Clay Kessler is a staple at Carmel, as he has been at Carmel for eight years! This will be his eighth year serving as the high school counselor. His role as counselor has changed countless students’ lives for the better, as he engages with people personally and with joy.

Before Kessler came to Carmel, he was working at Atrium Health Hospital as a mental health therapist. He decided that he wanted a change and was connected to Carmel through Debbie Blankenberg, the current director of admissions. Kessler said, “She was telling me they were going to hire a counselor for the high school, and that I should come do it. I’ve always worked with kids at camps, so she was the one that really encouraged me to apply.”

Kessler grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, and his parents are from Raleigh, North Carolina. He grew up going to church regularly, especially after his parents rededicated their lives to Christ when he was around six years old. They had a very close-knit family, going on summer vacations together and having dinners together as much as possible during the week. Kessler has a twin sister, Christy, and an older sister, Kelley. Kelley unfortunately took her own life when she was 22 after losing her battle with mental illness. This caused Kessler to be led to Jesus and invest more in his career as a counselor.

Kessler’s path to becoming a counselor started as early as when he was in high school. Kessler states, “I think I just like I was like the friend in high school that my friends always came to for advice, so I think it was already a natural thing for me, gift, I guess, a strength.” His older sister started experiencing mental health issues, which continued to spur him to become someone who could help others with their own battles. When Kessler reached college, where he attended Appalachian State University he took his first Psychology class and fell in love with it.

Kessler was influenced by many different people in his life, especially youth ministers at church. “When I was in college, I was really involved with the Christian ministry, and the guy’s name was John. He was the head of that ministry. I would say he definitely helped me grow a good bit,” Kessler said, “And then another man named David Jones, who was really involved in my life to help me grow tremendously in my faith, just everything, mentally, spiritually, emotionally.” After undergraduate, Kessler attended Regent University, in Virginia Beach for his masters in Psychology Counseling. 

Kessler finds deep fulfillment in various aspects of his work as a counselor, especially through building relationships. Kessler said, “That’s all that counseling is, building relationships with students. You know, just being able to minister and disciple and counsel, it’s very, very fulfilling. And to see change, you know, it’s so awesome! When you’re working with students and you see them growing and maturing it’s really, really amazing.”

When asked what he would like to say to his younger self, Kessler said, “It would be to trust adults more and not to compare yourself to other people, which would probably be the biggest, and to learn to love yourself and how God’s created you to be.”

Kessler has many interesting hobbies! He mainly loves to spend time with people. Spending time with friends and family is very important to him. He also enjoys working out, anything that includes a bit of adventure. Kessler enjoys spending his time hiking and climbing mountains, especially in the Rockies, and spending time in the water, specifically snorkeling. This includes a passion for traveling. Kessler has been to many beautiful places, including Switzerland, Austria, and Roatan. Roatan is a small Caribbean island off the coast of Honduras and Belize. Kessler said, “I’ve been there probably six times, and it’s definitely, definitely one of my favorite places to go.”

Currently, some of Kessler’s personal goals include taking courses in trauma-informed therapy. Kessler is always looking to take different courses that could help him in his counseling and understanding of people. Apart from job-oriented goals, Kessler aims to refresh his knowledge on Scuba diving, as he already has his license, and he hopes to get better at surfing! He is planning on traveling to Hawaii in a month to take some surfing lessons with his nephew.

When asked what he would like his legacy to be, he said, “If I could leave anything, I think people would know me as just someone that loved Jesus deeply, that wants others to love Jesus deeply, and to know who their true identity in Christ is, who they are in the Lord and love the giftings and strengths that God has given them. They are going to be okay, and God loves them just the way they are, you know, and He offers grace, and mercy of unconditional love.”