Bella Fiddler

Counselors can be found in the College and Career Center helping and guiding their students.

Counselors are the backbone of student support here at Benilde-St. Margaret’s. They can talk to and guide students on a variety of subjects, from student schedule switches and college decisions to the ups and downs of day-to-day adolescent life. BSM in particular has a great staff of five counselors, all evenly assigned to kids based on their last names. Although counselors are often available every day to talk with their students, the majority of students do not take up this offer, and should. The benefits of developing a good relationship with your counselor go beyond just college or schedules; they can help you succeed both academically and even in your personal life.

Every single person has their own set of struggles that they are going through. Instead of bottling up emotion, counselors provide students with the opportunity to have a “stress outlet.” Students are given a safe space to talk about anything and everything they feel they want to get off their chest. For starters, getting a bad grade or having complaints about how classes are taught can be viewed as minimal from an outsider’s perspective, but from a high schooler’s point of view, it can negatively affect your daily life and cause unwanted stress. By going to a counselor in hopes of either changing the issue or talking to an adult about it, you’re helping yourself by taking some pressure off yourself and also getting a fresh perspective on your situation.

Furthermore, unless a special circumstance occurs, most students will have the same counselor for all four years of their high school career and can form good relationships with them, one that could influence their school life from start to finish. If you talk to your counselor sporadically, for example, during required meetings, chances are you’re not going to develop a relationship or connection with them. This can cause you to miss out on a trusted adult in the building whose job is to support your needs.

No one wants to remember high school as an extremely stressful or horrible experience. So, having a kind person to tell your troubles to or get classes changed around in a jiffy is an amazing resource. By developing a close-knit bond with your school counselor, they can aid you in letting you know you have a support system within the school, which will leave you with a more positive high school experience.