Alexa Cuff, M.Ed., C.A.G.S.

I think what I'm most proud of is a social-emotional intervention block that I created in partnership with my principal during COVID. We started to realize that kids' social-emotional health was plummeting, and so in response to that, I designed an intervention block that is delivered weekly to every single student in my elementary school. It's similar to how they might get art, or gym, or music - those types of specials - they also get social-emotional learning with me every week. It's kind of like a little bit of an innovative way of trying to do universal prevention work with students. I've been doing that now since the fall of 2020, and we've collected a ton of data, and we've seen that students' well-being has really improved, and more kids are getting, you know, building social-emotional skills. It's something I'm proud of because, you know, I saw a need and then came up with a response to it, and I've also created the curriculum completely from scratch. It's been a labor of love, but it's definitely something that I think, so far, is something I feel proud of, and I feel like it is having an impact.

The best career advice I’ve ever received came from the late Jackie Zeller, who was a professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education and, in my view, the best teacher I’ve ever had. She taught me everything I needed to know about school counseling—including strengths-based counseling, ethical care, self-care, and how to bring fun and understanding into my work. Jackie had an incredible influence on my professional outlook, and on a personal level, she was an inspiring mentor. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to learn from her and to carry the beautiful lessons she instilled into my own practice every day.

The first thing that comes to mind would be to make sure that you prioritize caring for yourself just as well as you care for others. I think that many people in education - I mean, it's a female-dominated field, it's a caretaking field - and those aspects are sometimes exploited a little bit in the field. I would say for any young person, especially young women going into it, make sure that you prioritize taking care of yourself just as well as you plan to take care of your students and the people around you, because I think without that, you know, you just can't sustain it. So I would say taking care of yourself is the first thing that comes to mind.

One of the biggest opportunities in my field right now is the chance to share my journey and inspire others, especially young women pursuing careers in education and counseling. I am passionate about connecting with incredible women in our network, learning from their experiences, and contributing to a community of support and mentorship. Beyond my work, I enjoy exploring hobbies that bring balance to my life, such as yoga, painting, and writing. I am particularly excited about my new passion for writing and look forward to using it as a way to reflect on my experiences, share insights from my career, and explore new creative ventures. These opportunities allow me to continue growing both professionally and personally while inspiring others along the way.

I think first and foremost, there are two mottos that I always kind of come back to. One of them is 'nothing without joy.' I work with young people, and I work in a school, so I think it's really important to bring the joy and celebrate the joy. So nothing without joy is always one of my mantras. Another one is 'never worry alone,' and I tell my students that, I tell my parents that, and I think that really guides my practice. I want to be someone that you can come to in a time of need, and I can kind of hold the space. In addition to that, I'd say I really try to be strengths-based. I try to be equity-minded as well. So those are just some of the things that I think are kind of central to what I like to do. In my spare time, I love to go outside with my dog, go outside as much as possible, and I enjoy yoga and painting and writing. Writing is actually kind of a new thing for me - well, I've always enjoyed writing, but I was able to participate in this professional development which really tried to leverage educators as writers. I participated in this fellowship, and I'm actually going to have one of my pieces published in their upcoming edition. So I'm trying this new phase where I'm really enjoying writing, so I've been writing about education and then some personal self-care reflections as well.