Tammy Van Ess, a counselor at Jackson Elementary School in Green Bay, receives the Wisconsin School Counselor of the Year award during a surprise assembly, Oct. 15, 2024. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) –A counselor at a Green Bay elementary school was honored Tuesday with a prestigious award at a surprise assembly.
Tammy Van Ess, who works at Jackson Elementary School, has been a school counselor for nearly two decades. She was named School Counselor of the Year by the Wisconsin School Counselor Association.
Van Ess said she had no idea what was in store for her at the schoolwide assembly. Neither did her students or coworkers. All they knew was that there would be a “special announcement” in the afternoon assembly.
“Today was absolutely a surprise to me. It’s left me kind of speechless, which isn’t normal for me. I usually have a lot to say,” Van Ess joked. “It brought tears to my eyes, but then I thought, ‘Put your game face on. This is kind of a big deal.’ So I did.”
Officials say the School Counselor of the Year award is given annually to an individual who devotes their career to being an advocate for students and aids their academic, social-emotional and career development.
When asked what pushed her to become a counselor, Van Ess had a simple, one-word answer.
“Helping,” she said. “That’s the #1 reason why I wanted to be a counselor, is to make a difference in the world of our youth. Especially in an elementary school, where I feel that they can still be molded.”
Van Ess said being chosen as the recipient of this year’s award is an honor, but the true reward is the work she does day in and day out with her students.
It’s not something that I ever would have expected to receive in my life. You know, you don’t go into a profession thinking ‘someday I’m going to win this, or I’m going to win that’. That’s not why I do what I do. I truly do what I do because I love it, and this is great. This is a great honor and I’m really happy to be representing our Green Bay school district and the other counselors that I work with every year.
One project near and dear to Van Ess’s heart is the Hungry Heroes food pantry, which she founded at Jackson Elementary in spring 2021.
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