The high school welcomed their newest counselor, Mrs. Kottner, to the district. She came to Peters with eighteen years of experience as a guidance counselor at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit 3. Kottner grew up in Washington and graduated from Trinity High School, which was why she applied to work here. She currently lives in the area with her husband and three kids.
Before deciding to become a counselor, Kottner originally went to school at Shippensburg University, where she majored in communications, journalism, and minored in psychology. Quickly though, she realized that she was uninterested in a news career after she completed an internship in Harrisburg. At the time she was very active in the Shippensburg Student Affairs Office, so following the advice of an advisor, she changed majors to pursue school counseling. She later enrolled in Penn West California, where she received her masters degree in education for K-12 counseling.
“I fell in love with the school setting during my internships. It took me a little longer than most students to figure out what I wanted to do, but when I look back, I think that it all happened the way it was supposed to,” Kottner said.
Mrs. Kottner has had a fairly smooth transition as she has adapted to her new position during these first few weeks of school.
“The students, families, and staff have all been incredibly kind and patient as I’ve been getting settled in. I’m so grateful to be part of such a supportive counseling department—they’ve been amazing in answering my many questions every single day,” she stated.
Mrs. Kottner urges all students to utilize all of the resources here the high school offers, especially the outstanding educational and extracurricular opportunities.
“Take advantage of everything that you can in high school, it goes by so quickly and enjoy every minute.” she said as she outlined her most important priority in the coming weeks. “I am looking forward to meeting all of my students and families.”
