For San Carlos resident Nancy Regas, counseling students over the years has proven to be a very rewarding and successful experience.

Regas has lived in the community for 44 years and was employed at Patrick Henry High School for nearly 20 years as a counselor.

Having retired in 2016, Regas then worked for three years as a regional representative for Albion College, a private liberal arts college in Michigan.

Regas’ passion for counseling has not gone away despite transitioning into retirement.

In 2021, Regas wrote and self-published, The Art of Being a School Counselor; it is on Amazon, Kindle, Barnes & Noble. She also recorded it as well, with the audiobook on audible.com.

It recently received several recognitions: National Indie Excellence Awards-Finalist; San Francisco Book Festival-Honorable Mention, Category General Nonfiction; NYC Big Book Award-Winner Category Education; NYC Big Book Award-Distinguished Favorite [audiobook] Category NonFiction; 56th Annual Local Author’s Program for the San Diego Public Library [was in the showcase through the end of February and then was to be available for check out].

Regas feels the book has merit, especially given the challenges these days facing students and those teaching, counseling and raising them.

“Times are very difficult in education and all educators (counselors, administrators, teachers) and parents need inspiration,” Regas stated.

Writing the book turned into an inspiration for Regas, especially given she says she’d arrived at her true calling as a school counselor.

“Every career path prior to that (unbeknownst to me at the time) were stepping stones leading me to the place where I belonged,” Regas remarked. “Every day I went to work with anticipation, wonder, and joy. I wanted to recapture some of those feelings and memories in words, hence leaving behind my legacy to my daughters and granddaughters as well as a tribute to all my students.”

For Regas, the one-on-one relationships with her students over the years stands out.

“It was such a privilege to watch them develop, to hear their stories, to be cheering their victories and to soothe their pain through their disappointments,” Regas went on to say. “I was their advocate, their guidepost, their sounding board, their safety net, and their reality check. I still have relationships with several of my former students (now amazing adults), and that is to my delight and honor. No two days were the same (so, it was never boring); each day was like unwrapping a package filled with discoveries that bore challenges, obstacles, triumphs, achievements, and resolutions.”

With all the challenges facing students, teachers and parents for that matter in recent years, a solid counseling program in school is key.

“Counseling in my mind has always been vital,” Regas stated. “Over half the states in the USA do not require school counselors for grades K-12 (including, sadly, California). That means if whomever in charge does not value counselors, they aren’t a priority; if the budget needs trimming, counselors are viewed as expendable. That harsh reality is just wrong in my belief. Counselors are vital to the success and well-being of students throughout their education, Given the turmoil of the last two years, the necessity of counselors in schools should be quite evident.”

As Regas sees it, students should have available a safe space at school as do parents and teachers.

“I had an open-door policy for anyone (not only my counselees) who sought ‘a truth zone’” Regas stated. “In the book, I wrote a chapter on COVID and what impact it has had on education. Also, I vowed to myself to be the school counselor I never had.”

For anyone looking to become a school counselor, Regas has some advice.

“Find your passion,” Regas emphasized. “Know why you want to be a school counselor and then be the best that you can be. In writing the book, I wanted to not only share my story, but to inspire others to find their passion and not merely a job. I wish for all educators [counselors, teachers, and administrators to be more, see more, do more, feel more, give more, and thus, be fulfilled more as they touch the lives of their students. To me, that is the heart of being a counselor, an educator.”

When asked if she plans to write any additional books, Regas said she does not know at this point.

“When I was a perinatal educator and heard parents say, I can’t wait until s/he sits up, stands, walks, talks etc. I would remind them if they constantly placed their sites on the future, they would miss the wonder, joy, and miracle that was right before them. My thought was always to savor and enjoy the current milestone, thus staying in the here and now. I want that for this book. I want this book to serve its purpose and for me to see it reach its audience and make a difference. I believe it would be very beneficial in graduate programs as well as for on-boarding new counselors, administrators, and teachers to a district. Theory alone does not put the soul into being a counselor, an educator,” Regas noted.

For Nancy Regas, many students and others have benefitted from the words she has spoken over the years.

(Courtesy photo SD Public Library Local Author’s Program)

– Reach editor Dave Thomas: [email protected].