SU Alumna Named 2004 Guidance Counselor of the Year

SALISBURY, MD---Salisbury University alumna Lynne Bratten (M.Ed. 1982) recently was named the 2004 Maryland High School Guidance Counselor of the Year. She also received the 2003 Excellence for Minority Achievement Chair Award for her work in helping minority students achieve higher education. “It was very rewarding to be publicly recognized for doing a job that I love to do,” she said. “Being recognized by a group of my peers is especially gratifying because they understand the daily commitments that this job entails.” Bratten earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Maryland College Park in 1973. She is currently a guidance counselor at James M. Bennett High School in Salisbury. Before counseling, she taught family and consumer science briefly at Bennett Middle School then at and Wicomico High School where she became interested in guidance counseling. She also is very active in the community. The Maryland Recreation and Parks Department recognized her for her work with its youth wrestling programs. She also volunteers with the Community Players and Bennett’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival. She said the hardest part of her job is working with the rising enrollment number. However, her job goes way beyond helping students choose classes. While at Wi-Hi, she started a program called Independent Mothers All Gathering for Educational Success (IMAGES) to provide counseling to keep student parents in school. Bratten lives in Salisbury with her husband Blynn. They have two children, Jennifer and Andy. For more information, contact the Salisbury University Public Relations office at (410) 543-6030.