Miss Jozzet Spence has been a valued member of the WSHS staff since 2014, working to support students through high school and help them make plans for the future. Despite being a counselor now, she originally majored in English and worked as a language arts teacher for a mixed groups of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. She remarked, “throughout the years I taught as an English teacher students would often talk to me about their personal lives and the things happening within it. I love helping people and I began to feel like becoming a counselor would be the best way to help my students.” She took the initiative and went back to school earning her master’s in school counseling. Miss Spence explained that going back to school and shifting her profession was an important accomplishment in her career that she was proud of. 

        One of her favorite parts of her job is having a conversation with young people and talking out ways to achieve their goals. Miss Spence explained that she primarily focused on working in secondary schools because she really enjoys having these discussions with young people. However, there are still some challenging aspects of her job. Like the influx of paperwork that often limits the amount of students she can see in a day. Despite this, she finds her job incredibly rewarding, especially when she gets to see students she has helped over their high school career walk across the stage and accept their diploma. Over the 26 years she has worked in the public school system a quote by Sue Fitzmaurice has always hit home. She stated “I’m not interested in whether you’ve stood with the great; I’m interested in whether you’ve sat with the broken.” 

        Outside of school Miss Spence is an avid reader, her favorite books are The Great Gatsby, and Things Fall Apart. She enjoys cooking, her favorite thing to cook is stir fry and she likes playing tennis. One of things she loves about Florida is going to the beaches with her friends, family, and her two kids.