{"id":29769,"date":"2023-10-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-02T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=29769"},"modified":"2023-10-03T06:42:49","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T06:42:49","slug":"new-york-guard-soldier-serves-soldiers-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=29769","title":{"rendered":"New York Guard Soldier Serves Soldiers, Students"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n U.S. Army Maj. Sean Q. Spooner, a New York National Guardsman assigned to the 10th Mountain Division, third from left, poses for a photo with teachers from the Targusor School during a volunteering event in Targusor, Romania, Sept. 6, 2023. The soldiers assigned to Mihail Kog\u0103lniceanu Air Base, Romania, volunteered for the event as part of the U.S. commitment to enhance positive relationships with partner countries and allies. (U.S. Army Reserve Photo by Spc. Precious Scott)
\n (Photo Credit: Spc. Precious Scott)<\/span>
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MIHAIL KOGLNICEANU AIR BASE, Romania \u2013 A Soldier stands in formation during Army National Guard drill weekend, prepared to use his military skills and training.<\/p>\n

At 8 a.m., a school counselor at an elementary school gathers with teachers ready to assist students in the classroom. By 8:40 a.m., he makes the rounds to check in with his students.<\/p>\n

This routine is a snapshot of what Maj. Sean Q. Spooner, a logistics officer with the New York National Guard\u2019s 42nd Infantry Division and a Williamson Elementary School counselor, does as he transitions from drill weekends back to his weekday career.<\/p>\n

Although Spooner\u2019s civilian educational background is a Master of Science in Education with a concentration in school counseling and his military background as a logistic officer may seem different, the balance between both equips him for success.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never met someone that does both before,\u201d said Spooner. \u201cI\u2019m sure there are, but being a school counselor and an Army officer leads to a unique skill set.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spooner said active listening and communication skills are important skills to develop students and Soldiers. As a school counselor, Spooner\u2019s mission is to counsel kindergarten to fourth-grade students and teach social-emotional learning to meet their needs based on their developmental level.<\/p>\n

\u201cI teach feeling identification and basic social skills to kindergarteners,\u201d he said, explaining his different approaches with third- and fourth-grade students. \u201cWe go over bigger coping skills and explore deeper topics such as conflict resolution and peer mediation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt speaks to the military side as well,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the things that, as an officer or a noncommissioned officer, you must be able to communicate with your company, platoon or audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Capt. Philip J. McGrath, the personnel officer assigned to the 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade in Latham, New York, has followed Spooner throughout his military career and believes his skills translate to how he leads his Soldiers.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpooner is a person that may see someone in a crisis and sees that as not a challenge but an opportunity to help,\u201d said McGrath. \u201cI\u2019ve seen him engage with a Soldier like he would with students in the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

National Guard Soldiers often have opportunities to serve alongside their active-duty counterparts. When it was time for the Army\u2019s 10th Mountain Division to rotate to Europe, Spooner volunteered.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 10th Mountain Division needed logistic officers to work in the G-4 shop,\u201d Spooner said, referring to his interest in the mission.<\/p>\n

The G-4 shop refers to the logistics office at the general staff level for an Army division or higher. Soon after, he was packed up and ready to deploy.<\/p>\n

In addition to performing his Army duties while deployed at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Spooner volunteers at a Romanian school with Capt. Micheal J. Kearney, the 10th Mountain Division headquarters and headquarters battalion chaplain.<\/p>\n

During the summer, he worked with students at Targusor School on social-emotional learning. While some students did not speak English, that did not stop Spooner from providing support.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s cool to find engaging ways to communicate without talking,\u201d said Spooner.<\/p>\n

At the start of the school year in early September, Spooner met with Romanian teachers to discuss skills that could bring social-emotional learning concepts into their classrooms.<\/p>\n

With the school year also starting back in New York, the teachers and the staff miss his presence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kids, parents, and teachers alike adore him,\u201d said Peggy Donahue, a Williamson Elementary teacher.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe isn\u2019t a person who just works and then leaves,\u201d said McGrath. \u201cThe future is in good hands with people like him who genuinely care for and advocate for others.\u201d<\/p>\n

McGrath explained that the National Guard motto, \u2018Always Ready, Always There,\u2019 fits Spooner\u2019s character.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is always ready to lend a hand, not because he is being directed to by an order but because he cares,\u201d said McGrath. \u201cHe is that \u2018see something, say something\u2019 person in a helping aspect for both Soldiers and students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though serving in the military and being a school counselor is not the same occupation on paper, it can still impact the communities and those involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth professions are helping and serving the community,\u201d said Spooner. \u201cWhether serving the greater country, a school district, or a smaller community population, it is a call to service.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more National Guard news<\/a><\/p>\n

National Guard Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n

National Guard Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Army Maj. Sean Q. Spooner, a New York National Guardsman assigned to the 10th Mountain Division, third from left, poses for a photo with teachers from the Targusor School during a volunteering event in Targusor, Romania, Sept. 6, 2023. The soldiers assigned to Mihail Kog\u0103lniceanu Air Base, Romania, volunteered for the event as part […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29771,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29769"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29772,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29769\/revisions\/29772"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}