New Staff: Laura Esping, Chemical Health Counselor

Whether on the stage or working as BSM’s new chemical health counselor, Laura Epsing is always up to the challenge of learning something new.

When Esping first came to BSM, she was very impressed. “ It’s been amazing. I have been so welcomed by the staff, faculty. I’m getting to know the students. There’s definitely a culture here that I wasn’t aware of… It does seem like it’s a very cohesive community,” Esping said.

Esping got her chemical counseling license during the pandemic and got her license at Minneapolis Community College. “Life is stressful for everybody, adults too, but in particular, for adolescents. you’ve got this really stressful period of time, [and] we’re trying to figure out who you are and how you fit into the stream of things and at the same time, your brain is forming all these neural connections. This is also prime time for people to reduce stress with chemicals. it’s just this really bad combination,” Esping said.

She got her chemical license because she wants to help guide young adults through highschool. “I just feel like my job is to guide people to what works best for them, and to encourage them to use healthy choices, but also I’m not here to judge but just to guide you know, and so that I feel very passionate,” Esping said.

Prior to counseling, Esping got her Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Dramatic Art. She then went back to school as an adult to get her Masters of Fine Arts and Acting at the University of Minnesota. “From me, I’m a working actor and a teacher. My next play starts next week. I also thought [working these two jobs] was a good combination of expressive arts and teaching,” Esping said.

In addition to her careers as a counselor and an actor, Epsing grew up in the cornfields in Iowa and backpacked around Europe. She also has a love for research and finding new things, which she gets to explore as a chemical counselor. “What I love about this is that I will never know everything I need to know. I’m always needing to research the latest street drug or the latest way of helping someone… I like that I’m a lifelong learner,” Esping said.