In this episode, I’m joined by Nicholas Shannon, a first-year school psychologist with a path into the field that is anything but predictable.
Before reports, meetings and rating scales, Nicholas was working in hospitality, learning how to read people, stay calm under pressure and make strangers feel comfortable. Turns out, those skills travel surprisingly well.
We talk about the real first-year stuff: overwhelm, collaboration, missed parent forms, different school cultures, professional growth and what it means to make an impact before you feel like an expert.
Nicholas also shares why representation matters, and how he is learning to do this work in a way that feels true to him.
The Prepared School Psych community: https://jennyponzuric.com/prepared-school-psychologist/
Be Curious, Give Grace, Have Fun: A First-Year School Psych’s Mantra
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(01:59) – The surprise of realizing school psychology feels very different in the real world
(03:41) – Why collaboration deserves way more attention in training
(05:25) – How Nicholas grounds himself when overwhelm starts creeping in
(07:03) – What restaurant work taught him about parents, students and pressure
(13:24) – Staying curious when you do not have all the answers
(16:43) – Why representation and doing the work your own way matters
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