Recognizing National School Counseling Week

During National School Counseling Week (Feb. 5-9), Osseo Area Schools celebrates the contributions and tremendous impact school counselors have on ensuring scholars have the essential support needed to succeed. This week, we are featuring a few of the many dedicated counselors that help our students.

Marin Thuen-Maple Grove Senior High School

Marin Thuen, counselor at Maple Grove Senior High School (MGSH), has worked at the school for three years, helping students work toward academic success both in high school and afterward. She knew she wanted to be a school counselor because she has always enjoyed talking with her friends about their career plans and helping them pick their classes.

“Our goal is to help students to be successful and eventually graduate. We operate outside of teachers and the classroom, and can support through the areas that they aren’t able to with social-emotional and mental health needs, academic planning and college and career planning,” Thuen said.

Thuen works with students one on one, in small groups and in the classroom, helping them with course registration, college and career readiness and social-emotional lessons. She collaborates with parents/caregivers, teachers and the counseling team to provide support for students. 

Thuen likes working with high schoolers because they are really getting to know themselves. She enjoys having intellectual conversations with them and getting to help them prepare for their future plans. Thuen said that a highlight for her has been working with the counseling team at MGSH. They are always on hand to support each other, working together to help students succeed. 

“We are in a unique position where we get to see holistically what is going on with a student. We have conversations about mental health that then connect to something with school that connects to family that connects to college and career plans,” Thuen said. 

In her free time, Thuen loves reading, traveling, playing piano, crafting and going to live music and musicals.

Amy Fouquette-Fernbrook Elementary School

Amy Fouquette has worked as a school counselor in the district for 25 years, with most of those being at Fernbrook Elementary School. She wanted to work as a school counselor for the opportunity to help kids. 

“Thinking back on my education, I had a lot of positive adults in my life as I was growing up. I knew that working with kids in elementary would be a great fit,” Fouquette said. 

Every day is a little different for Fouquette. She works to help kids who are struggling, working with individual or small groups of students on social-emotional lessons or coping skills. 

“The goal is always to help students get to a place where they can go back to the classroom and learn as much as possible,” Fouquette said.

Fouquette’s favorite part of her job is working with the community of students and staff at Fernbrook. Having worked there so long, she now has some of her former students who are teachers in the building or have kids in the building. She enjoys watching students grow in their skills and getting positive feedback from them to show they are learning.

“I really like that we make an environment where kids feel comfortable and want to come, because that plants the seed for when kids get older and know seeing a counselor is just what you can do at school,” Fouquette said.

In her free time, Fouquette enjoys photography, spending time with her kids, being around animals and relaxing.