Ms. Gagis, RHS’ beloved school counselor, is moving on up to Director of Guidance! So, in commemoration of her 18 years here, I decided to go and ask her a few questions.
What led you to take a job as a school counselor here at RHS?
I started as a Spanish teacher. I loved teaching and being in the classroom, but after some time went on I realized that kids would seek me out for advice on deeper issues unrelated to the world of academics. I was their person to talk to in the building. When it was time to further my education, I wondered, “What can I get my Master’s in that I really love and am passionate about?” When I reflected back, I thought, “You know what, school counseling might be the way to go, because I think the next step for me is to connect with kids on a deeper level outside the world of academics.”
Do you have an idea why students specifically came to you for these deeper issues?
I think kids feel comfortable around me. I would like to think I’m approachable, and I level with kids — I don’t try to take the authoritative figure. Every time I speak to a kid I speak to them the same way I would speak to anybody else, and I think kids appreciate my bluntness. I don’t try to skirt around the issue, and I think kids appreciate that.
How does your future position as Director of Guidance differ from your current position?
My current position is more student-centered, and the position of Director of Guidance is going to be more about managing adults because now I’m going to be the boss. I’m going to have an x amount of employees underneath me and I’ll need to make sure that they’re doing their jobs, they’re meeting their deadlines, etc. It’s going to be a change of who the job is centered around. I’m also still going to have a caseload of students, which I think is important to me because the reason I got into this was for kids, but now on a deeper or authoritative level. I’m going to be able to enact change because I will have creative freedom in making the department what I want it to be.
What do you hope to bring to your future position?
I hope to bring passion, I hope to bring empathy, and I hope to bring change for these kids. I want them to be able to explore all of their options. I know that a lot of students are not 4-year college-bound, and that’s okay, and I want to be able to provide them with the opportunity to figure out what their next steps are gonna be in life. If their plan doesn’t follow the cookie-cutter college route, I want them to know that that’s okay. I also want them to have that comfort in being who they are, expressing who they are, and while doing all of this I’d like to have fun. I want to build unity in my department. I want to have a certain culture and climate where my employees feel heard and respected, but also I want them to understand that we have a job to do and that we need to do that to the best of our abilities.
What are some of your favorite memories from working here at RHS?
That’s a tough question! First and foremost, I’m gonna have to say the relationships that I’ve built with employees and coworkers who are now very, very dear friends and the relationships that I’ve built with students. Even though so many of my students have graduated, I keep in close contact with them. Some of my students are now my coworkers, Ms. Arsi, Ms. Esteves, Ms. Barcenes – These were all kids that I had in my classroom that have now grown into these awesome professionals. So the top thing for me is our relationships. To pick some of the best memories: being class advisor, that sticks out in my head, and winning teacher of the year last year. Rutherford has been a family, and it’s been the only place I’ve ever known. I did my student teaching here, I got hired here, it’s the only place I’ve ever been. Every memory I have of my entire professional career has been surrounded here at Rutherford and I’m going to take that with me in every journey that I take moving forward.
Any final words of advice for your students?
I want them to keep dreaming big, I want them to stay creative, I want them to stay inquisitive, and really the most important thing is to just be a good human. No matter what you do, it costs nothing in life to be kind. You never know what someone is facing, so always being kind and compassionate, that’s the real big success. Everything else can be learned.
All of us at RHS will miss her dearly, as she has been a light in the dark for so many. We wish her the best of luck in all her future pursuits!
Help with questions and transcription provided by Ambur Patel