MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – While much of what guidance counselors do is academic-focused, making sure students are regularly attending school and maintaining their GPAs, they also get to know students on an emotional level.

This week is National School Counseling Week.

Caroline Ross has worked at St. James High School in Horry County since she graduated from Coastal Carolina University. Formerly a math teacher at the school, Ross says the transition from middle to high school can be difficult for some students, so counselors like to be a person students feel they can talk to.

“We keep the students all four years of high school,” Ross explained. “So when they come in as a 9th grader, we get to know them, and hopefully our goal is by senior year, we’ve established a great relationship with them and their parents, we know where they want to go after high school, what they want to do, their career path, so we can advise them the best direction to get there.”

This is the first year all Horry County Schools have a Behavioral Health Counselor on campus, something Ross says helps them serve their students well as St. James High School has three on campus to help students.

“In the counseling world it would be great if all we had to do is sit and talk to kids all day, but that’s not what we get to do,” Ross said. “We have to do scheduling, we have to do testing, we have to do transcript studies. all that kind of stuff that comes up. And these counselors that are in our building are devoted to being there for our students when they need it.”

Ross says parents and teachers are their best advocates and will come to them if they notice a student is struggling in a class so they can step in to help.

She adds, this time of year is the most rewarding as students are starting to come into her office and proudly show her their college acceptance letters.

Ross tells News13 one way her job has evolved in recent years, is through social media. Now counselors remind students often what they post online will always have an impact, even if they delete it.

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