September 2023 – Ms. Claflin is the new M-Z counselor at O. Henry Middle School. It’s only her first year working at O. Henry, and she already seems to have fit in with the friendly and amazing environment that is O. Henry.

Question:   What compelled you to want to work at O. Henry Middle School?

Answer:   I wanted to work as a school counselor, so I could have a job where I got to do a lot of different kinds of things and support students in a lot of different ways.  I liked O. Henry specifically because of its experienced and amazing staff.

Question:  What’s it like to be a counselor to a bunch of rowdy middle schoolers?

Answer:   I have never been bored at this job. I feel like in middle school you meet kids, like a really big variety of kids who are at different levels of social and emotional maturity. You just kind of have to be prepared for anything.

Question:  What opportunities are you most excited about at O. Henry Middle School?

Answer:   I’m so excited for Round Up; I think it will be really fun. I hope to build good relationships with the people I work with and all the kids at this school, and hopefully help their experience at O. Henry to be really successful and fun.

Question:   What do you think makes your job so special?

Answer:   I think the thing that makes my job so special is that I literally get to work with everyone at this school. I get to work with the admin team and the teachers and the kids and the
organizations that support the kids at this school. I also like how there’s a really strong mix of doing organizational work and making really personal connections.

Question: In the O. Henry community, who do you admire the most? Explain why.

Answer:  I really admire the members of the staff who have been at O. Henry for a really long time. There are a lot of teachers, staff and faculty who have been here for over ten years, and that level of dedication to a community I just think is so invaluable.

Question: What did you have to do to prepare to be a counselor?

Answer: Originally I was going to be a therapist, so I went to school in preparation to do that. I went to undergrad for four years, and then I went to graduate school for two years, and I did a clinical internship at a therapy practice.

Question: Where were you born? What was it like growing up there?

Answer: I was born in Kentucky, but I grew up in El Paso, Texas. El Paso was an amazing place to grow up since family and friendship connections are so important there. Growing up in a border city shaped a lot of different aspects of my life.

Question: Who made the biggest impact in your life? Explain why.

Answer: Outside of my family, I had a swim coach growing up named Coach Dow, and he was my PE coach and my swim coach in elementary school. Then he was my high school swim coach. Coach Dow did a really good job of motivating me throughout my life and was just a really stable source of support.

Question: Were you ever considering any other career paths? If so, which ones?

Answer: I definitely pursued working in a hospital as an eating disorder recovery therapist because that mission means a lot to me personally.

Question: Were there any special reasons you wanted to be a counselor?

Answer: I feel like counselors do very meaningful work, and I love kids!