RIVER FALLS – The winner of the 2024 Minnesota School Counselor of the Year Award works in a large metropolitan school district and recently received recognition for his award under the bright lights of a national education conference in Washington, D.C. 

However, Errol Edwards, school counselor at St. Anthony Park Elementary School, part of St. Paul Public Schools, points to his time as a student at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls as a formative period that put him on the path to his current life situation. 

That Edwards would grow up to work in education might seem like a forgone conclusion, given that both his mother – Linda Loverude, a UW-River Falls alum – and grandmother worked as teachers. But Edwards wasn’t an education major when he enrolled at UW-River Falls after graduating from Como Park Senior High School in St. Paul. Instead, he was studying kinesiology and was on the football team. Edwards, who is biracial, was co-president of the African American Alliance at the university and enjoyed traveling to other Universities of Wisconsin schools to advocate for Brown and Black students. 

His experience with the African American Alliance spurred his desire to help others, Edwards said. And his friendships with students who were going to school to be teachers or school counselors prompted him to question whether that might be his career path. 

“I remember walking past the education building on campus and thinking ‘maybe that is what I want to do,’” Edwards recalled. “And at that same time, I began to realize that I was a helper. That was a time in my life when I started to figure out that I wanted to change people’s lives for the better. My time at UW-River Falls served as the beginning of the journey that got me to where I am now.”

Despite that, Edwards’ educational journey took a detour. After two years at UW-River Falls, he left the university to work in real estate. He did that job for six years until the housing sector collapsed in 2008. He left that profession and began coaching basketball, which led to a job working as a special education assistant in the Minneapolis Public School District.  

Edwards subsequently decided to enroll in Metro State University, where he obtained his bachelor’s degree. He then obtained his master’s degree in counseling at Adler Graduate School in Richfield, Minn., and was hired at Barack and Michelle Obama Elementary School in St. Paul, where he worked for four years. He then moved to St. Anthony Park Elementary School, where he is in his second year.

As he taught in classrooms, Edwards has recognized the major stressors many of his students face, factors that often impair their mental health and adversely impact their learning. 

“I can see firsthand the amount of stress going on in these kids,” Edwards said, “and I can use the trauma-informed practices I have learned to try to address those situations. It feels good to know that I am actually making a positive difference in my students’ lives.”

Edwards was nominated for his statewide education counseling award by his elementary school counseling peers. He attended a national conference to receive his award from the American School Counselor Association in Washington, D.C., earlier this month with the other 2024 state school counseling award winners. 

Calling his time at the national conference “an amazing experience,” Edwards said he is humbled with the honor. He appreciates the opportunity to meet other educators at the conference and exchange ideas. 

“It was a powerful experience to meet with all these other educators,” he said. “When you all come together in one place and talk about ideas, you know you can get through the hard work.”

Working as a school counselor is definitely challenging, Edwards said, especially given mounting mental health problems and reactions to trauma he sees in students. Meeting their needs when they are young gives them a better chance of having success as older students, he said, a key factor prompting him to work at the elementary school level.

In addition to his job as a school counselor, Edwards is professional development coordinator in the St. Paul teachers union, a role in which he oversees professional development for educators to help them interact with students effectively. He is an advocate for continuing to expand mental health and other counseling services, especially at the elementary school level, and for a more equitable system. 

Each time he enters the school where he works, Edwards reminds himself to focus fully on his students’ needs, to help them reach their full potential. And he recalls the circuitous, sometimes challenging path he has taken to be in a position to help them. 

“Becoming counselor of the year, and to see where I am today is pretty surreal,” Edwards said. “Maybe this is the way it was always supposed to work out, with education being in my blood with my grandma and my mom. Being in education has really lifted me up, and I’m so grateful for the work I do.”

Submitted by UW-River Falls