Finally set for stability

Nicole Macgaffey

Bonita Vista High (BVH) counselor Britney Pacini is hard at work in her office plastered with papers on the wall. She filled the once vacant position as of Jan. 10.

Pacini describes the transition from elementary to high school as one that entailed adjustments. She explains that adapting to the new environment was “just switching my brain from more social and emotional to more academic.”

“I put it on you [the high school students] guys. You have more authority and brainpower to help execute a task, whereas younger students need a lot of adult support,” Pacini said. 

Her first day at BVH consisted of on-the-job training, receiving her caseload, and diving right in. Additionally, Pacini said she’s been learning new things every day. Alongside the other counselors, Smith works Tuesdays to train her. Though all the counselors are helpful and always willing to answer her questions, she still faces challenges. 

“The hardest thing that I needed to learn was the different kinds of classes and courses offered here because Bonita has a lot,” Pacini said. “Students would come to me that [wanted] to change [their] schedule. And I’m like, ‘Well, I don’t know what classes there are, so let’s find out together.’”

Despite these hardships, Pacini expresses that she enjoys the school culture—the supportiveness of the staff and the general happiness of the students. 

“All the students that I’ve met are really respectful and they care about their future. So I really enjoy being a part of that, and hopefully getting to contribute to that cool school culture in a positive way,” Pacini said. 

As of now, her main goal is to work on personal connections with her students. She expresses that it is much easier for her to advise students on their future or what classes they want to take if she knows their interests and passions. In connecting with her students on a deeper level, she wishes to change how counselors are typically perceived. 

“Something that a lot of students see high school counselors as just schedule changers. We just get you from class to class and grade to grade. But you know, we actually have a lot more knowledge, we [also] know about mental health and social-emotional learning,” Pacini said.

Unfortunately, for (A-Cesena) students, news about the new counselor was not something they were aware of. Senior Renata Araiza first met Pacini when she went to the counseling center to ask a question about her schedule. 

“They [the old counselors] told me directly [that I had a new counselor]; that’s how I became aware of that. But I just thought it was a little strange that we didn’t [get] sent a message beforehand, that I had to go myself and figure it out,” Araiza said.

As for junior Idalis Cesena, before the implementation of a set counselor, she explained that she had to wait an entire week to receive a response about a schedule change. She found the overall experience of having to bounce off of different counselors in past years confusing and stressful. 

“I had this one counselor who was supposed to be the person I go to, to figure out community service hours or classes or what’s best for me and they told me ‘oh sorry this person can’t be your counselor anymore, now it’s this person,” Cesena said. 

Luckily for these students, the once vacant counselor position will no longer be open. These students will no longer have to experience the struggle of switching counselors. 

“Having Mrs. Pacini as my counselor is definitely a nice experience because she’s just such a nice person to get along with,” Araiza said. “It’s really nice to have a stable connection with someone in the counseling room, [and] there is someone that I can ask questions and address my concerns with.”