A young woman stands ready for work on a sunny Wednesday morning in Arizona. Her elementary school job is the perfect challenge for an ambitious woman like her who is fresh out of college. This friendly teacher is ready to assist her third grade students with just about anything from academics to personal life. Finding her true calling in helping others, the woman sets out to become a counselor.

Connecting with her students has always been Erin Camden’s favorite part about working in schools. First, she received a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Arizona State University. When she found joy in helping students at her small elementary school with their personal lives, Camden decided to continue her education with a Counseling degree from Northern Arizona University.

Today, Camden works full-time at Bishop Blanchet. Her many jobs include helping kids decide their schedules, aiding college applicants, and comforting students when they need it the most. Her demanding job requires many hours of hard work from Camden. Her determination to act with kindness allows her to make a personal connection with nearly every one of her students, which makes for a more soothing counseling experience when someone is going through a hard time.

Although she has become an integral part of the counseling team at Blanchet, Camden has not always worked here. After her collegiate career at Northern Arizona, Camden starting looking for jobs. As an alumna of BBHS, Camden did not hesitate to apply when she saw a counseling opening at Blanchet. Camden regarded her return to Blanchet as a tremendous blessing, and ever since she has landed the job here she has not looked back. 

“I am thankful everyday for the opportunity to be back here and a part of this community,” said Camden.

One of Camden’s success in connecting with her students is that she fully understands them. Being a young woman, Camden connects with the fun things that her students do. This makes her relatable and easy to talk to for high school students. She enjoys watching the Seattle Sounders, exploring new restaurants around the city, and scoping out events in Downtown Seattle.

In the future, Camden hopes to continue her work as a counselor. Aside from her every day work, Camden hopes to pursue a higher position on the counseling field. She hopes to become an advocate for the school counseling profession on the state and national level.

“Being able to connect with my students and get to know them is my favorite thing about my job,” said Camden. “Seeing my students start Blanchet as freshmen and then graduate as young adults is so cool!”