Thousands of students and families turned to Marybeth Griffin for support during her 34 years as a school counselor in the South Bronx and Westchester.
“Kids are incredible. To be a supportive person on their journey as they figure out who they are is such a beautiful gift,” explains Griffin, who sees school counseling as her calling. “I happened to find the right place in the world for me, and I’m so lucky.”
The daughter of a U.S. Air Force attorney, Griffin grew up around the globe — in Thailand, Germany and five American states. Her eclectic upbringing informed her choice to focus on multicultural counseling during her studies at TC, where she encountered “illuminating” faculty like Sam Johnson, who offered deep opportunities to engage with other worldviews.
One of the things I learned [at Teachers College] was that there are times when it's important that I listen to others rather than speak.
“I had the most wonderful experience at Teachers College,” says Griffin. “One of the things I learned was that there are times when it's important that I listen to others rather than speak.”
Griffin also cultivated this approach during her early career as a social worker, which she continued while a graduate student at TC. The experience marked the beginning of her time working in high-needs communities, a watershed moment that revealed she had made the right choice to pursue counseling.
“There’s a whole different world out there that didn’t have the everyday privileges that I had growing up,” explains Griffin. “I realized just how lucky I was, and how unlucky people can be depending on their address or other variables. That was an awakening — an opportunity to be a good person and help someone figure out their way.”
(Photo: iStock)
Decades later in her school counseling journey, Griffin found herself at an inflection point during the pandemic. Nearing retirement age, she debated whether to end her career amid remote schooling. But she couldn’t.
“I have to come back and see this through,” Griffin thought at the time. “I have to go out in a way where I’m having contact with kids and their families.”
Supporting her students in person was critical to Griffin, who saw first hand the kind of social and emotional challenges that researchers have identified among youth in the years since.
“How could you live through that time and not have issues?” Griffin muses. “To grow up is difficult enough, in addition to all of the other challenging things we went through.”
One of the things I learned [at Teachers College] was that there are times when it's important that I listen to others rather than speak.
And so Griffin returned to Ossining High School in Westchester, New York, supporting students on their journeys for another few years before retiring in 2023. The TC alumna is on a new part of her journey, traveling frequently like in her youth. But her 34 years in schools retain a gratifying afterglow.
“To be walking in the halls with young people who are just figuring themselves out and enjoying life is amazing. And to offer parents a different way of looking at their children, and vice versa with children and teachers, is such a gift,” says Griffin. “It’s such a remarkable thing to touch so many people’s lives.”