Get to Know HFC: Dr. Brenda Hildreth counsels students in life skills

HFC counselor Dr. Brenda Hildreth has a special place in her heart for community colleges.

“I attended a community college myself and received an excellent start to my education,” said Hildreth. “I found that many students benefit from help in reaching their full potential.”

A Licensed Professional Counselor since 1991

The eldest of three, Hildreth was born in Camden, AR. Her family moved to Detroit when she was 3. Hildreth lives in West Bloomfield and has two adult children.

A graduate of Central High School in Detroit, Hildreth began her education at Highland Park Community College, where she earned her associate degree in history. Transferring to Wayne State University, she earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice and counseling. Hildreth later earned her doctoral degree in clinical and humanistic psychology from what is now the Michigan School of Psychology in Farmington Hills. Since 1991, Hildreth has been a licensed professional counselor (LPC).

“I started out in criminal justice, but I realized I was more interested in the criminal mind than I was in police work. That’s why I switched to counseling,” she recalled. “If I could prevent criminal behavior, it would be much easier and more effective than trying to address it after it happened.”

That was the impetus for Hildreth to work toward her doctorate in psychology.

“I felt I could do more with a PsyD to keep youth out of the criminal justice system,” said Hildreth.

Combination of parent, boss, coach

Hildreth has worked on and off in higher education in some capacity or another since 1970. She worked at what is now the Wayne County Community College District for 18 years. She also worked at Lawrence Technological University for eight years. It was at Lawrence Tech that she saw the need for counselors to be present on a college campus and effect positive change.

“When I was at Lawrence Tech, a lot of new dorms opened. That meant more students were staying on campus, which meant more personal problems for counselors to deal with,” explained Hildreth. “The more students on campus, the more personal issues are brought to your attention, such as relationships. You become like a parent, a boss, and a coach to a certain extent. This happens on any college campus when more students are staying in the dorms.”

Hildreth was a psychologist at the Ennis Center for Children in Detroit, which offers a variety of services to children in foster care, including working to reunite families. Her job included working with abused and neglected children. She also worked with troubled teens, helping them stay safe, stay in school, and on a path toward a productive adulthood.

“I worked in the juvenile court system to reunite parents and children,” said Hildreth. “Even though I enjoyed working with children, I missed being in higher education where I worked with the older students. I wanted to get back into higher education, particularly at the community college level.”

Working to help students with counseling and emergency needs

After being at the Ennis Center for five years, Hildreth joined HFC in 2010 and has worked in its Counseling Department. She reports to HFC Vice President of Student Affairs Holly Diamond.

“Dr. Hildreth is a wonderful counselor and colleague,” said Diamond. “She works tirelessly to help students with counseling needs, as well as those with emergency needs, such as transportation or books. She has been integral in the revision of the new Student Emergency Aid Fund program for students that has resulted in a more efficient review of the applications and the ability to award emergency aid more quickly. The webinars and workshops that Dr. Hildreth provides are valuable resources to our students. She also brings a sense of calm to difficult or complex situations. I am proud to work with her each day.”

Hildreth’s duties include:

• Personal counseling
• Career counseling
• Teaching learning skills to students in various settings
• Allocating funds to students from the Student Emergency Aid Fund

“I love being able to give money to students who need it. It makes a difference in helping them stay enrolled. That gives me more pleasure than anything else,” she said.

“Ever since we’ve returned to campus after the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of students my office serves have increased. I’m glad to be here to provide that service. Part of my job is to provide encouragement to students when they’re dealing with hard times. For many, we are their only cheerleader.”

Helping colleagues as well as students

Fellow counselor Dr. Gwendolyn Pringle has known Hildreth for 15 years.

“Dr. Brenda Hildreth is a sophisticated, highly educated, and professional leader at the College,” said Pringle. “As the coordinator of the Student Outreach and Support (SOS) office, she has outstanding leadership skills. Dr. Hildreth has the ability to manage and motivate people, team members, colleagues, and students from diverse backgrounds and guide them to collaborate to get difficult tasks completed. She is very effective at working with students who need care and support.”

Pringle continued: “I have witnessed her care and concern firsthand as she makes sure the Counseling office sends cards and flowers for ill teammates, and arranges celebration gatherings for special occasions and holidays. One of her many assets is she’s able to show a high level of caring, peace, calm, and expert clinical counseling skills. She is the person I go to concerning issues that occur in our office. Every time I go into her office, she says, ‘Hi, have a seat,’ and listens to my concerns. She carries an aura of peace and calm. I always feel better after talking with her. She also presents her workshops, seminars, and programs with confidence and knowledge of the subject matter. In essence, Dr. Hildreth is a ‘woman of excellence,’ and I am very grateful to have her as my colleague at HFC.”

For Hildreth, the best part of working at HFC is her colleagues.

“I am very blessed to have the colleagues I have. We continuously learn from each other. We debrief each other. We support each other. I also have excellent support from the administration. Holly is a great boss. People ask me, ‘When are you planning to retire?’ I keep telling them they’ll have to carry me out of here feet first,” she said, laughing. “I have no desire to retire yet. I’m often the last one to leave at night. It’s such a thrill to be here. I enjoy working at a community college. I have been able to do that twice in my career.”