You might have noticed a new and smiling face in the hallways this year. While most HSMSE-ers can only ever remember having Mr. Klein as our 11th/12th grade guidance counselor, our school is inviting a new person to join the team: Ms. Barnewold. As Mr. Klein moves into retirement, Ms. Barnewold is settling into her new role and we at The Echo wanted to give students a chance to get to know her.
During the 2016–2017 school year, Ms. Barnewold interned at HSMSE. She was mentored by Mr. Klein who “was right down the hall … I[Ms. Barnewold] was always in his office, always asking questions.” Mr. Klein taught her everything about the college process and the timeline, including what needs to be uploaded and how to write letters of recommendation. She is very prepared to support students in the college process. She went through it kind of recently herself and did a great job! While we may all miss Mr. Klein when he is actually and officially gone, we will be in good hands with Ms. Barnewold.
Born to an Italian (Sicily) mom and Greek dad, she is a first-generation college graduate. Originally, her dream was to be an English teacher, but her counselor in Francis Lewis High School gave her the idea to be a counselor. At first, she brushed aside that idea, but after driving home with her mom, she realized that she liked giving advice and helping people. She adores school because it gives her the opportunity to socialize more. On the weekends, she hangs out with friends or goes to rock & roll or metal shows.
She’s a warm and welcoming person who is always open to talk about her interests, including the heavy metal band, Iron Maiden. Her favorite color varies between pink and blue, but she’s been on a sage-green kick lately. She’s really excited to go snowboarding when winter comes, and she already has a to-do list: she’s going hiking during the spring or summer, and she’s doing fluid art painting in the summer. She stopped painting for the sake of the beautiful rug in her rather small apartment, but she might revisit that hobby later.
She loves her dog (the first dog she’s had!), and they hike and take road trips together. Her guilty pleasure is watching trashy reality TV, especially 90 Day Fiance. She takes a fancy to Italian food such as pasta, which her mom makes for dinner on Sundays. In addition, she absolutely adores Spanish food, but also likes when her dad cooks dishes like Greek meatballs and Pastitsio. With no lunch break at school, though, she jokingly laughs it off as the “counselor diet”.
With her return to HSMSE, Ms. Barnewold is extremely excited to work here. She chose our school specifically because our school offers her the chance to learn everything she needs to know about being a counselor. She wants to go above and beyond: instead of only reviewing transcripts or only counseling, she wants to help with everything, because she loves being busy.
If you see her in the hallways going forward, say hi! Her help is indispensable for the college application process: writing essays, arranging one-on-one meetings, checking over the common application, pairing seniors with guidance interns, and prioritizing deadlines. Some of the first advice that Ms. Barnewold offered to myself and others this year: “it’s important to have a good list: schools that are targets, matches, and reaches so that students aren’t putting all [their] eggs in one basket.”
Regarding the juniors, Ms. Barnewold recognizes that they might feel like they aren’t getting enough love right now, since fall is very senior heavy. Thus, she proclaims that, “you guys are going to get a ton of love, mostly in the spring.” The juniors will get meetings with Ms. Barnewold, and the guidance interns will give a presentation in the spring about how to choose college majors and how to find the best fit for you: “Schools have calendars that are open certain months in advance. We haven’t scheduled any trips yet, but we’re constantly looking at the colleges’ calendars … you guys will always get a trip.”
Ms. Barnewold wants students to know that they can always go to her for help if they have a question. Students can either email her ([email protected]) or stop by her office at B23.