Utica Community Schools counselor Melissa Waters has been selected to a leadership board that works to strengthen services to students across Michigan.

Waters, a counselor at Jeannette Junior High School, has been named to the Michigan School Counselor Association (MSCA) Governing Board.

After six years in the profession—five of them at UCS—this counselor’s passion for mental health advocacy and student support has led to a new opportunity to make a statewide impact.

“I chose to pursue a career in counseling because I’ve always been passionate about helping people and wanted to contribute to removing the stigma of mental illness,” Waters said. “Working at a school allows me to contribute to that goal daily.”

Encouraged by both a trusted mentor and a district leader, the decision to run for the MSCA Governing Board came with purpose and support.

“My former professor and mentor Dr. Tom Michalos was elected as president of the association a while back and encouraged me to run for a position because their board did not have much representation from the tri-county area,” Waters explained. “The association recognizes the value of diverse experiences from different regions in the state, and we agreed that districts like UCS needed to have a voice.”

As a new board member, Waters looks forward to sharing UCS’s successes and advocating at the state level. “Being on the board will positively affect our school community because it will provide UCS an opportunity to share all the great things that we are doing here with other school counselors and allows us to advocate all across the state,” said Waters.

The MSCA Board works to strengthen school counseling across Michigan. The board works to empower counselors and improve programs so that every student has access to the support they need for future success.

By serving on the board, Waters aims to help both students and communities thrive through stronger, more comprehensive school counseling programs.