This year, with Ayala counselor Mr. Ryan Venegas’ departure, the counseling team welcomed a new counselor: Ms. Haley Pickett. Ms. Pickett is in charge of supporting students with last names De-Jia by offering academic recommendations and further support to put students on a successful track throughout high school.
“A big part of [counseling] is reviewing students’ transcripts, scheduling students for their classes, making sure they’re on track for graduation, and college,” Pickett said. “So if students need anything, they can always come and talk to me.”
Ms. Pickett is a proud alumni of Ayala and it is at Ayala where she decided to later pursue an education path. At first, Pickett was unsure of what specific education field to go into, as education presents numerous different jobs, but she was later given the opportunity to do an internship as a counselor here at Ayala where she really found a passion for the field as she could work to support her students. Although Pickett began counseling students during COVID-19 school closures, she showed remarkable potential and helped other counselors during hectic times.
“I met Ms. Pickett when she was doing her internship hours during the school closures,” counselor Ms. Cristina Domicoli said. “She really helped us out during that crazy time.”
Pickett started her first counseling job at the Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) Alternate Education Center. Following Mr. Venegas’ leave, she decided to transfer back to Ayala.
“I love Ayala,” Pickett said. “I feel really familiar with the campus and I’m glad to be back.”
As Pickett transitions to Ayala and its nuances, she has the support of other counselors in the school.
“We do see sad things that some of our students go through in their personal lives and so I just hope she learns how to still be able to function and be happy outside of work so she doesn’t get burnt out,” said Domicoli.
Additionally, given Ms. Pickett’s experience at the Alternate Education Center, she is able to provide students with even more knowledge and experience during summer school registration in the future, making the process much smoother.
“She will definitely be a great help with summer school stuff just because she has all that experience coming in from alternative education who coordinates summer school,” Domicoli said.
With this year being her first official school year on staff, we look forward to seeing Pickett on campus and getting to know her as the school year continues. Let’s give a warm welcome to Ms. Pickett!
