North Carolina Counselor of the Year: Lauren Mena, M.A. ’13

In 2025, Lauren Mena, M.A. ’13, found herself at the center of an unexpected spotlight. Named Elementary Counselor of the Year for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) and then North Carolina School Counselor of the Year, she is now a contender for the national honor. “I am honored of course, but it does not feel real,” she said. “I sit among amazing school counselors in Charlotte Mecklenburg and at the state level. It feels surreal to even be in the running for an award like this.”

At Winding Springs Elementary School in Charlotte, Mena serves a school of 750 students, working primarily with kindergarten through fourth grade as well as some pre-kindergarten students. She also mentors and supports her co-counselor, who is still completing her training. Her approach is grounded in deep, sustained relationships — with students, their families and the broader school community.

“As counselors, we provide hope. We impact academics, behavior, preparations for the future. By working with the whole child and the whole family, we can unlock endless possibilities,” Mena said. “Sharing my cellphone number, letting the kids come to my office after school until the parents can pick them up — those are things I want to do because they build those relationships with whole families, and that cooperation maximizes outcomes for the student.” 

Her work today is shaped by a path that began long before she reached Lenoir-Rhyne. Mena started college at UNC-Pembroke before transferring to UNC-Charlotte, where she graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and a minor in visual and performing arts. Raised in a family of educators — her parents and most of her siblings work in schools — she expected to become a teacher. But a psychology course shifted her trajectory. After graduation, she worked with the Gaston County Department of Social Services and later in the mental health field.

“Helping people with mental health issues was interesting work, but I always wanted to be an educator, and I wanted to be in the school system,” she said. Conversations with colleagues helped her see how her interests converged. “Through the process of talking with the therapists in the agencies where I worked, someone said, ‘Have you thought about school counseling?’ And that was the perfect solution to bring together my interests in mental health and education.”

Lenoir-Rhyne offered the dual track in clinical mental health counseling and school counseling Mena needed to move forward. In a time before remote learning was common, she commuted through heavy Charlotte traffic to her classes in Hickory and declared the challenge worthwhile.

“Dr. Gordon Cappelletty, Dr. Nikki Vasilis, Dr. Neil Gray — the three of them really made my experience at LR. I couldn’t wait to get to their classes,” she said. Gray still serves as Mena’s mentor and attended her Counselor of the Year ceremony in person.

As an award winner, Mena credits her administrative team and colleagues for helping her do her best work, noting the support of current Winding Springs principal Matthew Slota, Ph.D., and former principal Larenda Denien Garvin. She went on to recognize district-level support from CMS school counseling program manager Sarah Plano and school counseling coordinators Angela Poovey and Sarah Blank

“I could not do what I do without all of these colleagues and administrators who enable growth and advocate for our field — they have shaped who I am and the work I do,” she said. She approaches those relationships as a two-way commitment: “Build a strong relationship with your administrators and be ready to pitch in wherever you’re needed. Never say, ‘That’s not my job.’”

She pays that support forward, too. In November, she presented at the North Carolina School Counselors Association (NCSCA) Conference. Her presentation on “Mindful Movement” highlighted how play and physical activity can strengthen learning and cognition.

“I am so thankful and grateful for NCSCA’s commitment to advocating for students, elevating leadership and cultivating excellence for school counselors across North Carolina,” she shared.

For those considering counseling as a profession, Mena offers the following encouragement: “You start with passion, and then the real work begins. You have to stick to it, even when it’s hard. Nothing worth engaging with will always be easy—there has to be a productive struggle. That’s where learning happens.”