LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Terri DeGeer was nominated by her principal, Noah Francis.

"In my 34 year career in education, I have never worked with a more dedicated, compassionate, sincere or committed educator than Mrs. DeGeer," said Francis. "She spends an extreme number of hours striving to meet the academic, personal, mental and social needs of our students and working with them and their families in planning for careers and post-secondary education. Mrs. DeGeer serves every one of our students and staff members with such energy, zeal, commitment, support and compassion. Every person in our building knows they always have a special person they can go to. She has worked very hard at developing a culture and a climate where students feel valued, appreciated and respected."

Mrs. DeGeer is a true relationship builder who has earned the trust and respect of students and staff at a very special level that is hard to describe. With Mrs. DeGeer, counseling is not a job or career, but a calling, a passion, and a life choice of serving others. She makes a difference in the lives of her “family members” and does whatever it takes to get the job done.

"Mrs. DeGeer is like an Energizer bunny; she keeps going and going and going," said Francis. "There's a joke in our school system that no matter what time or day of the week it is, you will get information from Mrs. DeGeer. It may be 6 am or 11 pm. It might be Saturday or even Sunday, Mrs. DeGeer works day and night, day in and day out, for our school family."

In her district, Mrs. DeGeer wears many hats, including career advocate, academic counselor, social-emotional counselor, at risk supervisor, test coordinator, IPS facilitator, and more. She does whatever it takes to meet the many diverse and ever-changing needs and challenges of her students and the staff. Through Mrs. DeGeer’s continuous school improvement initiatives, Erie High School has fostered a belief system that every student is involved in comprehensive academic, career and personal growth initiatives throughout the school year.

Under Mrs. DeGeer’s leadership, Erie High School has implemented individual plans of study, career counseling initiatives and student-led conferences. The school has increased the exposure to career fairs, guest career speakers, college campus visits, business and industry tours and student mentoring activities. Mrs. DeGeer has also implemented new student adoption and orientation activities, community service initiatives, after school academic supports, and academic enhancement courses. She has increased dual credit courses and streamlined the student enrollment process. In addition, Mrs. DeGeer has been instrumental in getting full-time mental health services for the students of USD 101.

"As you can easily see, Mrs. DeGeer is a very special lady that treats every single student as if they were her own child, because in her heart and her mind, they are," said Francis. "Mrs. DeGeer has given the majority of her adult life to the very special profession of school counselor. During this time, she has invested her time, energy and commitment at such an exceptional level. She is a very special person, a leader, an innovator, a difference maker and a LifeChanger."