Area native receives national award

A mother’s message continues to impact not only her son’s life, but the lives of students he counsels today at Ritenour Husky Academy in Overland, Missouri.

Former Poplar Bluffian Matt Berry, who recently was honored as one of the top five school counselors in the nation’s 2022 School Counselor of the Year awards program, recalls his mother Robin Berry’s message.

“Something that’s always been part of me is something my mother said to me when I was in middle school,” Berry explained. “I always keep this with me in the work I do with kids. She said, ‘Matt, it doesn’t matter what anyone says to you or does to you, as long as you know who you are.’”

Not only has his mother’s message served him well, Berry strives to instill the message “within my kids who I work with, to this day, especially middle school students. They’re just trying to figure out who they are. They don’t even have a clue; their brains are still developing and growing, and they’re trying to identify who they are.

“I put a lot of emphasis on just, ‘who am I,’ and so that’s something I needed at that time when I was in middle school and it’s something I still need. I think we all do. We continue to grow and evolve, and want to become a better version of who we are.”

Alma Lopez of California, who was named top counselor, along with Berry and three others were honored during a national event in Washington D.C.

Berry described attending the National Press Club as “awesome.” He appeared along with U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy.

The finalists formed a panel to discuss critical issues in school counseling.

“That was a really amazing event, just to be able to talk about critical issues we’re facing in education, with COVID and definitely our students,” Berry said.

They talked about race and bias, and “how we can impact within school counseling and education,” Berry said.

Being recognized individually “was definitely an amazing event,” Berry said. “It has opened a lot of doors to other opportunities for development to speak to our national association, also Professional School Counseling and education in general.”

The finalists are receiving requests to talk and contribute in a variety of ways.

Berry has written an article for Forbes magazine, which he said, “was really cool.”

National School Counseling Week highlighted the importance of counselors in schools, and the importance of having comprehensive programs to support every student.

Each finalists had a special day, and “we had a webinar in a podcast and we took over Instagram for our national association and highlighted some of the work we do in our programs,” Berry said.

“In my district, we’re a very diverse district. We highlight making sure we are reaching and teaching every student every day. That’s our motto, ‘Every student, every day.’”

Berry makes sure “I’m in touch with as many students as possible.”

He does professional development for other counselors and educators in the state, and “I want to continue to do that work,” he said.

He wants to have the opportunity to work with other counselors across the nation, and educators, “because it helps provide a bigger reach, for us all, to be able to touch the lives of students.”

Berry wants to continue to ensure students’ needs are met each day.

“A lot of schools across the United States are opening back up, but because of the things our students have experienced, there has been a lack of opportunities for them to have socialization with one another,” he said.

Berry explained the school closures created “a lot more important for us to build upon their social skills, and making sure they have job readiness and career focus in the future.”

While Berry hasn’t lived in Poplar Bluff in two decades, he recently was in town to celebrate his father Marvin Berry’s birthday. His parents have lived in Poplar Bluff for more than 60 years and have been self employed. His father owns Berry Auto Sales and his mother helps run the business.

His brothers are Mike and Marcus Berry. Mike and his wife, Jodie, are teachers at Poplar Bluff Junior High School. Mike and Marcus were volleyball coaches. Marcus has his own T-shirt screen printing business.

All his nieces and nephews have graduated from school.

“I have a partner,” Berry said. “We’re not married and we might as well be. We have been together for over 17 years. His name is Shane Livingston. He is a fourth grade teacher in the Hazelwood School District.”

Berry has been a school counselor since 2007. The school serves 736 students, grades 6-8. Berry received his bachelor’s degree from Southwest Missouri State University and his master’s degree from Missouri Baptist University.