Volume 59, Issue 12  - November 6, 2006

Student Affairs to help present Counselors’ Institute
By Michell Godinez
Staff Writer

Maria Durón/Collegian

Vickie Pardy (from left), Rio Grande Grande Valley Counseling Association president; Hilda Silva, UTB/TSC vice president for Student Affairs; and Sylvia Chavez, Tip of Texas Counseling Association president sign a memorandum of agreement Oct. 5 to collaborate on the Counselors’ Institute.

UTB/TSC’s Division of Student Affairs is helping to plan the 13^th annual Counselors’ Institute, scheduled next semester on South Padre Island.

On Oct. 5, Vice President for Student Affairs Hilda Silva signed an agreement to present the institute in collaboration with the Rio Grande Valley and Tip of Texas counseling associations.

The Counselors’ Institute is scheduled for Feb. 15-16 at the Sheraton South Padre Island Beach Hotel and Condominiums.

Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs John Feist said the division will take part in planning, coordinating and conducting this year’s Counselors’ Institute with the help of the other associations.

“Essentially, what we’re doing is all the logistics required to do the institute,” Feist said.

He said the institute is hoping to attract many participants.

“We are expecting, in the neighborhood of 300 participants at the event,” Feist said. “These will be professional counselors from education [grades] K through 16. It will include counselors from private practices, social workers [and] others related to the profession.”

The division is trying to get not only UTB/TSC students in the counseling area, but also students in different areas involved.

“What we are trying to do is involve students in the institute in a way that they have never had the opportunity to be involved before,” Feist said. 

Undergraduate and graduate students working toward a career in counseling and others are encouraged to attend the institute.

Cynthia M. Scott, assistant director of the Counseling Center, has been handling registration for the institute. She said the institute has much to offer.

“[These institutes] are very cutting-edge. … You are going to be hearing a lot about current movements in the field, you’re going to be hearing about projects that are going on right now. It’s a great opportunity for networking for all students,” Scott said. “There is a lot of information if you really want to find out [the] real backbone or basics of this field. … That’s really a good place to start.”

The theme of the institute is “Transition: Change is Good!” and will have three different areas of interest: sociological trends, mental health and educational/vocational.  Fifteen presenters are already scheduled to attend and they are estimating to have around 40 in total.

Early registration is $75 until Jan. 27, after which it will be $85 on site. The fee for students is $50.

For more information about the institute or to register, visit the Web site http://blue.utb.edu/sa/counselorsinstitute/.