Tyler Grant’s path from Auburn to the New York City metro area reflects a story of purpose, preparation and possibility. A 2023 graduate of Auburn’s School Counseling Program, Grant recently saw her Auburn story celebrated in a highly visible way: she was featured on a College of Education banner displayed outside the college’s flagship building.
For Grant, the banner was more than a recognition of one graduate’s success. It represented the people, experiences and professional foundation that helped launch her into a career centered around student support and mental health.
After launching her career in school counseling at Auburn Junior High School, Grant now serves as a school counselor for fifth through eighth grade students in Jersey City. The role places her at the intersection of two long-standing passins: mental health and education.
“I have always been passionate about mental health and education, and school counseling felt like the perfect intersection of the two,” Grant said. “I feel honored to be the ‘front line’ of mental health support for students.”
The move to Jersey City also represents a personal milestone for Grant and her husband. The couple had long dreamed of living in the New York City metro area, drawn in part by their shared love of theatre and his work in the field. While Jersey City marks an exciting new chapter, Grant said Auburn remains deeply meaningful to them.
“We have not yet felt the call to ‘settle,’ but we do consider Auburn our home,” she said.
Before entering the school counseling field, Grant worked in the nonprofit sector. She credits Auburn with making the transition into a new career path feel seamless, offering both academic preparation and a community that quickly felt like home.
“Auburn was a great launchpad into a different career path,” Grant said. “I instantly connected with the Auburn community, and I will always be grateful for the professors, peers, people and career it gave me.”
One of the most formative parts of that experience was her internship at Auburn Junior High School. Grant said the placement, made possible through the support of Professor and School Counseling Program Coordinator Malti Tuttle and the College of Education, directly led to her first school counseling position at the school.
That experience gave Grant the opportunity to apply what she was learning in real school settings and begin building the professional confidence that continues to guide her work with middle school students.
Grant is quick to point to the people who helped shape her Auburn experience. She named several faculty members whose guidance and support made a lasting impact, including Tuttle, Associate Clinical Professor Margie Taylor, Assistant Clinical Professor Sarah Flint and Assistant Clinical Professor Lindsay Portela. She also expressed gratitude for Allison Stadler in the Academic Support Office, where Grant completed her graduate assistantship.
“I am thankful to still connect with them to this day,” Grant said. “So many great people at Auburn.”
From her time in Auburn classrooms and her internship at Auburn Junior High to her current work supporting students in Jersey City, Grant’s story illustrates the lasting reach of the College of Education’s School Counseling Program. Her feature on the college’s banner served as a visible celebration of that journey — and of the Auburn foundation she continues to carry into every school hallway, student conversation and counseling opportunity.
