presentation with Dr. Glenda Johnson on college and career readiness for students in poverty, and publications in the Counselors for Social Justice newsletter and EdNC were pivotal to his career development. He states that “Appalachian is more forward-focused than other schools” and the program’s emphasis on current trends makes alumni competitive.
The role as an Emerging Leader also lines up with Calvin’s career aspirations as the opportunity to enhance his leadership skills will help him to create relevant professional development on equitable practice and to pursue his long term goal of becoming president of the American School Counseling Association (ASCA).
As advice to current PSC students and recent alumni, Calvin believes it is important to “really understand and know what your ‘why’ is” and to “be the type of counselor that you wish you had”.
