Every year, the Yale Educator Award is awarded to an individual to recognize educators who inspire and support their students to achieve at high levels. The Yale Educator Award has recognized educators from over 600 high schools in 48 states and 47 foreign countries. This process begins with incoming Yale freshmen nominating high school educators and a committee of Yale admissions officers reviewing the nominations individually. Recipients are then chosen from the nominations and winners receive an award as well as a congratulatory letter. Lastly, their high school administrators are notified.

This year, State High’s Mental Health Clinician Elisabeth James received the award out of 320 nominees.

James graduated from State High in 2015 and then attended Penn State for her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. In 2019, James graduated with a Bachelor’s in Human Development and Family Studies with a Minor in Psychology. In 2021, she graduated with a Master’s in Counselor Education with an emphasis in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in Schools and Communities.

After graduating with her master’s, she was required to complete 3000 hours of work under supervision and pass the national counseling exam to become a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in PA. James achieved this and obtained her license in March 2024. 

In Aug. 2021, James was hired as the district’s first-ever Mental Health Clinician. James described what her role entails.

“I spend my days providing therapy to students who are unable to receive services in the community AND find that their mental health is impacting their academics. I also offer different tiers of support – so occasionally, I meet with students seeking to learn more about therapy, finding a provider, etc. I also co-advise the Mental Health Matters Club, and we do school-wide initiatives supporting mental health (Week of Hope, Mental Health Summit, Spread the Love Day, Mental Health Mondays in May),” James said via email.

Her achievements and involvement contributed to her nomination. Former State High student Prithvi Narayanan started attending Yale this semester and nominated James for the award. James was connected to Narayanan through the schoolwide events and initiatives she is involved in.

James was then notified that she had received the award via a letter, and a small award was in her mailbox one day.

James’ role may seem intense, however, she finds her favorite thing about her job is the students. Similarly, student Klara Gawlowicz, finds James to be one of her favorites too.

“Mrs. James incorporates everybody’s voices and interacts with everybody making her one of the most welcoming and interactive teachers in the whole school. She is someone who memorizes you as who you are from the first time you met and treats you as if you were her greatest friend…My favorite thing about her is her determination to make this school as inclusive and as welcoming as possible and making sure that everybody who wants to be involved is involved. She’s an amazing person,” Gawlowicz said via email.

In the future, James sees herself doing exactly what she is doing now. 

“I am committed to helping kids learn about themselves and working through challenges they face. I love how my role allows me to connect to kids who may have never thought about therapy or may not have access to receiving it in the community,” James said via email.