Getting to know Susan Pasco

associate director for the Counseling Center

By Gabrielle Aviles
Junior, Communication and Rhetorical Studies major and DSA Communications Intern

She was born in Northern California and raised in the Pacific Northwest. She started her higher education journey at the University of Chicago. As a special education teacher, Susan recognized that the students were having a problem with feeling good about themselves. This insight inspired her to go back to school and become a therapist because she really loved the idea of helping others build their self-esteem. When her husband relocated to Syracuse University, Susan brought that love of helping others to the Counseling Center.

“Here we try to help students figure out what it is they want to change about their lives and how to do it,” says Susan. “We’re here to be the support they need through difficult times, and it’s nice when you see the difference.”

Susan’s role at the Counseling Center is very diverse. While she does clinical work with students, including individual and group counseling, she also does clinical supervision of staff, and outreach and prevention training. One project that Susan is a big part of is a national suicide-prevention training program. She travels around the country to other universities and trains them.

Her warm smile tells me how happy she is with her job. If everyone at the Counseling Center has half the love that Susan does for her job, it’s safe to say that students are in good hands.