Cato College of Education faculty member Clare Merlin-Knoblich was named Counselor Educator of the Year by the North Carolina School Counselor Association.
This award recognizes Merlin-Knoblich’s outstanding contributions to the field of school counseling in North Carolina and beyond. She joins UNC Charlotte counseling professors Sejal Foxx and Taryne Mingo, who received the award in 2015 and 2020, respectively.
The ninth-year faculty member is a dedicated mentor who creates supportive, engaging learning environments through forward-thinking instructional approaches. She has implemented, researched and presented on flipped learning, which empowers students to take ownership of their educational experience by engaging in application activities to learn course content. She also has been actively involved in program development and leadership, serving as director of the master’s and post-master’s school counseling programs.
Merlin-Knoblich also connects with her students throughout their academic journey beyond the classroom, advising an average of 20 school counseling master’s students and 24 post-master’s certificate school counseling students each year. She further provides research mentorship to doctoral students studying school counseling topics and routinely leads research teams with doctoral students to conduct research about school counseling.
“I am grateful to spend my career researching school counseling topics, mentoring school counseling students, and partnering with practicing school counselors in the field,” Merlin-Knoblich said. “Though I miss my own days as a school counselor, the work I get to do as a counselor educator provides me with an expanded reach to support K-12 students through the remarkable work of school counselors in our state.”
Read more on the Cato College of Education website.