Photo by: Ari Guzman
Amanda Bodeen is one of the new additions to the South Salem High School’s counseling staff this year. She got her bachelor’s degree at Western Oregon University (WOU), where she majored in business and minored in psychology. She earned her Master’s in School Counseling at Oregon State University (OSU).
She began as an instruction assistant (IA) for a middle school, and later became a counselor at McKay High School. She worked at McKay for four years before coming to South. She is the counselor for students with last names Fo-H. She was inspired to be a counselor through the students she assisted with as an IA.
“When I was an instructional assistant in middle school, I had students tell me that they could tell me everything that they were going through. I wanted to be that person that students could come to when they needed a safe person to talk to,” Bodeen said.
But with new environments comes new challenges. So far, the most challenging transition for Bodeen are the schedule changes. As she learns more about how South operates, she has further connected with students and staff.
“I have loved getting to know my new students, they are wonderful. I also love the staff, and how there is a feeling of family at South,” Bodeen said.
Not only does she love spending time with students at South, but she equally enjoys her time out of school. She cherishes quality time with her family and friends.
“I love spending time with my daughter Sabrina, she is 8. I also love to hike and get out into the woods whenever I can. I have a horse that I ride, I go camping a lot in the summer, I run on my treadmill or with my dog, work in my garden, hang out with my chickens, and when the weather starts to turn, I do a lot of reading,” Bodeen said.
Besides staying at home, Bodeen also likes to travel. Her favorite trip so far is the cruise she took.
“My cruise to Alaska a couple of years ago was my favorite so far. Alaska is stunning, and I like that on the cruise, everything was taken care of. My job was to eat, the food on a cruise is amazing, and participate in fun activities, while the ship carried us around and dropped us off at the different destinations we wanted to see,” Bodeen said.
