Faculty Spotlight: Holistic Living with Grammar School Counselor Stephanie Harris

Stephanie Harris’ path to becoming Live Oak’s Grammar School Counselor began at a young age. As a child, Mrs. Harris envisioned herself as a mother building a family and raising her children to be healthy, self-sufficient adults. She earned a B.A. as a University Scholar at Baylor and a Master of Counseling degree from Arizona State. Rather than go directly into the workforce, Mrs. Harris chose to stay home with her children.

Mrs. Harris volunteered in many capacities during this time of her life including serving as a childrens leader for Bible Study Fellowship. She experienced joys and stresses of parenting to the fullest while engaging with her own and other children frequently. Through those experiences, she feels she can now address parents’ and students’ concerns much more effectively in her capacity as a counselor.

Mrs. Harris frequently shares her wisdom with parents and students in a more general way than in her primary responsibility of managing accommodation plans for students. Students with anxiety, stress, or conflict with another student often ask Mrs. Harris for help. She always attempts to calm the student down so they can think logically. Practices as simple as breathing correctly and sharing feelings help students begin to think clearly about a situation. She then aims to help students logically approach their own and others’ behavior by focusing on what we can and cannot control.

From Mrs. Harris’ perspective, behavior and spirituality frequently intertwine. For example, when reading a secular children’s book, she might ask the students how it illustrates’ Jesus teachings. She believes God creates every student with a specific nature and purpose to fulfill. She emphatically declares that blanket approaches to children do not work. By focusing on children’s individual strengths, she helps them refine their natures and live holistic, healthy lives.