If there’s one thing all of us have needed at some point, it’s guidance, but not all of us always know where to find it! I spent days going from middle school to high school, gathering allies and enemies, and eventually hunting down every mental health outlet Knoch High School has to offer you! Here, you can get to know more about them as the wonderful individuals they are, and just what they can do to help you.

What’s your name? Ms. Damon

What’s your job title and what does it entail? I’m a career and intervention counselor. This involves hooking you (students) up with community resources and answering questions/discussing with individuals for students K-12. It also involves career lessons and helping you figure out what you want to do and how to achieve that, including vo-tech, early release, and different college/post high school options. I meet with students, parents, and administrators about career paths and graduation requirements. 

Where can you be found? I’m typically in the High School Guidance office, but if I’m not there, just ask Mrs. Smith.

How long have you been here? Just since December!

What’s your favorite color? Purple.

What’s a fun fact about yourself? I don’t know how to whistle :/

Any pets? Alpacas! My favorite alpaca is named Frack. I also have a kitty named Harriet (because she’s hairy.)

What’s your favorite part of your job? Working with and helping students. 

What’s something people might not know about your job? The behind the scenes work, such as all the state reporting, which is submitting reports to ensure to the state all students have career evidence and pathways. I also deal with things relating to student assistant programs such as Act 55 and Act 138.

Any piece of advice to students at Knoch? Talk to your school counselor early before it’s too late because you want to make sure you have the best option for you. Especially for seniors in the second part of the year; it’s like the Hunger Games trying to get scholarships and letters of recommendation. 

Anything else you’d like to add? Go Knights!

Ms. Graham was a slightly familiar face, thanks to our guidance counselors coming into classrooms and making sure we’re properly prepared for our futures. However, since Mr. Hess is my counselor, I hadn’t gotten to talk with her personally. Her bright energy is well reflected in her well decorated room, and she made me feel more than welcome to come in and chat. If you’re ever looking for her, just look for pink. 

What’s your name? Ms. Graham. That’s Ms. to you.

What’s your job title and what does it entail? School counselor for grades 10-12 last name L-Z. I meet with students individually, go into classrooms, help with college and career planning.

Where can you be found? I’m almost always in my office in the High School guidance office.

How long have you been here? I’ve been at Knoch for three years, but just got moved up to grades 10-12 this year, I previously was the counselor for grades 8-9.

What’s your favorite color? Purple and pink.

What’s a fun fact about yourself? I’m a HUGE swiftie.

Any pets? A cat named Simon and a beagle mix named Rosie.

What’s your favorite part of your job? When students succeed and have positive outcomes. 

What’s something people might not know about your job? There’s a lot of heavy, emotionally tolling stuff a lot of people don’t see.

Any piece of advice to students at Knoch? Make sure you’re taking care of yourselves, in all aspects. Counseling, self care, exercising, hanging out with friends— there’s a lot that can go into that.

Anything else you’d like to add? Nope.

Anyone who has been down to guidance before has had the pleasure of getting to talk with Mrs. Smith, and although sometimes her serious face can be misleading, you couldn’t find someone better to make you feel welcomed and truly, individually cared about. She has truly been a mother hen for so many students at Knoch, and will make sure guidance isn’t anything scary for those visiting for the first time.

What’s your name? Mrs. Smith

What’s your job title and what does it entail? I’m the guidance secretary. I send transcripts, run report cards, manage emails and phone calls, and help with records/record requests and scholarships. I also talk a lot with the students who come to visit, ask questions or see a counselor in the guidance office.

Where can you be found? 99.9% of the time I’ll be the first smiling face you see when you come into the guidance office.

How long have you been here? I’ve been at Knoch for six years, secretary in guidance for three of those. I was previously a classroom aid. 

What’s your favorite color? Purple.

What’s a fun fact about yourself? I can cross stitch. I actually cross stitched my whole family their Christmas stockings.

Any pets? I have two English Berber spaniels— Luna and Grayson.

What’s your favorite part of your job? Getting to know and talk to the kids. 

What’s something people might not know about your job? I deal a lot more with student transcripts than people think.

Any piece of advice to students at Knoch? Never be afraid to ask for help in any area of life. There will always be people who are rooting you on.

Anything else you’d like to add? Not that I can think of!

Someone I knew all too well was Mr. Hess, or Coach Hess. He’s not only my guidance counselor, but has also been my soccer coach for the past four years. Having a guidance counselor who has also been a best friend to me and the whole soccer team has given me and years worth of girls on the team such a special opportunity to have a real bond with him as a coach and as someone to assist us in all aspects of school and life. Mr. Hess does a wonderful job at making you feel comfortable, likely with lots of help from having already heard it all after coaching Macrina Robb. 

What’s your job title and what does it entail? I’m a school counselor for grades 10-12 last names A-K. My job always includes helping students with their schedules along with organizing the master schedule. I meet with students to help with social, academic, and emotional issues, and do everything I can to help students be the best they can be. A lot of it changes throughout the year, for example in the fall I spend more time with students preparing them for after high school, like applying to colleges, and as we get past the half way through the year mark it’s more scholarship applications and financial aid. 

Where can you be found? Normally in High School Guidance office.

How long have you been here? This is my sixth year at Knoch, sixth year in this position. 

What’s your favorite color? Carolina blue.

What’s a fun fact about yourself? I still have a baby tooth.

Any pets? A dog named Bailey– she’s a mutt mix.

What’s your favorite part of your job? Being able to interact with students and faculty/teachers… We have great faculty here. 

What’s something people might not know about your job? I’m also the girls high school soccer coach and one of the middle school track coaches. 

Any piece of advice to students at Knoch? We are very approachable and personable down here at guidance and we are happy to be here to talk about anything, good or bad.

Anything else you’d like to add? Not really.

One of the most challenging of feats was being able to hunt down the wonderful Ms. Oesterling, and when I finally did manage to corner her, she had just returned from the middle school, boxes of Mini Wheats in her arms. This was my first time having the pleasure to sit down and talk to her as well, and she genuinely restored a lot of my hope in our district and just how wonderful our assistance programs are. Her passion for helping the students was so apparent even without me prompting it out of her–if commuting around the campus by foot for some cereal isn’t commitment I don’t know what is. 

What’s your name? Ms. Oesterling 

What’s your job title and what does it entail? I’m a social worker for the district, grades K-12. I’m a licensed clinical social worker and I also have a trauma therapist certificate. I do mental health check-ins, connect families with resources such as groceries and housing,and  am a part of student assistance teams. I’m also the truancy officer and homeless liaison. 

Where can you be found? My office is in the middle school office, but I bounce around everywhere so much I recommend asking Mrs. Giebel in the middle school office if you’re trying to find me. Via email also works. 

How long have you been here? This is my third year in the same position.

What’s your favorite color? Pink.

What’s a fun fact about yourself? I like to travel a lot.

Any pets? Nope.

What’s your favorite part of your job? I love helping the kids and the district does a great job at letting me be very personable thanks to how flexible it is. It gives me the opportunity to have very individualized programs to help kids and families meet their needs rather than just pigeonholing how much I’m allowed to do for certain kids and certain situations. 

What’s something people might not know about your job? People don’t even know I exist so..

Any piece of advice to students at Knoch? Make sure you’re taking care of your mental health.. It’s never too late to ask for help and the sooner you ask, the sooner we’ll be able to help!

Anything else you’d like to add? Nope

The scariest trip of my journey was trekking down to Mrs. Gizienski’s office in the middle school. Her room was a safe haven in a place of chaos, and I agree with her that she could benefit from a more centralized room so that kids could take better advantage of the opportunities she offers. The trek was certainly worth it; it was a great opportunity to get to talk to her and see just how much the school is doing to help students manage their emotional health and what wonderful staff they have been lucky enough to find. I’m sure any of the kids she helps can vouch that her wisdom is worth the journey.

What’s your name? Mrs. Gizienski

What’s your job title and what does it entail? I’m a mental health professional for grades 6-12. I work with students one on one or in groups in coordinating the knights assistance program, which is an individualized one on one assistant program for students. I work more with students on mindfulness, coping skills, and the emotional side of things than other guidance counselors. 

Where can you be found? Down in the center middle school hallway where my office is. 

How long have you been here? Two years.

What’s your favorite color? Pink.

What’s a fun fact about yourself? I graduated from Knoch, and I can wiggle my nose. 

Any pets? Two cats, Sugar and Pepper.

What’s your favorite part of your job? All of it, but especially giving back to the community that helped me. 

What’s something people might not know about your job? I have a social work background.

Any piece of advice to students at Knoch? Don’t rush through it. 

Anything else you’d like to add? Good luck. 

I’d heard of Mrs. Schaffner but hadn’t gotten to talk to her up until asking if I could interview her. She offers a very unique opportunity to students who might not have time for or access to therapy during after school hours. Even in our short conversation, I could pick up on what a wonderful listener she is and how much her clients mean to her. If the idea of therapy seems intimidating or impractical, she’d be the perfect way to start.

What’s your name? Desiree Schaffner

What’s your job title and what does it entail? Licensed counselor mental health therapist. I technically work for Family Psychological, but I do mostly outpatient sessions within Knoch, although I will continue sessions with students once they graduate if they’d like. I give students who might not be able to get to therapy outside of school an opportunity to still have the option to have a therapist. Everyone has complete confidentiality from the school, and everyone 14 and up has complete confidentiality from their parents.

Where can you be found? In my office next to the guidance office but I have patients most of the day so you can always talk to your guidance counselor about setting up an appointment.

How long have you been here? Four years.

What’s your favorite color? Teal.

What’s a fun fact about yourself? I have been skydiving and swimming with sharks.

Any pets? A cat named Bella and a sugar glider named Bandit.

What’s your favorite part of your job? My clients.

What’s something people might not know about your job? That’s confidential. 

Any piece of advice to students at Knoch? Reach out, there’s a lot of services for you.

Anything else you’d like to add? No.

Mrs. Snyder is another new, unfamiliar face to me and to many students in the high school. Her room in the middle school is still under decoration construction, but her kindness ensures its homieness all the same. Although she’s tucked away in the back of the attendance office in the middle school, that doesn’t make her any less reachable, and she is certainly more than happy to help anyone in need in any way she can. 

What’s your name? Mrs. Snyder

What’s your job title and what does it entail? 8-9 Middle School Counselor. I help students academically, socially, and emotionally, connect them with resources, collaborate with teachers and administrators to further support them as best we can, help with behavioral issues and other outside of school issues such as grieving or home life problems. 

Where can you be found? I’m always in my middle school office on the attendance side, but you can always reach me via email, I basically live in the gmail app. 

How long have you been here? Since November, so barely three months. I used to be at Armstrong, doing the same thing.

What’s your favorite color? Forest green.

What’s a fun fact about yourself? I used to work at the Butler County Prison as a corrections officer.

Any pets? I have one chocolate lab named Ruger.

What’s your favorite part of your job? Witnessing students become confident in themselves.

What’s something people might not know about your job? I answer a lot, a lot more emails than the typical person would.  

Any piece of advice to students at Knoch? Always keep yourself as top priority and don’t worry as much about other people and what they may think of you. Hold yourself to a higher standard and focus on bettering yourself from your past

Anything else you’d like to add? I don’t think so. 

Mrs. Jacobs is a face I recognized best from her big beautiful smile, and I’ll warn you that it is quite contagious. She certainly is always more than open to listen, and–as I know–offer life advice even when you don’t want to hear it (which may be when you need it most).

What’s your name? Mrs. Jacobs

What’s your job title and what does it entail? I’m the Special Education Facilitator. I work with kids in grades 6-12 who have IEPs, which includes scheduling IEP meetings, providing extra guidance, and communicating with parents and teachers. 

Where can you be found? My office is right inside guidance and I’m typically there, but you can always ask Mrs. Smith for me if I’m not. 

How long have you been here? 17 years at the same job.

What’s your favorite color? Beach blue

What’s a fun fact about yourself? Everyone in my family has J names, including the pets. 

Any pets? Three dogs and two cats.

What’s your favorite part of your job? Getting to advocate for the kids who need it most. 

What’s something people might not know about your job? I work with middle school kids as well, not just high school. 

Any piece of advice for students at Knoch? It goes faster than you think, enjoy it.

Anything else you’d like to add? I don’t think so. 

Thanks to these wonderful ladies and gentlemen, there are many opportunities to reach out and ask for help in any way you need it. No matter how big or small your problem is, they will never be anything but understanding, patient, and just want to do anything they can to help you. It is truly what they are here for, so let them.