Thayer Central's Kathy Brzon Honored

for Counseling Excellence

 

Lincoln - The Chancellor of the Nebraska State College System, the Board of Trustees, and other system representatives honored Kathy Brzon as the 2006 Counseling Excellence Award recipient Thursday. The banquet was held in conjunction with the NSCS Board of Trustees meeting held at the Lied Lodge in Nebraska City.

 

The second high school guidance counselor to receive this honor, Brzon has worked at Thayer Central Community Public Schools since 1991. She teaches students skills needed for successful transition into postsecondary training and job training. She has supervised a peer mentor program for grades K-12 and managed the Power School information and grading system for grades K-12. She also sponsored the Student Council and class activities.

 

At the banquet, Chancellor Stan Carpenter thanked Brzon for her work as a counselor. He said, "Those of us in the Nebraska State College System wish we had more counselors like Kathy Brzon - the ones who research financial aid options or call to find out if a degree offers what their student wants - the ones who make that extra effort."

 

The Counseling Excellence Award was developed in 2005 by the Nebraska State College System Admissions and College Relations Council to honor high school guidance counselors for exemplary service and commitment to students. Students from Chadron, Peru and Wayne State Colleges nominated their high school counselors. Amanda Gehle, a current Wayne State College and former Thayer Central High School student, nominated Brzon.

 

"Mrs. Brzon has assisted Thayer Central students in realizing that small schools can be competitive and so can students from small town schools. She has helped students by planting seeds of inspiration," Gehle said.

 

The Admissions and College Relations Council for the Nebraska State College System first selected Kathy Brzon as a regional recipient and then named her the statewide recipient in November. The two other regional winners were Greg Conn from Wausa High School and Ona Ebsen from Butte High School. Both could not attend the banquet and will receive their awards at a later date.

 

Brzon earned her bachelor's degree from Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas and her master's degree in educational counseling from Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas.

 

Carpenter presented Brzon with a plaque and she will also receive registration and travel expenses to the annual Great Plains Association for College Admission Counseling (GPACAC) regional conference held in Overland Park, Kansas, in April. GPACAC is one of 23 state and regional affiliates of the National Association for College Admission Counseling.

 

Kathy and her husband, Darrell, have two children, Kayla and Zach.