Sebastian Melendez ’24, G’26 arrived at Syracuse University from Grand Island, NE, with two passions that, at first glance, might not seem a natural pairing. He wanted to study interior design, and he also wanted to give back to his community, yet he wasn’t sure how—or whether—those two paths could coexist.
A minor in Education Studies from the School of Education, paired with his B.F.A. in Environmental and Interior Design from the College of Visual and Performing Arts, gave him room to explore both careers rather than choose between them. By the time he graduated in 2024, Melendez had found his answer: he enrolled in SOE’s M.S. in School Counseling (P-12) program, intent on carrying his design sensibility—including an eye for who belongs in a space, and who gets overlooked—into the work of supporting students.
Now completing his master’s degree program, Melendez has spent the past two years balancing internships at Syracuse City School District (SCSD) and nearby West Genesee High School with a full life outside the classroom, working as an interior design intern at Syracuse-based Dwyer Architectural and volunteering with Young Life Syracuse East, a Christian ministry where he leads worship and group fitness.
That range and depth of interest shows up in how he talks about his time at SOE, as a period of personal growth as much as professional preparation. We asked Melendez to reflect on his experience in the School Counseling program. Here is his story …
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Was there an experience during your graduate studies that made you think, “This is exactly where I’m supposed to be?”
Throughout my time with SOE, numerous experiences played a role, but one of note occurred during an extremely hard week at my internship with SCSD. It was very easy to get overwhelmed with so much on my plate during a master’s program, and I was burnt out from work, classes, internship, and numerous deadlines.
I got on campus one day that week and walked past the Hall of Languages, pausing to take it in and look back on my journey. Although I had been a Syracuse student for about six years at that point, the past two years of my educational, professional, and personal journey had been dramatically changed while being a School Counseling student.
While looking at the Hall of Languages, I thought back to the growth that my program had put me through, how supportive each of my professors had been, and the friendships that have now turned into my found family. I was able to sit there in that instant and say to myself, “I am right where I need to be.”
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What is something about your program that you didn’t expect when you first arrived?
“I knew that I would grow professionally, but I never anticipated personal growth and transformation throughout this program.”
One thing I expected with SOE, and in particular its School Counseling program, was that I would gain the skills to work with others through problems, concerns, and trials they may be facing, especially with my target age range of middle and high schoolers who are in desperate need of support. I trusted my professors and my future internships to provide me with the experiential learning that could further flesh out these skills.
With that said, I never expected my studies to hold a mirror to myself. Through our lectures, readings, projects, and placements in the field, I was not only encouraged but ethically obligated to work through parts of my life that often got swept under the rug.
The same skills and theories I work through with my students, I applied to my own life, whether it was having a difficult conversation I have been avoiding, biases, taking an opportunity I was nervous about, or just stepping out of my comfort zone. I knew that I would grow professionally, but I never anticipated personal growth and transformation throughout this program.
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Who made a difference for you at SOE?
Several of my classmates have been immensely supportive. Before becoming a master’s student, I was an Interior Design student. I wanted to find a way to combine my passions for supporting students with designing welcoming and safe spaces for those who may be overlooked and underrepresented. Approaching these two varying fields came with a lot of uncertainty about how I would blend them in my professional career. Through discussions with my peers, I was able to see that I was not alone in this journey and in navigating various pursuits.
With these chats came acceptance and comfort, and I fleshed out my “why,” along with unique ways of incorporating my design background into my counseling approach and thinking outside the box about how I will meld both fields in the future.
Outside of my own future navigation, having peers in the thick of a master’s program alongside me took away the outlook that I am facing this educational journey alone. Others can face the challenge with me and support me, and I can support them.
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How has SOE prepared you for your professional career?
“Through both the learning environment and the experiential learning provided through SOE, I have had the privilege of practicing with peers from across various cultural identities and in school districts with varying demographics and needs.”
During these two years, my cultural lens has been widely expanded and has better prepared me for when I step into my professional career. I have been able to gain a better understanding of my own cultural identity as a Hispanic, Jamaican, and South Asian heterosexual male. Still, my professors and courses helped me to dig deeper and examine my own identity in various contexts.
Given my diverse background, I may encounter students with different cultural contexts that I am not accustomed to, and I will need to approach them from a multicultural perspective. I have to consider how I may view, act toward, and communicate with my students, and I also have to think about how my students may view me as their counselor.
Through both the learning environment and the experiential learning provided through SOE, I have had the privilege of practicing with peers from across various cultural identities and in school districts with varying demographics and needs, based on community, cultural, socioeconomic, and systemic factors. As a student, I have been motivated to create spaces and facilitate discussions that allow students from diverse backgrounds to feel seen, welcomed, heard, and supported.
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What would you tell a prospective student about SOE and its community?
I would emphasize the community aspect of the School. Although Syracuse is a large University, SOE and its staff facilitate an environment where students can feel welcomed to ask questions, discuss their futures, and grow in their professional relationships.
Finding people to connect with and grow together at SOE becomes seamless and almost natural for new students. In addition, there are ample opportunities available to explore what service you would like to pursue, including teaching, counseling, coaching, and social work. Each of these opportunities offers a mix of field placements, internships, simulations, and classroom lessons that explore what education and social work is like.
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What’s one experience at Syracuse you would relive if you could?
During the final weeks of my fall internship at West Genesee High School, near Syracuse, I was updating my students that we would be coming to a close on our weekly sessions. My students had numerous reactions to my departure, but one in particular felt special.
In the past, my students would ask to prolong our sessions to get out of class or do schoolwork. While meeting with one student, they asked to meet with me twice that day. Not to skip a core class, avoid homework, or discuss their personal life, but just to hang out since they had enjoyed meeting with me this semester. Rather than doing our usual “session” format, we sat, colored, and chatted about how counseling had impacted them.
I was reminded of my “why” in this moment, especially thinking about students who can often feel uncomfortable and intimidated to meet with an adult and discuss their life. I was able to witness the outcome of a counseling relationship and how SOE supported the skills I needed to create a welcoming, safe, and comforting environment for a student who otherwise felt unseen and underrepresented. This is an experience I would love to relive, and I hope to experience more like this in the future.