Linda Schmidt Goss’ interest in social services resulted in an eventual career change.
The change was to work in counseling instead of in art.
Last March, the licensed professional counselor joined Waupaca Wellness Center.
“I wanted to be an art therapist,” said the Appleton native who received her undergraduate degree in art from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
After receiving her degree, she worked at East Bay Athletics in Wausau.
In 1992, she began working on her master’s degree in counseling, receiving the degree from the UW-Oshkosh in 1994.
By then, she and her husband, Tom, had moved back to the Fox Valley and had started their family.
For Goss, the decision to seek a degree in counseling was a natural one.
“I’ve been interested in social services and the humanities my whole life,” she said. “I volunteered at a group home when I was 16 and was matched up with a girl younger than me.”
Such volunteer service continued for her during high school.
After Goss received her master’s degree, she worked in career services at UW-Oshkosh for two years.
“While I was doing that, I got the additional credits I needed to work as a guidance counselor,” she said.
From there, she went to Lourdes Academy in Oshkosh, where she was a guidance counselor four years.
“Then, after that, I started my own business,” Goss said.
She became what is referred to as a “vocational expert,” working for lawyers on such cases involving divorce and workers’ compensation.
The last two years of that period of her career involved working for the federal government.
She had to consider both physical and mental deficits when she testified in cases for attorneys and the federal government.
“After nine years of that, I was looking for just counseling. I wanted to get back to my roots,” Goss said.
She found the opportunity to do so when she saw something about the Waupaca Wellness Center on Craig’s List.
“There was a description of the facility and what they were looking for,” she said.
Goss, who has always been interested in nutrition and wellness because of her love of athletics, found the match to be incredible.
“I’ve loved everything I’ve done,” she said.
She also loves to learn and in 2004, began to pursue her doctorate in psychology – a direction she continues to pursue.
“I love to learn. I feel stagnant otherwise,” Goss said.
She brings a wealth of experience to her position at Waupaca Wellness Center. That experience includes her background in career counseling. She loves to work with children, and also does family and marital counseling.
Goss said that sometimes people start a session talking about their career, but then the session ends up to be about personal issues – barriers that may be stopping them from doing what they want to do.
She is available to counsel by appointment during the office hours of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and can be reached at 715-942-2414.
The initial 30-minute consultation is free “to make sure we’re a good match,” Goss said.
She lives in Winneconne with her husband, Tom, and their two children: 16-year-old Katana and 14-year-old Cooper.
In her free time, Goss likes to go for walks, do things with her children, volunteer at school and with her art background, be creative.
What she likes about her work as a counselor is seeing how people grow. She also likes the variety in what she does.
Because of her compatibility with Waupaca Wellness Center, she feels that she is doing some of her best work ever.
“It’s family. It feels like home,” Goss said of the center. “It’s part of me, and it’s mostly part of who I am.”