I had the pleasure of sitting down with Mrs. Gibson one of the Sr. High Counselors. She is the counselor for 11th and 12th grade at New Castle Senior High. Enjoy the interview canes!

Q: How long have you been working at New Castle?

I have been here a long time, to be honest, I don´t count my years. I am still excited every day to get to work with and enjoy young people

 Q: What jobs do you have during the day?

Honestly, the list is too great! Currently, after creating advertisements and meeting with students in classrooms, I am helping students schedule classes for next year.  Scheduling happens all year as new students are constantly coming to our school or transitioning to cyber.  New this year I am making sure ALL seniors are meeting the ACT 158 requirements.  If students do not pass the Keystone exams, we must figure out a path for them so that they will be eligible to walk across the stage and graduate.  I am consistently monitoring if students are failing a course and offering credit recovery courses to help them stay on track.  New this year we are handling College in High school so currently, we are ensuring that students are enrolled for the second-semester courses with Seton Hill and PTC.  Last week we took students to LCCTC for an educational trip to learn about what the CTC offers and give them the opportunity to create artifacts.  I am constantly corresponding (answering and sending emails, phone conversations, and or Zoom/Google Meets)  to and from agencies, colleges, students, parents, administrators, teachers, and the community.  We are preparing the list for the upcoming Keystone exams.  My greatest days are when I get to spend time with our students. There are many areas of my job that require information processing and collection so I am not always able to meet with students.   I multi-task constantly when one job is finished  I am a quarter of the way through the next job.

 Q: Where did you go to college?

I received my Bachelor’s Degree from Grove City College. My majors were Biology and Secondary Education.  I received my Master’s Degree from Westminster my degree is in Education and certified in school counseling.

 Q: What made you want to become a counselor?

I think counseling chose me.  It has always been a part of my life, helping people navigate through obstacles. My father was a great counselor and I hope I picked up some of his traits.   Counseling for me is helping people to get to the truth and then build decisions based on the truth and not just emotions.  It’s always rewarding to see a student learn the tools and begin to mature in how they handle situations.  You must always start with the truth if not you will never have peace.  

 Q: What degrees do you have?

Bachelor of Science in Biology,  Master of Science in Education

Thank you, Mrs. Gibson, for the interview! We hope you have a good rest of the school year.