Chau DiMatteo, counselor of last names A – BLA

Dr. Molly Mugge-Cozza, GT Counselor, said, “When I was in college, I had a good friend who ended up taking her own life. At that point, I was already interested in psychology. I just continued to pursue that, and that’s what got me into counseling. [I stay] for the kids. Every single one had a story and pathway, and being apart of that journey is pretty awesome.”

Jolei Patton, Counselor for last names BLE – DUF, said, “When I was teaching AVID, I realized I was doing a lot of students’ academic planning and what they wanted to do after high school, and then working with them on their social emotions. That led me to think, ‘I want to be a school counselor’, because I really enjoyed that. I love working with students and watching their growth over four years. So, seeing where they start and where they end in that journey, it feels like an honor to be apart of that.”

Gabi Garcia, Counselor for last names M – OLIVA, said, “I don’t think that high school felt like a very safe space for me. I felt like there was one path presented to me and I never really thought I was super intelligent. [I now] realize that my intelligence wasn’t valued where I was. Ultimately, I just love working with high school kids. I think that they’re really fun, but mostly, I really wanted students to know that they each have gifts. Specifically, just figuring out where you can use those and how to best find spaces in places that value your own intelligences and strengths.”

Katherine Kaiser, Counselor for last names DUG – HERN, said, “I started teaching right out of college at 22 [years old], but I only say a small percent of the population, and wanted to be able to work with all students. So, I went back to college and got my master’s in school counseling. I’ve done middle school counseling for 20 years, and then moved to high school. I’ve really enjoyed being able to see kids get to the finish line.”

Craig Quintana, Counselor for last names TOE – Z, said, “What keeps me here is our student body. Smoky Hill is probably one of the most diverse schools in the state, and I love that about our student body. I was the office assistant in the counseling department my senior year of high school, and I was able to see what the counselors did. That always stuck in the back of my mind, so because I was a student assistant, that made me want to become a counselor.”

Trina Visocky, Counselor for last names Olive – Shaq.

Brooke Volpone, Counselor for last names HERO – L, said, “I think adolescence is such a sweet time of finding your identity and starting to have agency to figure out what you want to do with your life. But I think as humans, when we’re in the school system, we’re kind of told this is what you do. This is your next step. So it doesn’t lead to as much freedom of choice. And I think as you come into adolescence you get to start dreaming and pursuing your goals. I really wanted to be able to be a support for people, for students, as they start to figure out what it is that they want to do, and as they try on these different identities.”

Robert “Bob” Kennedy, Counseling Coordinator and last names SHARP – TOD “I’ve been doing this for 25 years but what got me here was education. Previously, I was a teacher and a coach. I felt like I wanted to stay with the relationship piece as I moved up in my career in academics. So I felt like counseling was a natural step for me when it came to staying in education, but continuing to work with students on a more personal relationship kind of basis.”