Students are not the only ones dealing with confusion regarding their new schedules; the counselors have gone down the same road. With the news of Mr. Drasner’s indefinite leave and Mrs. Garcia’s maternity leave, the counseling office was struggling with its own crisis. Lucky enough, two new counselors were found to temporarily take the place of Mr. Drasner and Mrs. Garcia.

Ms. Lianne Lau. and Ms. Tiffany Sramek are substituting for Mr. Drasner and Mrs. Garcia, respectively. Despite the setback, the counseling office has settled down and is fully functional.

Ms. Sramek is thrilled to be here at West as she states, “I’m excited to be here as a counselor and, while I’d love to be somewhere as a permanent counselor, I am very grateful to [have] a job in the field I have chosen for a career.” With warm welcome and kind help from others, Ms. Sramek seems to be enjoying each day as a counselor. Ms. Lau also shared this enthusiasm and added, “I love counseling in the school setting because each day is so unique and I have the opportunity to learn new things each day. That’s the beauty to counseling; there is really never a dull day in our offices.”

Whether it be simple or difficult, helping students with whatever problems they may have is not all easy. Students like Melvin Johanis (11) are grateful for the counselors’ effort. He asserts, “I like how our counselors, even the new ones find time to help us out despite their busy schedules and new setting. With budget cuts and a very small counseling staff, I appreciate the time they take to help students out with their problems.” Though each counselor has to attend to almost seven hundred individuals, students like Johanis show support for the counselors for being able to manage this workload.

Ms. Sramek showed her enthusiasm for her work, revealing, “I hope to assist the students in whatever ways I can. I want to form relationships with the students, faculty, and staff and be a positive and beneficial addition.” In addition, students should also know that Ms. Lau worked at West before, and she adds, “I love West! That’s why I came back! Some of the students may remember me from when I was an intern under Mrs. Garcia from January-June of 2010. I truly enjoyed working with the students, parents, faculty, and staff at West when I was an intern and jumped at the opportunity to return to West this fall as a substitute counselor.” West High wishes both Ms. Lau and Ms. Sramek good luck as they continue on in the Counseling Office.