After ten years in the classroom, English teacher Leila Perez has hung up her teaching hat and put on her counseling hat. She moved into the main counseling office at the beginning of April. The Colt sat down with Perez to find out why she made the change and how she feels about it.

The Colt: What made you decide to be a counselor now?

Leila Perez: I’m really strong one-on-one with my students and being a counselor I feel will be better.

TC: Why at this time?

LP: Well I graduated in December and as I became eligible and just finished as I could.

TC: Did anything in particular spark that decision?

LP: Nothing particular, just that I’ve been teaching and I’ve coached and I was a sponsor for  student council.

TC: You mentioned earlier that being one on one with your students was your strength, did you always know that you wanted to be a counselor?

LP: I always had feeling, I knew, I just did not know what to call it.

TC: You said you graduated in December, have you had to have any additional schooling?

LP: Yes, a masters in school counseling.

TC: How long have you been working towards this?

LP: I started in the fall of 2013 and have been going up until now so about 2 years.

TC: How did your English students react?

LP: No one really knew until I told them, a lot of them just knew I was working hard at school for something. Some were disappointed about having a long term sub, but most were happy for me.

TC: What differences do you think you will come upon?

LP: I think between the kids and I, we will have a lot of different relationships. I think I’ll be more bonded, as like a consultant for kids, someone they can really talk to.

TC: Do you think going from teaching to counseling is going to be a bit of a challenge for you?

LP: Absolutely, there is so much I have to learn from every direction and it will be so important to ask questions.