Terri Rein spent 20 years working to let students know she cared

By Dani Tietz

While teachers usually get to spend a year or two, the time high school guidance counselors get to spend with those same students spans four years. 

While it may not be the same day-to-day interaction teachers have, guidance counselors are responsible for making sure each student is on the right path to reach their academic goals, to offer advice on possibilities as they enter adulthood, and are oftentimes responsible for helping teenagers envision a future. 

For St. Joseph-Ogden High School Guidance Counselor Terri Rein, it’s been the perfect career.

“I majored in psychology (as an) undergrad, and I knew I wanted to work with high school students,” Rein said. “My high school guidance counselor was really good, and I thought to myself — ‘I could do that.’”

After graduating from Eastern Illinois University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a teaching certificate and a master’s degree in school counseling, Rein went on to work at Danville and Centennial High Schools before joining St. Joseph-Ogden 20 years ago.

“I have hopefully had a positive impact on kids while they were here at SJO and even after,” she said. “The connections I have made with the kids and watching them grow and realize their potential/value.

“My biggest hope for what they take away is that they were truly cared about as human beings and that I believed in them! To quote a fellow teacher/coach—we care most about the type of humans they turn into.”

Rein’s favorite part of the job was watching each St. Joseph-Ogden’s student walk across the stage at graduation after she read some of their names. SJ-O’s 2023 graduation was on May 21.

Knowing she made the right choice in her profession, Rein is now ready to retire as the 2022-23 school year comes to an end.

The days ahead will include drinking coffee on her front porch and traveling.