Last week, Feb. 2-6, was National Counseling Week, celebrated to recognize school counselors across the nation for their role in supporting students’ academic, career, and social development.
Adrian Hernandez has been working at MHS as a counselor for eight years now, he said. When he first started working here, the school reminded him a lot of his own high school in Sanger, California, because of the diversity, he added.
“There was a lot to learn because it’s such a big high school,” Hernandez said. “There are so many programs, so I was really taking it day by day and getting adjusted to how big the school is.”
Jennifer Irvine worked at Rancho Milpitas Middle School for a year prior to working at MHS, which she has been for 25 years now, she said. She had wanted to work with older age groups that were actively preparing for college, Irvine added.
“When I first started, we were given caseloads by grade level, so I was with the same students all four years, until they graduated,” Irvine said. “I remember at first it was overwhelming, since there used to be four counselors.”
Getting to know a student’s family helps with understanding what a student needs to succeed, Irvine said. Learning about the goals of both students and parents helps plan the student’s future, she added.
“I’ve had students get into some Ivy league schools like Stanford University and Princeton, and it’s always exciting that students have reached their goals for where they want to attend college,” Irvine said.
Julie Cler has been working at MHS as a counselor for 25 years, she said. She started counseling at 25 right after graduate school and switched to MHS after counseling at a middle school prior, Cler said.
“I feel like I grew up here, like I really came into my own here,” Cler said. “I had just finished grad school where they teach a lot of theory, but (with) teaching, you don’t really understand what your job is like until you start doing it.”
Many students may feel afraid of coming to the office, or feel as if they don’t need to, Cler said. She always tells students when meeting with them to tell their friends to come visit the office, she added.
“I think students miss out on more opportunities when they’re not connected with all the resources that are around them,” Cler said. “I think counselors are in a great position to connect students to different resources that maybe they didn’t know of before.”
Having National Counseling Week is a good reminder for students that they are supported by the counseling staff, Hernandez said.
“Students struggle in so many different ways, and being able to come in here might not be easy for everybody, which is why we meet with all ninth graders,” Hernandez said. “Building trust and relationships helps students open up to us, since we are here as a resource.”
