Mrs. Laurel Huston is the school counselor at St. Vincent de Paul. She has previous experience as both a school counselor and a resiliency specialist working specifically on mindfulness and building strong resiliency skills with children and families. She graduated from Aspen University with a Bachelor’s in Arts in Psychology and Counseling and has also earned her Master’s in Education in School Counseling from Liberty University. She is certified by The American School Counselor’s Association as a Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Specialist, Bullying Specialist, a Student Mental Health Specialist and a Students with Special Needs Specialist. Mrs. Huston is an active member of United Presbyterian Church and also frequents St. Jude Catholic Church as her husband is a long time parishioner.
Mrs. Huston aims to help students realize the strengths and success that God has intended for them. Her favorite saints include St. Teresa of Avila and St. Francis of Assisi. One of her favorite pieces of scripture is James 1:19 “Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.”
Outside of school, Mrs. Huston is a wife, mother, and dog mom. Her husband, Tony, and her share three beautiful children; Daphne, Rory, and Elsa! She loves traveling, being outside (proud member of Wildlife Prairie Park!) and she is quite the foodie! Although born and raised here in Peoria, her family did live in Kansas City for several years (Go Chiefs!) but moved back to Peoria to be close to family again. She also volunteers on the Birth to Five Family Council for Illinois, and is on the committee for Hopscotch the annual fundraiser for the Peoria Playhouse.
Mrs. Huston is so happy to be at St. Vincent de Paul this year working with students and staff to continue to build an environment of community, resiliency and positivity. The school counseling program will work to support students academically as well as socially and emotionally because “when educating the minds of our youth, we must not forget to educate their hearts, too.”