A Gwinnett County Public Schools counselor who has worked toward helping students who are the first in their family to attend college now has a leadership award named after him.
The Georgia First Generation Foundation has named its leadership award after Bobby Gueh, a counselor at Lanier High School. The honor recognizes a community member for their ongoing inspirational contributions and commitment to improving first-generation students.
Gueh, who was born in Liberia, West Africa, has been a school counselor for 17 years in New Jersey and Gwinnett County. In addition, Gueh worked as a counselor for young men in the prison system; was a family advocate for the Juvenile Justice Commission of New Jersey; and ran several mentor programs for young men.
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He currently is pursuing his doctorate at the University of Georgia where his research focuses on the experiences of black male school counselors.
“We plant seeds in young people and we never know how those seeds will grow. For them to reach back out and honor me, that is a blessing,” Gueh said.
Co-founded by Charbel Aoun and Francisco Martinez, the Georgia First Generation Foundation provides resources such as seminars, workshops and scholarships to hundreds of first-generation college students in the metro Atlanta area.
Martinez was a member of the First Generation club at Lanier High. After graduating high school, Martinez enrolled at Georgia State University, where he met Aoun.
“Francisco spoke highly of Mr. Gueh as a counselor, who was a great support system for him throughout his years in high school, especially considering that Francisco was a first-generation student as well. Naturally, we reached out to Mr. Gueh and met with him to share our idea for this new nonprofit we were starting up,” Aoun said.
Gueh added, “When I look at the counseling landscape, it’s not very diverse. But we still have diversity in students. While black males in the counseling field are my current focus, it is my hope that the research will grow into looking at other populations that are not represented in the counseling profession.”
Information: georgiafirstgen.org
