Payton Schake finds “his people” through UNK’s online School Counseling M.S.Ed. program

“When you look at a guy like me, I don't really scream school counselor or mental health professional at all,” said Payton Schake, upcoming graduate from the University of Nebraska at Kearney School Counseling M.S.Ed. program. 
 
Growing up in the farming community of Amherst and working on his dad’s construction sites from the young age of eight has made Schake’s hands rough and his large stature closer to one of a lineman than your stereotypical counselor. 
 
UNK’s School Counseling M.S.Ed. program is allowing Schake to demolish these stereotypes, build his community of like-minded people, and crush his goals to help students. 
 
In dirty boots, an old ball cap, and work clothes covered in mud, dirt, and grease, Schake could easily be spotted in his master-level counseling courses among his peers who often were school teachers. 
 
“I kind of felt like an outcast,” Schake admitted. “My wife and I often had conversations about this, about how I didn't feel like I belonged there because I'm just so different.” 
 
Unfortunately, this was not the first time Schake felt like he didn’t belong. 
 
“I remember asking my parents when I was young, ‘Why does so-and-so act like this?’” He said. “I have always wondered what people think. And I always got, ‘That is the weirdest question I've ever heard.’” 

From a curious little boy to a musically talented teen, Schake traveled northeast to Wayne State College to study Music Education. 
 
His mom still saw that curious little boy and encouraged her son to pursue a career as a school guidance counselor. 
 
“I was like, ‘A school counselor? No, I don't want to do that,’” said Schake. 
 
But mothers know best. Schake felt that uncomfortable but familiar feeling of not fitting in among his musical peers, and he added a Human Services major his junior year. 
 
In 2020, Schake left Wayne State College with two degrees and returned to work for his dad’s construction business. It was during this time he made the decision to enroll in UNK’s School Counseling M.S.Ed. program. 
 
Many evenings he would leave a construction site and head directly to UNK’s campus to attend class.  
 
“In your mind, you always think, ‘They're looking at me.’ Even though nobody actually is, and you're just kind of doing it to yourself,” he said. 
 
After continuing through the program, Schake began work on improving his counseling skills for his future students but also himself. 
 
“Learning the techniques and the theories and everything, you start working on yourself a little bit through the process,” he said. 
 
This work on himself allowed Schake to open up more in class and gain close friendships within the program. 
 
“I remember coming home one day from an in-person class and I told my wife, ‘I found my people,’” he said. “These are the people that I think like. I feel like I'm a part of the group and I can be myself and it works.” 

His work in the program also landed him his first position as a school counselor for Medicine Valley Public Schools in Curtis, Nebraska, which he attributes to his professors – specifically his academic advisor, Dr. David Hof. 
 
Dr. Hof graduated from his undergraduate alongside Medicine Valley Public School Psychologist David Blessing. When Schake’s application for the school counseling position made its way to Blessing’s desk, he noticed a familiar name on the reference page. 
 
Blessing called his old friend Dr. Hof before interviewing Schake. Schake was later told about that conversation. 
 
“Dr. Hof said, ‘He’s a little rough around the edges, but he’s going to be a good counselor one day. Honestly, he reminds me a lot of you, Dave,’” Schake said. 
 
Blessing laughed his “big laugh” and told the superintendent to hire him without an interview. 
 
“The whole program just fell into place for me,” Schake said. “I knew that's where I needed to be.”  
 
The next place Schake will be is walking the commencement stage at UNK’s fall 2023 commencement ceremony this Friday to receive his diploma and graduate hood. 
 
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