Over the summer, the counseling department welcomed six new counselors. This change includes a new resource counselor to lead the department.
This change came as a surprise to students as counselors play a crucial role in helping with major issues such as mental health awareness, college admissions pressure, and balancing school and life. Senior Krish Balkee was affected as his counselor of three years left. “It just caught me off guard at first, but it was OK because I was still able to receive my college recommendation from my previous counselor,” Balkee said.
During the school’s second town hall meeting of the school year, each counselor introduced themselves and answered any questions to combat any concerns.
One new counselor is Tiffany Johnson. Johnson grew up in North Carolina and recently moved to Maryland. She said that she holds core values such as empathy, support, communication, and growth among students. “I’m excited to be a Patriot and to support all students,” Johnson said.
Another new counselor is Angelo Heflin. Heflin grew up in Dayton, OH, and attended both Ohio University and George Washington University to study human development and counseling. He said that his main values are positivity, creativity and service.
Sheri Snyder is another new counselor. Snyder grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, and moved to Maryland in 2001 to become a teacher. Snyder said that her main values are respect, relationships and listening to students.
There is also a new assistant principal this year, Heidi Vermillion. Vermillion is also an acting counselor at the moment and she grew up in Pittsburgh. She attended Penn State University for technology education and her core values include communication, commitment and personal relationships with students.
Alana Rivas is another new counselor. Rivas grew up in Bucks County, PA, and moved to Maryland in 2021. She said that before becoming a counselor, she worked as a paraeducator and her core values include empathy, communication and respect. Rivas said, “I played women’s lacrosse for over 12 years and still enjoy staying involved in the sport as a coach.”
The new head of the counseling department is Dr. Maureen Ponce. Ponce grew up in New Jersey before attending George Mason University and JohnsHopkins University to attain a Ph.D in counselor education and supervision. Ponce began her career as a middle school teacher, but later realized that her true calling. “I realized that there was also a great opportunity to help students outside the classroom so that once they arrive in the classroom, they could be more successful, and that’s kind of how I started thinking about counseling,” Ponce said.
As the new resource counselor, Ponce said that her two main priorities are creating a team that builds “cohesion that’s necessary” and ensuring that the services offered by the counseling department are top notch. Ponce said, “I want students to view this (counselors’ office) as a place that is here to be supportive and helpful to all students and accessible to help for their academic and career needs.”
