P3 Teacher Feature #4 – Celebrating Windham County’s Career Education Game-Changers
Remember that teacher who first got you thinking about what you might do with your life? That special educator who connected the big ideas, or daily skill-building, to things out in the real world? The P3 Teacher Feature series pays homage to some of the educational partners who exemplify the mission of BDCC’s Pipelines and Pathways Program for high school career education. These heroes link learning with life goals, by connecting students with career options in a variety of ways, from speaker panels to co-op and job shadow opportunities.
Our fourth Teacher Feature highlights Bellows Falls Union High School’s School Counselor, Mark Gebo.
How long have you been a teacher? 4 years
How long have you worked at this school? 4 years
What did you want to “be” when you grew up? A Teacher or Social Worker
Give some information on your educational background. I have a BA in Elementary Education from Johnson State College and a M.Ed. in School Counseling from Keene State College.
Give some information on your employment background. I have worked in community mental health, child protection, and public education.
What made you decide to become a School Counselor? I had an excellent elementary School Counselor. She was an integral part of my success during elementary school. I owe it all to her – Thanks, Mrs. Evans!
What is your favorite topic to teach within your specialty? I enjoy 1:1 meetings with students.
What’s the most fun part of your job? Working with the students!!!
What’s the least fun part of your job? Email and documentation.
How and why do you integrate career education topics into your curriculum? In my role as a School Counselor I am charged with offering career education opportunities to all students. Currently, I work with teachers to embed career education opportunities into the core content through Career Spotlights, Resume Development, Local Industry Tours, and am in the process of finalizing a Senior Boot Camp Elective Course with the support of Christy from the BDCC.
What advice would you give to students who want to enter a career related to your teaching specialty? Experience is key! Take advantage of as many employment opportunities you can in your chosen field. I would not have made it to my dream career without the experiences that I brought to the interview table.
What advice would you give students in order to help them be successful in higher education or at a job after high school? (What do you wish you had known?) Identify your passion/dream career and make the commitment. Do the hard work! It pays off!
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Teacher Feature is a series to celebrate educators who are leaders in career education. It is produced by the Pipelines and Pathways Program (P3) which provides employment oriented career-planning for the region’s high school students. It brings training in 21st Century skills, work-based learning, and personal learning plan (PLP) engagement opportunities to all public high schools in Windham County. Pipelines & Pathways is a Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) Workforce Center of Excellence program based on strategies to increase the size and quality of the workforce developed by Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS). For more information please visit https://brattleborodevelopment.com/
To nominate an outstanding teacher for our series, please reach out to cbetit@brattleborodevelopment.com
Funding for P3 is provided by the McClure Foundation, Vermont Training Program, Vermont Community Foundation, the Windham County Economic Development Program, the Thomas Thompson Trust, the George W. Mergens Foundation, People’s United Bank, Tom Smith & Omega Optical, and the Whitney Blake Company in Bellows Falls.
