Counseling Student Selected as NBCC Foundation Garden State Scholar

Inasia Belton, Master of Arts (MA) in Counseling student, has been selected as a Garden State Scholar from the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) Foundation. This new initiative was created to recognize and provide educational support for Black and/or African American master’s-level counseling students in New Jersey who are committed to serving underserved populations in the state’s inner cities.

The fellowship was established by Kathryn Fellows, a volunteer with the Foundation, through a generous $10,000 donation. Fellows received her second master’s degree and pivoted into professional counseling after spending most of her career in corporate America. While reviewing other scholarship and fellow applications, she worried about the many high quality applicants that would not receive support due to the limited resources available. As she saw many of these students postpone their studies because of unpaid internships and practicums, she decided to step in and help. Fellows hopes that her action will encourage others to give back to the counseling profession.

Earlier this spring, Inasia was named the first recipient of the Counseling Department’s Dr. Edina Renfro-Michel Memorial Award, named in honor of the longtime faculty member who passed away in 2023. The award recognized Inasia’s strong professional counselor identity and commitment to advocacy that Dr. Renfro-Michel engendered in her students. Belton served as Dr. Renfro-Michel’s Graduate Assistant prior to her passing, a position she continues to serve in for the Department of Counseling.

Inasia will graduate from the master’s program with a concentration in Clinical Mental Health Counseling next May. We congratulate her on this momentous achievement and are proud to have her as a representative of the College for Community Health!