Gaston College Counseling Center is open and available to assist students
The staff of the Gaston College Counseling Center is available to assist students who may be struggling with career path choices or other personal issues, such as depression, anxiety, or domestic violence, or who have concerns about accessibility on the College’s campuses. Students can make appointments to meet with counselors either over the phone, in-person (following social distancing guidelines), or virtually.
The counseling staff on the College’s Dallas campus consists of Sherri Chavis, who provides career counseling, including advice on career inventories and exploration, personal counseling and general advising, and ZaMyra Dow-Shaw who advises on accessibility services and accommodations for students with special needs and also provides personal counseling and general advising. Shamere Carpenter provides personal counseling and general advising, and she supports accessibility services and career counseling on the Lincoln campus. Students on the Kimbrell campus in Belmont should consult with the Dallas campus counselors.
Damon Murray who, as Director of Student Success and Retention, oversees the counseling staff.
Providing Gaston College students with the assistance they need is the counselors’ priority. “One of the best resources we have on campus is Student Outreach Services,” said Damon Murray who, as Director of Student Success and Retention, oversees the counseling staff. “This is a service, paid for out of student fees, that provides confidential counseling services with local, licensed clinicians. SOS also has legal, budget, and other resources available on the website. We also connect students with the campus food bank and with financial resources, like Financial Aid, Student Emergency Assistance Program, and Finish Line Grant. There are so many resources available and our counselors work hard to get our students connected to the appropriate ones.”
Venicia Mora, an administrative assistant with the EMS department at Gaston College, is grateful for the help she received from counselors when she was a student. “As a student who returned to school after dropping out 23 years prior, I can say that without the help of Katie Fraley and Damon Murray I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I have,” said Mora. Fraley is an Academic Advisor at the College and counsels’ students on class selection and scheduling. “Katie was wonderful at listening to my needs and wants and helping me create the perfect school schedules to fit my lifestyle. Damon was so helpful setting me up with accommodations to help navigate my classes more easily and giving me the peace of mind knowing I had the opportunity to use the accommodations if I needed them.”
To schedule a confidential appointment with the Gaston College counseling staff, call 704-922-6220 or email Counseling@gaston.edu.
(left to right) Sherri Chavis, ZaMyra Dow-Shaw and Shamere Carpenter are student advisors in Gaston College’s Counseling Center who are available to help students needing to register and select a career path. Fall Classes start on Thursday, August 20.
