UPrep alumnus Meghan Kapoler was a public school counselor for 10 years and then started her own private counseling business.
“I realized that I didn’t want to lead the kind of 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. school schedule,” Kapoler said.
In high school, Kapoler took inspiration from her school counselor.
“Most inspired to kind of lead this professional life because of my school counselor at UPrep. Her name was, at the time, was Lori Friedman,” Kapoler said.
When talking about Friedman, Kapoler mentioned feeling supported.
“When there were little issues with friends or bigger issues, kind of at home, stressors, we always knew to go and talk to her,” Kapoler said.
As a school counselor, Kapoler worked with many different students.
“I used to write 504, basically, accommodation plans for people who maybe have anxiety or learning disability,” Kapoler said.
You work with a lot of students as a school counselor. When Kapoler started her practice, she needed to find what worked.
“I was kind of starting to experiment with what it is like to work, you know, one-on-one, with people for 45 minutes to an hour?” Kapoler said
Kapoler also worked with families on how best to help their kids.
“It’s very different working from family to family. And I think a lot of what I do is helping parents try to figure out, well, what are they looking for?” Kapoler said.

Since Kapoler started her private practice, Root to Rise counseling, there have been lots of changes to her life.

“There’s big decisions. I get to make those on my own. I think it can get a little isolating sometimes,” Kapoler said.

Kapoler also teaches her clients about the brain and how it functions. Once we understand why we have certain reactions, we have more control over our thoughts, feelings, and actions, Kapoler said.

There are many differences between working with students and working with clients.

“I got to do really important work with people in more depth, whereas, when you’re a school counselor, there’s so many people to help,” Kapoler said.

There are a lot of interesting people in the UPrep community. UPrep has 2500 alumni and a large social network, Alumni Manger Claire Fallet said.