The road that Lisa Cole took to becoming Fossil Ridge High School’s mental health specialist began in the office of her own personal therapist.
“Actually I went to a therapist, and I loved her so much I thought she was excellent,” Cole said. “ I want to do exactly what you’re doing.”
The inspiration of Cole’s therapist led her to other work in areas like domestic violence and community mental health before she settled on working in a school environment. She worked with elementary, middle and high school and says her favorite is high school. She has spent the last 17 years at Fossil.
“I like working with teens. I like helping them try to navigate their teen years, and I really like to be here at school so that they can access some support if they need it,” said Cole, who has a 14-year-old daughter and two 10-year-old twin boys.
“My favorite part of the job is working with kids,” Cole said. “I love kids.”
Cole’s team at the district has grown from nine to 29 during her time in the district. They are able to reach more kids and the students’ needs. One specialist is assigned to every school now instead of one being assigned to multiple schools.
Cole meets with students individually as well as in groups. In addition, she is a part of the crisis team. So if there is a major crisis like a death in the school, Cole would lead the crisis response and bring in other people from other schools to help support students. Cole said that work is difficult because “It’s really heavy.”
“My heart breaks for kids, and when their heart breaks, my heart breaks too,” she said. But she does find purpose even in that difficult work.
“It fulfills me to be able to try to comfort people and be there with them through their pain, and help them walk through that, that grief,” Cole said.
Senior Emory Whiteley had gone to three previous high schools before settling down at Fossil halfway through 2024. Although his high school experience has not been normal by any means, he says being in a judgement free zone like Fossil has been his best experience yet.
Cole has been a big part of that, he said, calling her “one of the most compassionate people I’ve met.”
“To have somebody to speak to judgment free, because she obviously doesn’t care about any of the things you’ve done, or you’re doing, or anything like that, she’s there to help with your mental state,” said Whiteley.
Joel Bekken, drug and alcohol counselor, has been working with Cole for four years now and they have a great relationship. He called her “hilarious” and a “big time goofball.”
Bekken says they pull pranks on each other, and overall Cole makes Fossil a fun environment for not only students but staff alike.
“So she pranks my office. Sometimes I prank her office,” said Bekken. “It’s always good to have some of that lightness, because sometimes you hear some hard stuff. Sometimes keep it light.”
