Guidance counselors have open-door policy

The little blue slips in the corner of the guidance office are stacked neatly in piles as students file in and out, making appointments to meet with their counselors. There is a narrow hallway beyond the large desk in the center of the room, leading to several white doors. Students walk in, comforted by the warm atmosphere within the hallway.

The school has four guidance counselors, Frances Saiki, Eileen Allen, Monique Young and Alinna Satake, all situated in this hallway. Their doors are always open to students.

“I love that I get the opportunity to coach students in terms of academics, grades and college talk,” Saiki said. “But in the process, I love that I get to know [students]. Relationships are built through that.”

For much of her college life, Saiki wanted to work in education, although at first she was preparing to become a teacher. While attending UC Davis, she took an internship at a middle school as an assistant teacher.

“I found myself at the back of the classroom more often and helping students that way,” Saiki said.

Saiki said that she prefers to work in the background rather than being in the “limelight.”

Young likewise said she enjoys her role. Before becoming a counselor, she had planned to become a first-grade teacher. However, because she realized that she liked working alongside people, she became a wedding coordinator, sometimes spending a year with a couple to get to know them.

“I planned events, and a lot of that had to do with giving information, counselling through this time,” she said. “[And] I thought I could take these skills that I have and apply [them] to school.”

For her part, Satake said that having graduated with a degree in history from UC Berkeley, she had her sights set on working as a social studies teacher.

“[When] I was applying for jobs at the county job fair, my own high school guidance counselor said, ‘Well, we don’t have any history positions currently, but you should apply as a guidance counselor,’” Satake said.

Because Satake had previous experience as an adviser at Hillsdale High School, she decided to give it a try.

Satake, who is also a 1997 graduate from Saratoga High now enjoys working with students because she likes to watch them grow as individuals.

“For each [student], that growth edge may be academic, personal or social, but I see my job as supporting kids to grow up,” she said.

Allen, also a graduate of Saratoga High, said she loves having students for four years and watching their development throughout high school.

However, talking with students is sometimes a challenge for Allen because she worries that she cannot help them with their problems immediately.

“When I go home, I tend to worry about students [whom] I have met with during the day,” Allen said. “There are a lot of difficult things that my students are dealing with on a day-to-day basis, and sometimes it is hard to know you can’t fix everything for them right away.”

Saiki added that she likes having conversations with students that she could not have had in the classroom.

 “[Students] come in and they are like, ‘Guess what happened over the weekend,’” she said. “These are real-life discussions. That’s what I really like.”

Saiki also said that listening to students and being a part of their lives has always been a major priority for her.

“I know life happens outside of school. Friends, family, those parts are just as real as what’s happening academically,” she said. “[Students] bring that to school and for me to learn about that, that’s the part that I love.”