Emily Webster is ready to help students with their college needs in the Future Center. photo by Evelyn Jackson
Emily Webster is committed to helping students navigate college and career decisions.
High school is a very important period for students, especially juniors and seniors, who are thinking about what they want to do in the future. Emily Webster, Thomas Jefferson High School’s very own Denver Scholarship Foundation (DSF) Lead College advisor, is here to help guide students during this stressful time of decision making. Whether college or joining the workforce is the right path for a student, Webster is here to help.
After getting a bachelor’s degree in Sociology at Rollins College and a Master’s of Science in Youth Development Leadership at Clemson University, Webster began her journey working with teens. She has worked a variety of different jobs that were centered around helping teens before finally landing a job at West High School. While working at West, she learned about school future centers, the DSF, and college access work. Learning about the ways to help students with college and their futures inspired her to make her career revolve around helping students to figure out their futures. Webster said, “When the opportunity to join the team here at TJ opened up, I was really excited about it.” Joining the TJ staff was a good decision for Webster as it helped her with her passion of helping teens. She enjoys hearing about students’ future plans, or, if they don’t already know, helping them figure out what they might want to do. Webster just hit five years working at TJ after starting in January 2020.
At TJ, Webster’s role is the DSF lead college advisor. She works in the Future Center, a resource at TJ that provides students with information about the college application process. Webster’s main focus is working with seniors and helping them fill out scholarships, grants, and figuring out which college is right for them in relation to their goals. Webster recognizes that applying for college includes many different steps that also include multiple small details that need to be done correctly. She aims to help students meet the large amounts of deadlines that come along with applying for scholarships and colleges. Webster also emphasizes the importance of guiding students in the right direction no matter what path they decide. She wants students to believe that college is possible and accessible if they choose it.
While Webster does work with high school students, she stated that when she was in high school she hated it, and added “I struggled in a lot of ways [which] led me to want to support students through what can be a really challenging time.” Webster’s high school experiences inspired her to help students get through high school and transition into college. She understands that high school is a difficult time, and not just because of all of the stress that comes with planning the future. Webster acknowledges that students are changing, growing, and trying to figure out who they want to be can be a difficult process. Webster wants to share her experiences and support students in any way that she can.
Inside of school, Webster dedicates her time to helping students with difficult choices. Outside of school, however, Webster has her own individual hobbies and interests. She enjoys hanging out with her puppy, Maple Syrup. She also enjoys spending time in nature with activities such as gardening and camping. Spending quality time with her granddaughters and cooking with them is also a favorite activity. Another passion of hers is watching and going to Clemson College football games.
Webster is a college and career readiness counselor who really cares about making a difference in students’ lives. Her own negative experiences have led her to want to help students through the college choice process, and she knows that high school can be a very hard time for students. Picking what college to go to or what to do in the future can be such a daunting task, and Webster understands that. She wants to assist students in any way that she can and help prepare them for their futures. Her dedication and passion to her career are shown in the way that she has helped prepare many students for the future and helped them feel less stressed about what is yet to come.
