Billy Petty ’10 came to Franklin Academy as a two-year senior. After graduation, Billy matriculated at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey. During the time between spring and fall semesters, he returned to our campus to work in Summer Sojourn. Upon graduation from FDU with a B.A. in Psychology, we hired Billy to work for two years as a teaching intern before he was ready to pursue his Master’s Degree in Counseling at Penn State University (www.psu.edu). Currently, Billy is maintaining a 3.88 GPA in his Master’s program. This spring semester he is doing his fieldwork in the counseling department of Altoona Area High School in Pennsylvania, assisting six counselors serving 1,700 students. There is a lot of crisis intervention, and Billy is also working in Altoona’s alternative school that has 50 students enrolled. When this practicum is completed, Billy will have earned his Master’s Degree. As our visit concluded, I asked him about his career aspirations after Penn State, and he said: “It was would be a dream come true to return here and work as a counselor.” I thanked Billy for his enduring commitment to our school community, gave him encouragement, and told him to stay in communication with us throughout our upcoming hiring season. Epilogue dated May 19, 2018: Today, Billy Petty signed his employment contract to become a counselor at Franklin Academy – our first graduate to secure full-time employment at the school. This is a very special moment.
College and Career
