Faculty Spotlight Kristine Ramsay-Seaner

The Launch Fellowship program is a 6-month mentorship initiative grounded in Social Cognitive Career Theory and supported by grant funding from USDA-NIFA, aimed at introducing rural middle school counselors to careers in food and agricultural sciences.

The Launch Fellowship program was developed to provide additional support to rural middle school counselors in the area of career exploration. They have such difficult jobs and are required to wear many hats, including those as career educators. One of the challenges in the realm of career exploration is that they are often charged with bringing awareness to jobs that they themselves may have limited understanding of. We hoped that the mentorship program would provide an opportunity for connection and discussion, while the immersive experience would give a chance for hands-on learning. (See video recap of the immersion experience.) I believe that it is my job as a counselor educator to do what I can to make the lives of practitioners in the field easier. A question I often ask myself is how I can use my resources as a faculty member to bridge professional gaps as well as provide support.

The first thing that stands out is the gratitude expressed throughout the week by the participants. They often talked about how rare it is to participate in a program like this one. The next piece would be about the relationships that were developed throughout the week. The professionals came from 9 different states with very different professional experiences, and yet they came together to really understand and support one another. Finally, it was fun to see them learn about different ways that they could be engaging in career exploration related to food and agricultural sciences in their schools.

Rural middle school counselors are required to wear so many hats. Many of our participants work in K-12 schools, which means they are supporting kindergartners, middle schoolers, and high school seniors at the same time. They are also often asked to be frontline mental health providers, but the entire school may be their caseload. Many of our participants benefited most from being able to talk to one another about their school experiences. Being a school counselor can be isolating, depending on the type of school that you are working in.

It will be exciting to bring together a new group of professionals. My colleague who I led this initiative with Dr. Amber Letcher and I were amazed at just how lovely our first cohort was. We are really excited to hear new stories as well as provide a supportive space for growth and learning.

As a counselor educator, I believe it is essential that my research efforts are closely aligned with my commitment to professional advocacy. It is a privilege to be a counselor educator and my work both inside and outside of the classroom should support the professionals who serve clients each day in the actual field. It was incredibly gratifying to be able to help actual clinicians who are working in high-need communities.

After our cohort in 2026, we plan to regroup and determine where we should go from here. For the last year, my team has been working to transition from Strengthening the Heartland to the SPARKS (Strategic Programming Advancing Rural Knowledge and Services) Cooperative. Under that umbrella, we plan to continue high-quality community outreach and research. I am currently developing a youth-risk behavior curriculum called Safety First, which will also have an accompanying podcast. We anticipate rolling out our first two training modules in early 2026. This curriculum is geared toward youth development professionals who may be struggling to deal with the numerous high-risk behaviors that youth may be engaging in – from vaping to sexting to digital risk behaviors. Finally, I am excited to pilot a new volume of Careers in a Box in 2025 as well as roll out a new developed curriculum called Skills in a Box.

School counselors have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of so many. It is a challenging job but it can be incredibly rewarding. It’s a great field for individuals who want to work with youth daily in everything from academic success to mental health and well-being.

I love being at a university that wants to make a difference in the lives of community members. WVU is a great example of the land-grant mission, which was a significant deciding factor for me when I looked for a career transition in 2023.