Every year, on the first full week of February, school counselors are celebrated and recognized for their impact and help to students. This year, National School Counseling Week took place on Feb. 6-10. UHS’s very own counselors Mrs. Jamie Adams, Ms. Hanna Addessi, Ms. Shannon Dean, Mr. Nick Perfetto, Mr. Nate Schoch and Mrs. Angelique Strausheim were celebrated for their help with students succeeding in all aspects of their lives.

“My counselor helped me both emotionally and academically because my counselor gave me good advice on my academic work and also was there for me when I needed to talk to someone,” junior Irene Park said. 

School counseling first began in the early 1900s at secondary schools as a means to provide students with vocational guidance. Later on, in the 1920s, the role of counselors shifted to focusing on students’ adjustment. The Vocational Education Act of 1946 and the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) of 1958 brought support to counseling in schools and led to the creation of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) in 1952, which now organizes National School Counseling Week today.

“My counselor . . . helped me academically when I transferred from IVA to UHS,” junior Rabbana Bari said. “Since it was my first year at UNI, Mr. Schoch really helped me figure out my classes, . . . showed me them on the school map and checked up on me during my first week of school to make sure my classes were the way they were supposed to be.”

Students and school communities can do a variety of things to show their gratitude for counselors’ hard work at making their school year a success, emotionally and academically. 

“Students can write [their counselors] cards about how much they’ve helped them or bring them a little gift to show their appreciation,” junior Caprie Troccoli said.

Most recently, on Feb. 6, the UHS counselors hosted a Parent Coffee informational session for parents of juniors where topics such as life after high school, building college lists, senior year schedules and support resources available for students were discussed. At UHS, school counselors help students in many ways, including giving guidance on which classes to take, resolving schedule conflicts and countless other ways that help the lives of students and families.