Serving youth through school counseling

Trigger warning: This story contains sensitive information. 

Vanessa McKay received her Bachelor's degree in Youth Ministry from Moody Bible Institute in 2017. Her inspiration for majoring in youth ministry was because “through the first year online program at Moody I got connected to Inner City Impact, so during our orientation I felt God telling me I don’t need you to work with teenagers through sports, but just working with teenagers in general, which is why I switched my major from sports ministry to youth ministry,” said McKay. Then, she received her Master’s degree in school counseling from Northeastern Illinois University in 2021. 

The moment when Vanessa knew she wanted to pursue a career in school counseling was, “I think when I continued to serve at Inner City Impact, I loved being around students. I wondered where can I be around students for a longer period? And so they are at school for half of the day, so I knew I had to work in schools,” said McKay.

Vanessa’s struggles also motivated her to encourage the youth around her. During her undergraduate experience, she explained her support system as 

crucial: “I hated college and was doing bad. My anxiety was very bad. I had a lot of seasons of clinical depression, I was in toxic relationships, and things were going on at home. I would say my support system was my church, and I think I had a codependency and savior complex when I wasn’t feeling good, so I would text kids from Inner City Impact to hangout so I could focus on them and make sure they were okay,” said McKay. Vanessa also mentioned that Pursue Scholars played a significant role in her support system. “ I remember when I failed my first class, I called Kevin, and I expected Pursue to revoke my scholarship, and I was more scared of Pursue revoking my scholarship than telling my parents that I failed a class. He told me Pursue wasn’t going to revoke my scholarship because he understands that life happens, but if I needed more support academically or personally, I needed to tell them that too."

As Vanessa continues in her career, she sees school counseling as a reinvestment into future leaders because “that’s where students are, but specifically because my cousin died of an overdose six years ago. He was well-rounded, it wouldn’t be so fun when he would get drunk or be on drugs. It got to a point where it would be dangerous to be in contact with him. I think if people had encouraged him to use his strengths and point him back to his values, I think his life would have continued and been a different story. I try to tell kids with similar paths that they matter no matter their mistakes, and that they have talents but using them in the wrong way. I emphasize to kids their value despite their GPA or what their teachers or parents might say. I tell them the choices they make now will affect them later in life,” said McKay. 

Lastly, Vanessa emphasized that there are needs in communities of schools, and one of those needs is “we need people who work at schools who genuinely care about the students that they are serving. We need teachers and adults who work at schools that care about minority students and students in the LGBTQ+ community and speak to them in a way that shows that they care about them regardless of personal and religious beliefs. I would say to have a humble heart and an open mind,” said McKay.