A counselor is someone who sticks with you throughout all four years of high school. They help you choose your classes, craft your schedule, get you ready for college, and ultimately, be there for you in personal ways too.
Through freshman to senior year, counselors watch students grow, and help set them up for some of the most influential years of their lives. But many of these prominent figures, and their tumultuous behind-the-scenes work, go unnoticed. As a senior, my counselor has been one of the only constants during my time in high school. As a final send off, I want to shed light on some of the most impactful people at LFHS.
Our counselors have committed themselves to LFHS, and had a vital role in the community for years. For instance, Mrs. Lamick is completing her fifth year at LFHS, while Mr. Panfil and Mrs. Hannon are in their 11th year.
Many of our counselors started off in the profession because they have a genuine passion for helping others. Mrs. Lamick explained that she has always wanted to work in a school setting, but wasn’t necessarily drawn to teaching at first.
“I felt like being a counselor worked more for me because I would be able to work with kids directly, and know kids more on a personal level for four years rather than one,” Lamick said.
Similarly, Mrs. Hannon noted how she knew she wanted to be in a helping profession.
“I had started off in nursing, but realized that wasn’t it. When I was changing gears, I had found counseling, and I made it happen, and I love it,” Hannon said.
What all of these counselors have in common is compassion. Being a counselor takes empathy, patience, and humanity. Without these characteristics, fostering a successful relationship of trust between a counselor and student is difficult. Yet, our counselors seem to display these traits effortlessly.
With such a diverse job, the ways our counselors impact us is endless. Add on a sentence about how being a counselor takes having good communication skills, which LFHS counselors do have.
“We see kids in person, and respond to a lot on email. Some days maybe ten, other days more. We do a lot of communication outside of person through email, so we’re very busy. We never have to look for things to do,” Hannon said.
No matter what size problem you may be facing, your counselor is always within reach willing to help, and they make it known.
For many students, the times in which they see their counselor the most is senior year, specifically during the infamous college admissions process. While this may be some of the most stressful moments in a student’s career, ironically, this time of the year is what counselors love most about the job.
“We do mental health counseling, scheduling, but I love the college admission part. It’s complicated. We have to keep up with the current trends. So we are constantly reading and trying to stay on top of things, and we try to individualize it for every student. Everyone’s path is different, so we try to find what’s best for that student,” said Panfil.
Our counselors strive to make sure students are set up for success, and they demonstrate this by constantly putting their best foot forward in making sure students feel supported.
“It’s also very rewarding seeing students accomplish their dreams and their goals at the end of the process. We try to be there for them and be a calming or encouraging presence, that’s a big part of the job too, and to be a cheerleader, students work very hard here, so celebrate when good things happen,” Panfil said.
Students at LFHS should feel very lucky that they have counselors who love to see them succeed.
When asked what their favorite part of being a counselor is, some of the counselors had very similar responses.
“It’s gonna sound cheesy, but my students for sure,” said Lamick.
“I love working with teenagers. There’s so much about high school kids, watching them come into their own, it’s really fun to be a part of that. There’s so much flexibility. Not every day looks the same. It’s a lot of collaboration,” said Hannon.
“I like just being helpful. Whatever that may be, just being able to help in general is why we do what we do,” said Panfil.
What makes a counselor and student relationship so successful is when students can feel genuine interest in their situation from counselors. Our team members at LFHS without a doubt have students’ best interest in mind, and that is shown through not only their actions, but words too.
