As a counselor at Peoria High School, Myskeshia Mitchell promotes student success and provides preventive services through a comprehensive program addressing academic, career and personal/social development. In her early career, she piloted a full-day kindergarten program which became a model for her Chicago-area district. In 2008, she returned to Peoria to attend graduate school at Bradley University, during which she assisted in the restructuring of Manual Academy and the creation of a middle school academy, and volunteered with the Hult Center for Healthy Living’s Kids Konnected program. Returning to her former district, she created its first-ever middle-school counseling program, among many other accomplishments.
During her time with Peoria Public Schools, Mitchell has redesigned the counseling center to serve as a resource for both college-bound students and those interested in the trades. As a college and career liaison, she assists with scholarships and financial aid, and plans a widely-attended annual college and career fair. She helped pilot and staff Manual’s career center, achieving the district’s highest placement of students in jobs and internships in the 2016-17 year. She has implemented a number of student electronic referral systems, as well as a weekly recognition program, serves on the threat assessment team, and recently coordinated the Black History Dinner Theater program.
A longtime volunteer at Bradley, Mitchell mentors incoming students and has spoken at a range of programs and events. She serves the Bradley University Black Alumni Alliance (BUBAA) in various capacities, sits on the planning committee for the IACAC Regional College Fair, and helps high school seniors write effective college admissions and scholarship essays. She is an active volunteer with the Peoria Alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and an advisor to Bradley’s Theta Epsilon chapter, which has won numerous awards under her leadership.
A role model and servant leader, Mitchell also volunteers her time at the Loaves & Fish program at Peoria’s First United Methodist Church and with the Weddings & Events team ministry at St. Paul Baptist Church. She is a past recipient of WEEK’s 25 Women in Leadership Award and the BUBAA’s Distinguished Young Alumni Award, and has received numerous grants to enhance learning opportunities for her students. iBi
