Citizen of the Week: Hudgens helps heal hearts

Rising Starr Middle counselor Jeri Hudgens shows students how to find more joy in life.

Early on, Hudgens thought about becoming a teacher. When she was in high school, she was an assistant in the counseling office and she was intrigued by a peek behind the scenes.

“It’s one-on-one all the time. You really get to know people, you get to be there for the moments, whether it’s good or bad, and you just get to love on them,” she said.

As a school counselor, Hudgens focuses on three main areas: personal/social, academic, and career. She loves being a part of that pivotal period in a kid’s life when they are really finding themselves.

“You’re going from this little kid to this full-sized almost adult in three years.”

Hudgens takes pride in helping a student who might be struggling to feel better and ready to thrive in class.

“I made a difference that day,” she said. “It’s that ripple effect that helping them that day helped them get back into the classroom, helped them go beyond what they could have done.”

She thinks back to all the adults who helped her recently-graduated daughter along her path. As an outsider, Hudgens saw how much it meant to have a caring, trusted adult outside of the family to help.

“If I can emulate that or copy that and do that for somebody else’s kids, just let them know that there is a caring, loving, trusting adult who is not gonna let them veer off the wrong way, who’s gonna help support them, I think that’s what it’s about,” she said. “It really does take a village to get these kids from childhood to adulthood successfully.”

Hudgens has always enjoyed collecting small things, whether it is a little trinket or an interesting rock. They are mementos and happy memories.

“Isn’t that kind of the moral of our stories, too? It’s the little things in life that bring you joy,” she said. “It’s not the house, it’s not the car or the job, it’s not the money. It’s the little things, the little moments that we take with us.”

They need to know that they’re important too, and that one bad moment or one bad day or one bad week doesn’t mean a bad life,” she said. “If I can turn their day around, if I can hear them and make them feel seen and heard, that’s worth it.”

For taking care and compassion as little hearts grow into big adults, we salute Ms. Hudgens as The Citizen of the Week.

Do you know a Citizen like Jeri Hudgens? We’d love for you to nominate them for a future Citizen of the Week.

Anyone in Fayette or Coweta County can nominate a local resident to be featured. Submissions must include between 100 and 500 words explaining why your nominee deserves the spotlight and a photo of them. (Submissions without a photo cannot be accepted.) Fill out the nomination form here:

👉 https://thecitizen.com/nominate-a-citizen-of-the-week/

Each week, one honoree is celebrated in The Citizen, giving us all a chance to recognize the people who enrich our community with their character and care.