By FULLER ROYAL

Marilyn Bracey is Nationally Board Certified. A counselor at Fairmont Middle School, the Oak Dale resident said she is elated and relieved to finally have her certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

“All that effort and hard work I put into this,” she said. “I remember staying up all night, until three in the morning. It was a lot of work.”

Bracey became an educator by accident.

She had graduated from West Columbus High School and earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from North Carolina Central University.

“My master’s degree was in career placement,” she said. “I wanted to be a career counselor.”

In the early part of her career, she worked in mental health in Whiteville and in a group home. She worked in Fayetteville before the daily commute became too much. She was also an Upward Bound counselor.

“I never thought I would go into education,” she said. “I was working with all of these children in the mental health field. I could work with any child because I had worked with Willie M children.”

She had an internship in school counseling and laterally entered the teaching profession, eventually earning all of the state-required credentials she needed to be a fully certified guidance counselor.

“I like children,” she said. “I enjoy children, especially at the middle school level.”

She said that no two days are alike at a middle school.

“No two hours are the same with them, to be honest,” she said. “It’s always something different.”

She spent three years at Parkton High School as a counselor before transferring to Fairmont where she has been for 15 years.

Bracey said the biggest frustration comes from trying to coordinate help for her students with the other agencies, including the department of social services and the judicial system.

“You see children abused and nothing gets done,” she said. “I hate the fact that I can’t bring them home and keep them safe.”

Bracey has one stepdaughter and two grandchildren with husband Frederick.

With little time for hobbies, she does find time to serve as a regional director for Las Amigas.

“We have five chapters in the region,” she said. “We’ll be hosting the national convention in June, so I’m planning that.”

Bracey also takes care of her 86-year-old father and coaches the middle school girls’ basketball team.