Featured Finalist: Stephanie Leibowitz Nelson
Stephanie Leibowitz Nelson, Ph.D., ACSC, school counselor at Garner Magnet High School in Garner, N.C., is a 2025 School Counselor of the Year® finalist. She has been a school counselor since 2007. Garner Magnet High School, a RAMP® school, serves 1,681 students in grades 9–12.
“Dr. Nelson consistently leads with kindness even in stressful situations,” said Matthew Price, principal, Garner Magnet High School. “The job of a school counselor is multifaceted and seems to change from one moment to the next. It is a scenario that can lead to frustration and anxiety, but Dr. Nelson maintains a positive facade and outlook throughout each new stressor. Her demeanor allows for those around her (students, teachers and peers within her department) to respond in a similar manner.” Read more about Stephanie.
What Makes Stephanie Tick?
What do you find most rewarding about being a school counselor?
Helping ensure all students feel seen and heard in a safe and welcoming environment that encourages them to reach their full potential. I started a daily morning indoor walking program for students to have an opportunity to walk with intention before school starts. Students are able to connect with me, their peers and use time before class in a productive way. We engage in conversation, practice mindfulness and gratitude and get energized for the day ahead. Meeting up with students each morning for Walking with Intention and engaging with them outside of my office is one of my favorite parts of the day.
What brings you joy?
Spending time with my family, specifically when we travel to towns with minor league baseball stadiums and stay at historic hotels.
How do you help students thrive?
I acknowledge that their differences matter and advocate for their specific situations and needs.
What’s the most adrenaline-inducing adventure you’ve ever experienced?
The time that I slid down a 60-foot all-natural water slide in a national forest near Asheville, N.C., into 8 feet of freezing cold water.
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a psychologist so I could help people with their problems.
What’s one bucket-list item you want to accomplish in 2025?
I’d like to join a book club and make more time to read for fun.
If you were asked to cook a signature dish, what would it be?
Steak dinner. I love a traditional high quality steak like a strip, ribeye or even prime rib. Cooked medium-rare with a loaded baked potato and a strong salad to get some greens in.
What’s a weird fact you know?
I know that Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th president. This is weird because I am horrible at remembering dates, but for some reason I never forget this. I even impressed the tour guide at a recent visit to the Susan B. Anthony house in Rochester, N.Y., with this fact.
What’s your favorite dessert?
Tollhouse pie. It’s a chocolate chip pie my mom used to make on Thanksgiving.
If you could have an unlimited supply of something for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Movement. Exercise is my favorite form of natural healing that keeps me happy and healthy. It also helps me show up for others.
How would you describe your job to a 5 year old?
I help students if they are sad and having a bad day. But I also help them with what they can do to be great students, get their school work done and become amazing people who will do great things in our world.
Do you have any hidden talents? What can you do?
I’m not a professional, but can I plan and decorate for a really great party. Just tell me the theme.
What’s the one place in your city you tell visitors not to miss?
The State Farmers Public Market in Raleigh. I always enjoy it for beautiful fresh flower bouquets, and it has a restaurant for down-home southern food.
What’s your favorite smell and why?
Gardenias because they were mom Mom’s favorite flower, and they just smell heavenly.
What’s one important skill you think everyone should have?
Good grammar.
What could you talk about for 30 minutes with no notes?
Postsecondary planning. I have been a high school counselor for 18 years. I’d say I can run down the basics for planning for life after school, what students can do each year to prepare for the future and the college application/financial aid process with no notes.
You have your own late-night talk show – who would you invite as your first guest?
Michelle Obama. She loves school counselors and is committed to education.
How did you get into school counseling? How did you know it was the right path for you?
I knew at a young age that I always wanted to be in a helping profession, whether it was a nurse like my mom, an optometrist like my dad or a psychologist. One of my core memories is pretending to be a psychologist with my siblings. I’d sit across from them and ask them to tell me their problems. I enjoyed taking psychology classes in high school and college. I fell in love with counseling by taking an intro to counseling course my senior year in college. I loved learning theory and connecting it to helping others. Then, I homed in on wanting to help kids in a similar capacity. My parents were divorced at a young age, I moved schools several times and struggled with fitting in and finding my place, especially in high school. I wanted to be the person to high school students that I needed when I was younger.