With the implementation of two brand new programs this year, the counseling department at Hastings High has gotten a facelift. The first of these programs is an online resource called Naviance.
According to counselor Jalaene Choquette, the online program has several different uses but its full potential hasn’t been reached yet.
“Naviance is known as a platform,” Choquette said. “It helps students with career and college options. This is our first year using Naviance and we haven’t been able to do much of the training yet, so we’re rolling and taking baby steps.”
Naviance will be used to cater to students in a number of ways; from career interest inventories, to writing a résumé and essays, to finding and applying to colleges, to researching scholarships, Naviance is a program that will offer services to students of all grade levels. One of those services is the ACT prep program. Choquette says that this program is one of the main reasons for using Naviance.
“Our previous ACT program, John Baylor, was getting expensive and you could do more with Naviance. It gives students some tools that they are able to access at any time. They don’t necessarily need an appointment with the counselor,” Choquette said.
Choquette hopes that, along with more student independence, teachers will be able to help their students more with the college process with this new program.
“Naviance helps other staff and faculty members to be more involved,” Choquette said. “It makes it easier for the teacher to help the student access information about careers or apply for scholarships.”
Naviance is not the only new program in place at Hastings High to help students with scholarships and going to college. Education Quest, a statewide, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students have better access to higher education, has assigned Luis Sotelo to Hastings High to work with students. Sotelo is a bilingual college planning specialist whose main goal is to help coach students toward their college goals.
“The college planning process can be complex and competitive. Having a college coach guide you through applying for scholarships and college applications can help demystify the steps and relieve unnecessary stress, so you can focus on what matters,” Sotelo said.
Sotelo is newly employed through Education Quest, but has served as a university admissions counselor, high school teacher, and college advisor in previous jobs. Sotelo is at Hastings High a couple days a month, and while having a scholarship advisor is a bit of a trial run for this school year, he is already working to help students through problems in the application process.
“Each college and scholarship application is an opportunity for students to share their story. This opportunity is often missed. My hope is that students prepare the most compelling and effective applications that gain the attention of review committees. Each coaching session is designed to help the student achieve acceptance to college and access scholarship funds,” Sotelo said.
Choquette said that having another resource for students in the scholarship application process has been helpful.
“Luis works with kids who need extra help one on one,” Choquette said. “Most kids are willing to come to their counselor for help, but there are fewer interruptions or distractions when they are working with him.”
Luis said that so far he has enjoyed the experience of working with the students at Hastings High to help them find themselves and their visions for life.
“Hastings Senior High has incredible students with so much potential and remarkable stories,” Sotelo said. “Within my first two months, it has been my pleasure to begin developing mentoring relationships with the students. Watching them discover their personal visions and helping them strengthen their paths to success is a life passion of mine, and I’m grateful to be invited to learn about their dreams.”
