Hunter Merrill

Danbury resident Hunter Merrill recently was named the Connecticut School Counselor Association 2024 School Counseling Intern of the Year, and accepted her award at the Connecticut School Counselor Gala on May 2 in Storrs. The path to her success began at Western Connecticut State University with an undergraduate degree in Psychology in 2019, and will continue with her completion of a Master of Science in School Counseling this month.

Merrill said she was uncertain about what she wanted to study or what kind of career she wanted after graduating from Danbury High School in 2011. She began her exploration of options at WCSU.

“I grew up in Danbury, so a huge deciding factor was convenience as it was right down the road,” she said. “WCSU also allowed me to be flexible with my schedule and work while I was getting my degrees. After graduating with my B.A. in Psychology in 2019 and working in a school, I knew that this is the environment I wanted to work in. I ultimately landed on school counseling since I have always had a passion for helping others. Once I narrowed down my interest to school counseling and heard WCSU had a master’s program, it was a no brainer.”

Merrill was a working commuter student during her time at WCSU. As an undergraduate, she was a member of the International Honor Society in Psychology (Psi Chi). As a graduate student she’s been involved with the Counseling Academic and Professional Honor Society (CSI).

Since receiving her bachelor’s degree, Merrill has worked at Head O’Meadow (HOM) Elementary in Newtown. “I started as a Special Education Paraeducator,” she said. “Once I started my School Counseling Practicum at Danbury High School in January 2023, I was fortunate that they were flexible with my school schedule, and I was able to become a building substitute teacher. I’m lucky that I was able to do my internship with the amazing school counselor here at HOM as well. My hope is that I get a school counselor position after graduation. My passion is at the elementary level; however, I would be happy working with any grade level K-12.”

Merrill said she wouldn’t be where she is today without the support of her professors and her fellow cohort members. “Every single class I took, I had a great experience with the course and the professors. To name a few, Dr. DeRonck and Dr. Monte were there from the very start of my journey and were always so helpful and accommodating throughout the program. Professor Darragh who taught my internship course was, too. I can’t speak more highly of this program and all of the faculty members. I had an amazing undergrad and graduate experience and WCSU is a great university to attend.”

Western Connecticut State University changes lives by providing all students with a high-quality education that fosters their growth as individuals, scholars, professionals and leaders in a global society. Our vision: To be widely recognized as a premier public university with outstanding teachers and scholars who prepare students to contribute to the world in a meaningful way.