The switch from classroom teacher to counseling professor was “a natural evolution,” Smith says, because teachers often fill a counseling role in the classroom. As he started working on a master’s degree, he says, “I became convinced that this [counseling] is what I feel good about doing. … What greater gift can we have than to be in a position to help, support or empower another individual or group of individuals? There are very few professions that provide that opportunity.”