Sherri McLaughlin, President of the Illinois School Counselors Association, mother of two, former coach, and lover of traveling, has been counseling here at Jacksonville High School for six years now.  As a counselor, McLaughlin strives to provide a safe, bully-free, educational environment for all students and inspires each student to grow, learn, and express him/herself.  She is a firm believer of the Golden Rule and inspires her students everyday to incorporate it into the their lifestyles.

McLaughlin shares about her passion of helping others with social, emotional learning and personal issues.  This plays a main role in her enjoyment of being a counselor so much.  With her love for helping others figure out their futures, McLaughlin is able to provide assistance in areas such as creating four-year plans, college/scholarship applications, and letters of recommendation.  McLaughlin always strives to make herself available to help students during difficult times.  It is rewarding to her to see students overcome obstacles and achieve personal goals.

Although McLaughlin has been counseling for 18 years, she had not always envisioned herself being one.  Originally, McLaughlin earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Eastern Illinois University in Communications/Public Relations with a minor in journalism.  McLaughlin spent some of her time working at a video production house in the Chicagoland area and as a dental assistant for an orthodontist.  She later returned to EIU to complete her teaching certification in language arts, speech, and journalism.  It wasn’t until six years of teaching that she decided to enroll at the University of Illinois Springfield and earn her Master’s Degree in Human Development Counseling.  

McLaughlin shares how she loves that everyday in the life of a counselor is different.  She spends a lot of her time in her office working on various requests and issues of students.  With so much to do, the day goes by extremely quickly.  McLaughlin also attends meetings here at JHS and in the community working on teen issues and community projects.  Education and bringing awareness in order to improve our school and community are somethings she is very passionate about.  McLaughlin has put together many programs such as SEL, Snowball Retreat, Career Fair, and assemblies that have provided students with the opportunity to succeed in areas like college and career readiness and social/emotional learning.  McLaughlin loves watching her students succeed.  Helping them graduate and earn scholarships are a few examples of how a counselor can affect a student’s future path positively.  This is also one of McLaughlin’s favorite parts of the job.  

Overall, McLaughlin believes that with the right support and guidance, she can help her students achieve great goals.  Before retiring, McLaughlin wants to provide group counseling to JHS students.  She also wants to teach an elective Psychology Thru Film class.  Based on the ASCA standards, she would like to run a comprehensive school counseling program.  Lastly, she wants to write a book about the struggles with anxiety, depression, and mood disorders and establish some mandates for school counselors at the state level.