Jacobs wins Kansas School Counselor of the Year honor

As an elementary school counselor, Mallory Jacobs likens what she does to “building a bridge” between the students at her school and their homes and communities.

“I always tell people that I’m kind of like a cheerleader,” says Jacobs, a Holton native who serves as the lead elementary counselor at Whitson Elementary School in Topeka.

This week, however, Jacobs has been hearing the cheers of family, friends and others in her profession after being named 2022 School Counselor of the Year by the Kansas School Counselor Association, an award that she said has left her “shocked and shook, but very honored.”

The best part of her job, she said, is not necessarily the recognition she receives, but the impact she has on the lives of her students and their families.

“When I was getting into school counseling, I didn’t understand how many people would work with someone in my field,” Jacobs said. “I knew the kids would be involved, but I didn’t understand that the adults would be involved as well. But it makes me feel good that they can trust me with information about the different things that they’re experiencing in their lives as well.”

Jacobs credits the school counselors that she had while growing up in the Holton school system before graduating from Holton High School in 2006, as well as the professional help that she received while going through “some hard times” of her own, as her inspiration for getting into the profession.

She also recognized that it would be a good fit for her after taking a “personality test” to determine some possible career choices for her college years and afterward.

“Everything pointed to ‘helper,’” said Jacobs, who went on to Kansas State University, where she earned her undergraduate degree in family studies and human services in 2010 and her master’s degree in counseling and student development in 2012.

“As I went through K-State, I thought, hey, I really enjoyed school, maybe I wasn’t the best at it, but I did fine, and I could help other kids, too,” she added.

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