With a passion for helping people along a journey that has taken her from Las Vegas to Rochester, with decades of experience guiding students with care and wisdom, Mrs. Stephenson has joined Mayo’s Guidance department. Even though we’re only a month into the school year, it’s clear she’s going to have a long-lasting, positive impact on the students of Mayo.
This is Mrs. Stephenson’s first year working in Rochester, and she is enjoying meeting and getting to know students and new coworkers; everyone has been extremely warm and welcoming. With over 20 years of experience, Mrs. Stephenson has worked as a Middle School counselor in Las Vegas and an Elementary school counselor in Montana. This year, she is helping high schoolers, which she hasn’t done since her early internships: “I enjoyed high school then, and so I was excited to have an opportunity to come back,” Mrs. Stephenson said.
Her journey working in schools has been anything but ordinary. She’s gone from helping kindergarteners with big feelings to helping teens with the transition to college and the working world. She’s worked with students at nearly every stage of their school journey. She explained, “In elementary school, I was teaching kids how to be kind, how to make friends, and what to do if someone is mean to you,” but now in her career, she gets, “to see students on the other end ready to jump off into being adults.”
Mrs. Stephenson has always wanted to do something that would help people. Being a counselor was not her first job in schools. Initially, she taught as a P.E. and math teacher, then she earned her masters in school counseling. Her experience as a math teacher has shaped how she tries to help students as a counselor. “Math is such a gateway subject. If you can make it in math, it can really open doors for you. Even just learning how to learn. That’s something you can carry anywhere,” Mrs. Stephenson said.
For those students considering a career in education or counseling, one thing she emphasized was the importance of staying connected. “The more interactions you can have with people, the better your experience will be.”
When Mrs. Stephenson isn’t working, she loves spending time outdoors. It doesn’t matter if she’s running a marathon or hiking; she can likely be found on an outdoor adventure. In fact, she has completed ten marathons; that’s 262 miles of running! However she is not just focused on the running, Mrs. Stephenson chooses events at places where she can see something “new and beautiful.” As a result, she has finished marathons in Baltimore, Salt Lake City, San Luis Obispo, the Florida Keys, and many more! She said she was especially fond of the Grapes of Wrath Marathon, being cleverly renamed Grapes of Half, held in the Niagara region of Canada.
Running isn’t her only passion; Mrs. Stephenson also completed a 100-mile century bike ride around Lake Tahoe known as “America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride.” The event, which crosses two states and has 600 meters of vertical climbing, supports the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s work, especially in fighting blood cancer.
However, Mrs. Stephenson’s most recent outdoor challenge was in 2024, when she completed a rim-to-rim hike of the Grand Canyon. Over the course of three days, she and her group carried their own tents, food, and sleeping bags as they hiked to one side of the canyon, and then back to the other. “I love being in nature. Hiking, biking, just being outside. The training can be tough, but it’s worth it,” Stephenson said.
Besides outdoor adventures, she has been involved with teaching and storytelling through Native American cultural principles. While working in Montana, Mrs. Stephenson got to work with the Ani and Nakota communities, teaching lessons around the Seven Grandfather Teachings, the values that revolve around love, bravery, humility, truth, honesty, and respect. These Values are meant to guide people to a good life.
A fond memory of her time with the Ani and Nakota communities involved reciting the Aaniiih Pledge over the intercom during school morning announcements. The pledge goes, “I really honor and respect this flag. God has this land in His hand. Let us all live well and keep healthy.” So taken was she by the people and their beliefs that Mrs. Stephenson even began writing children’s stories to teach those values.
Reflecting back to the years when she was earning a bachelor’s degree in education from Idaho State, and then a master’s in counseling from Chapman University, Mrs. Stephenson is grateful for where her education has taken her and what opportunities have come from it: “It really came full circle. I started out wanting to help people, and I get to do that every day.”
