When Gonzales Elementary School’s Christy McGuire realized she had won Counselor of the Year for Ector County ISD, she got emotional.
McGuire is in her 15th year with ECISD and her 10th year as a counselor. She taught for five years and this is her third year as a counselor at Gonzales.
She said she tries hard to make sure her students, school family and team are taken care of. McGuire added that she was completely surprised by the award.
“My principal was like, we have a situation so we’re coming down the hallway and I’m like, oh my goodness, what’s going on? And when they came in, I just started crying because … I feel completely honored that that’s how my colleagues see me,” McGuire said. She has worked at Gonzales, Burnet, Burleson, Ross, Sam Houston and Buice.
For a time this past year, she was at Gonzales and Sam Houston.
Executive Director of Guidance and Counseling Nancy Vanley said McGuire gave her all to both campuses this year.
“She maintains a caring and positive attitude with students and adults. She makes all around her feel valued,” Vanley said in a text message.
Whatever teachers see a need for is what she provides to children.
“The teachers are real good about getting a hold of me and letting me know, hey, can you stop by my room to see this kiddo? And a lot of our kiddos they know I have a pink slip system where I leave pink slips on my door, because this year I’m split between two campuses. I was only actually here three days a week and then I was at another campus two days a week helping out over there. And so my kids know, give Miss McGuire a pink slip and I will get you in the next day I’m on campus. That’s how we’ve just kind of done things,” she said. Born and raised in Odessa, McGuire and her husband, Richard, have three children. She earned two associate degrees from Odessa College and a dual bachelor’s from University of Texas Permian Basin in psychology and sociology. She also has licensed professional counselor hours.
McGuire didn’t always want to be a counselor.
“… Ever since fifth grade, I thought I was going to be an attorney. … I graduated from Odessa High School in ‘02. I was getting ready for college and have decided that was not the track for me. My dad had me sit down and said, Okay, well you’ve got to choose a path, so pick one. It was one of the things that OC offered at the time,” McGuire said.
So that’s the direction she went and it just so happened it was something she enjoyed. She added that winning the award has made her want to work harder.
“Now it’s going to be like the bar has been set. So it’s got to be there or higher is how I’m … viewing it,” McGuire said. In her job, she said she saw a lot of grief and loss this year and struggles with anxiousness.
She also helps teachers with behaviors, talking with students about attendance and friendship dilemmas and communication with parents, among other issues.
You wouldn’t necessarily think elementary students would be facing some of the same things as older students, “But they do,” she said.
There has been an increase in anxiety the last couple of years. “But what I’ve kind of sort of noticed as well, or the trend that I’ve tended to see with my children here, is that it’s a little bit easier for them to bounce back from everything. … Our kiddos are so resilient. … Where it may take a semester or longer for someone that’s been anxious about something else, they do seem to kind of bounce back a little bit faster since we’ve been able to reopen …,” McGuire said.
Along with counseling, she and her husband own Meme’s Tutoring and Mother’s Day Out. They also plan to open a childcare business for teachers.
