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At our recent winter party, we were overjoyed to celebrate our Director of School Counseling, Amelia Howser, as our fall 2025 Honor Award Recipient! The Mizzou Academy Honor Award is a peer-nominated quarterly award that recognizes exceptional service and dedication to our school’s mission, vision, and values. When Executive Director Dr. Kathryn Fishman-Weaver announced the news, the room erupted in applause and congratulations.
Inaugural Director of School Counseling
In June 2025, Howser was appointed to the inaugural position of Director of School Counseling for Mizzou Academy. Howser holds more than a decade of experience as a school counselor within Columbia Public Schools, primarily in the high school setting. She shares that she is “passionate about social justice and committed to impacting change in her work through relationship building and finding creative ways to support all students in reaching their goals.” Howser is known for her student-centered, collaborative, and empathetic approach to providing support for student success. Prior to this role, she served for a year as a lead counselor on our team with the mentorship of our founding counselor, Alicia Bixby.
As one nominator commented, “Amelia stepped into her leadership role within our new organizational structure with such grace, confidence, and purpose.”
Prosocial Role Model
Several team members commented on specific traits they admire about Howser, including her professionalism, calm nature, and curiosity. One nominator shared, “Her efforts have improved outcomes across so many areas, easing burdens for team members while creating better experiences for students and families.”
Colleagues shared how her leadership had made a positive difference. “Amelia has taken so many overall processes and streamlined them beyond belief. She takes the time to see what the end result is for a student and has taken out the fluff in so many areas. With just over a year with our team and less than that as the Director of School Counseling, her methods have really helped our team with processing and keeping it real.”
Several members of our team worked with Howser in Columbia Public Schools and commented on what a gift it is to continue learning from her leadership and example at Mizzou Academy.
In addition to excellence, colleagues also noted how much fun she is to work with. One wrote, “You never disappoint in making me chuckle! You bring new ideas and spunk to the team. I am grateful for that and your wicked sense of humor! I love every conversation with you, including your ‘zinger’ comments!”
A Vision for Comprehensive Support
Instructional and Counseling Specialist Lisa Boyer summed up what so many on the team feel: “There are not enough words to heap the praises on this person that are deserved!… Amelia keeps a vision for the big picture as well as a concern with the smallest of details. I am so impressed with her ability to think through processes in a way that attempts to increase productivity while still providing satisfaction with one’s tasks. She exudes empathy but can also provide boundaries when needed, in a respectful and caring way. She has a vision for Mizzou Academy and a comprehensive guidance program that is well underway to being put in place! Amelia is the consummate professional counselor, and I am so grateful to work under her guidance!”
While Amelia’s counseling work is with students, several nominators commented that they, too, have been the beneficiaries of her compassion and active listening. “Amelia, it is a pleasure learning and growing with you,” wrote one nominator. “You have shown us that it’s okay to share our thoughts, even when they are not what others expect. I appreciate your determination to continuously improve and make our team better.”
Other comments included praise for how she “leads with heart,” is “generous with her knowledge,” and is “always willing to mentor and uplift others.”
One grateful colleague voiced the appreciation felt across faculty, staff, students, and families: “Our team and school are better because of her leadership, and her impact is both meaningful and lasting.”
Congratulations and thank you, Amelia Howser, for all you do for Mizzou Academy!