Most seniors know the struggle of trying to submit test scores, transcripts, and secondary school report forms to colleges on time, but what many don’t know is that there are people who work behind the scenes to help us get accepted into the schools of our dreams.
Lois Kurth and Mary Halfhill work in the student services office of WS, and they are two of the biggest reasons seniors are able to apply to college, whether or not the students really know it. They never call attention to the work they do beyond the occasional e-mail reminding us about deadlines for underclass and mid-year transcript requests and changes, but this is exactly why The Oracle feels the need to point out all they do for us students.
Seniors aren’t the only ones helped by Kurth and Halfhill. Countless underclassmen applying for summer programs or competitive exchanges are also required to submit transcripts and, especially being so young, don’t understand our school’s system. Kurth and Halfhill always make sure to explain tasks very clearly and kindly, and help make the application process less stressful for students to undertake when they know they’re not alone.
Need to turn in an SSR form for the Common App? Talk to them.
Don’t even know what an SSR form or the Common App is? Talk to them.
All of your college entrances woes and worries can be put to rest by these two wonderful women who really are there to help. They take the time to make sure you understand what needs to be done and how to do it and, if you visit them enough with multiple questions and transcript requests, they take the time to learn who you are as a person.
Their open, inviting office makes them easy to approach and when you’re lost trying to figure out what to do next, they are the first people you’ll see when you walk down the hallway looking for guidance.
Counselors can help with life problems and scheduling issues and much more, sure, but Kurth and Halfhill can help with every day high school inconveniences. From freshmen forgetting their locker combinations, or which locker is even theirs, or seniors missing a block in their schedules when they shouldn’t be, all they need to do is stop by the guidance office to get friendly help and no judgment for making a small mistake.
So thank you, to the two women who helped me find my way as a lost, confused underclassman, and who got me into college as a senior. Thank you.