John King
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 27/06) - High school counsellors Pam Monkman and Gail Gerwing help students become successful adults.

"We as counsellors along with parents and teachers, can help them to be successful and find happiness," said Pam Monkman.

Monkman, a guidance counsellor at Sir John Franklin, helps students with a variety of school-related issues.

She also gives Range Lake School students select courses and talks to the middle schoolers on what to expect in high school.

"The great thing about my job is that you never know what to expect," Monkman said.

"Appointments usually involve career counselling, post-secondary planning, apprenticeship training, resumes, and reference letters."

For St. Patrick counsellor Gail Gerwing, the job takes on a more personal focus.

"I'm here to help students be successful in their school and personal life," Gerwing said.

"It's more about having a separation between teachers and administration where students see me as an ally," Gerwing said.

Because Gerwing is a personal counsellor rather than a guidance counsellor, she helps students with issues such as depression, teen pregnancy, and problems of drug or alcohol abuse.

Gerwing is the only counsellor in either the public system or Catholic system who helps students with the tough issues.

"I do lots of assessments on students and try and determine whether a student is depressed or has anxiety," Gerwing said.

Both counsellors agree that seeing students change for the better is what gives them the most satisfaction.

"You don't realize the school environment is constantly changing, but you do see students change over the course of four years," Gerwing said.