Northwest alumnus appointed chair of counseling association board of directors

Northwest Missouri State University alumnus Geoff Heckman has been selected to serve as the 2022-2023 chair of the American School Counseling Association (ASCA) board of directors, a continuation of leadership roles he has fulfilled since graduating from the University.

Heckman, who earned his master’s degree in school counseling in 2003 at Northwest, has been in education for 25 years. He has worked as a school counselor for 18 years and serves as a department chair at Platte County High School in Platte City, Missouri.

Heckman credits the University’s school counseling graduate program for his success in his profession.

“Northwest accurately prepared me for what a career in school counseling was going to be like,” he said. “I knew exactly what I was supposed to be doing from day one of my job because Northwest had allowed me to gain hands-on experience into various aspects of counseling curriculum.”

Heckman has been active in leadership roles with both the state and national school counseling associations.

“There were several experiences locally in northwest Missouri that allowed me to get into school counseling leadership roles,” he said. “These opportunities allowed for me to become involved at a state level for our school counseling association which allowed me to become more involved with our parent organization, ASCA.”

In addition to serving as president of the Missouri School Counselor Association, Heckman was selected as the 2017 Missouri School Counselor of the Year award. In 2018, he was one of six finalists for the National School Counselor of the Year Award from ASCA, and he joined the ASCA board of directors in 2020.

ASCA is a nonprofit professional organization based in Alexandria, Virginia, with a mission of expanding the image and influence of school counseling through leadership, advocacy, collaboration and systemic change. It helps school counselors guide students toward academic achievement, career planning, and social and emotional learning to help them become productive, contributing members of society. Founded in 1952, ASCA has a network of 51 state and territory associations and a membership of approximately 43,000 school counseling professionals.

“Being on this board of directors has given me the opportunity to connect with school counselors and to learn more about trends in school counseling on a national scale,” Heckman said. “I am able to see the commonalities we have in terms of advocacy and issues that school counselors struggle with, along with the strengths and other area counselors shine in across the country.”