A helping hand. A friendly mentor. A person to talk to. A guide for the future.
The new counselors are working hard to assist students at PLHS to reach a bright future.
“Helping students build skills to improve attendance and improve their academics to meet their post-secondary goals would be our goal,” first-year counselor Ms. Kristen Madler said.
Throughout her career as a first-year counselor, Mrs. Bobbi Lawhorn has developed many ways to inspire her students.
“For me, motivation starts with connection. So just building rapport with kids and getting to know who they are, taking a genuine interest in them, making sure that they know I am here as a means for support and I really do care,” Lawhorn said.
Ms. Madler knows precisely how it feels to be unsure about her future, so she understands what to do when feeling lost.
“Don’t be discouraged if you aren’t certain about what your next step is, but don’t close any doors for yourself if you don’t know what you want to do,” Madler said.
From a new perspective, Lawhorn knows that there are ways to recover from previous performance and get on track for graduation.
“There’s always options. We do a really good job as a school with partnering with our administration team to really help guide students to prepare to go on to bigger and better things,” Lawhorn said.
With the completed counseling staff, it is easier than ever to reach out for help.
“If you are lost right now, it doesn’t mean you’ll stay lost forever. You’ll figure it out. Ask for help, find the resources that we have here at school, outside of school, we can get you in the right direction,” Lawhorn said.
With the stress and culture of high school, it is hard to find ways to get help when you need it, but these new counselors are certainly making sure students can take charge of their high school experiences.
