Laura Tully is Kerr’s lead counselor, college access counselor, and one of the campus testing coordinators at Kerr. Recently, ALIEF ISD got a new addition to the faculty: Ms. Rodenberg Lewis, the new Mental Health Facilitator. She helps out with staff members concerning mental health, figures out the best course of action, and connects them with resources. Additionally, Alief has an Employee Assistance Program where staff members and their household members can get up to six free sessions with a licensed therapist.

When asked about what students can do for staff members and their mental health, Ms. Tully states that it is not a student’s responsibility to feel responsible for a staff member. She does share one strategy for staff members who struggle to get through their day: keep a happy folder. It’s a folder where staff members can save notes, an email, or something that makes them happy.

Ms. Tully ends it by explaining that reaching out may not always be easy and may not be a straight line, but time in life is very temporary. Before you know it, you were a freshman in high school, and now you’ll be a graduating senior going off to college.