As students enter guidance counselor Monique Young’s office, they are greeted with more than just a light, cinnamon-like smell. Multicolored wall stickers scatter the bright-purple walls, and in one corner, a floral-patterned lamp illuminates the room.
Sitting in the midst of it all is Young, Saratoga’s new guidance counselor, wearing a contagious smile. Indeed, Young’s peppy office decor matches her upbeat personality perfectly.
“I’m very excited to be working in an amazing place like Saratoga where there is a full counseling staff, and it’s evident that students and parents value the counselors,” Young said.
“[Young] is going to be a real breath of fresh air,” assistant principal Kerry Mohnike said. “Anytime you bring in someone from a different school site into a position like that, you bring a new perspective, and that’s always a good thing.”
Young worked as a guidance counselor at Pioneer High School in San Jose for six years. Though she didn’t always enjoy her own high school experience, she greatly enjoyed working at one as an adult.
"I found myself really enjoying, for the first time, the school spirit of the students and the staff,” Young said. “I loved participating in the themed Homecoming weeks or volunteering for staff games or dances for the rallies.”
Young said that although Pioneer High School was fun to work at, she is excited for the change in atmosphere.
“I came from a school where I was the only counselor for 1,600-1,700 students,” Young said. “So I’m really excited to be able to service just my small group of kids, having close relationships, and being with them for all four years.”
Young said that although she doesn’t have a favorite student, the handful of students who stand out most in her memory have all experienced extremely difficult obstacles in their lives.
“I find that I am able to sometimes be their one cheerleader,” Young said. “I can sometimes see the true potential in those students and help motivate them to see it themselves.”
Outside of school, one of Young’s favorite places is Disneyland because its carefree, childlike atmosphere brings her back to her own childhood.
“I try to go [to Disneyland] at least a couple times a year,” Young said. “I have watched almost all Disney movies, but I’m not 100 percent up to date on the newer movies. I really love ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas.’”
Additionally, Young was excited to announce that she was recently engaged and will be getting married this year.
“My fiancé—he’s an educator too,” Young said smiling. “We’ll have a whole family of educators, and that’s pretty awesome, so I’m really excited.”
Assistant principal Brian Safine said the best thing about Young is her eagerness to connect with students.
“She is an excellent team player,” Safine said. “She wants to do right by her students, and has shown that she has done the work to really get to know them as best she can.”
Safine added that Young is experienced in terms of presenting her ideas and extremely spirited, making her the perfect choice for a new guidance counselor.
“Finding a new counselor that really gels with students, parents, and teachers is challenging,” Safine said. “So far, Ms. Young is showing that she’s gelling well with each of those three groups.”