As the new 2024-2025 school year starts, one more brand-new counselor set foot inside the office. Ms. Niccole Bishop, who formerly taught Spanish to students, is now helping students navigate their high school journey as a counselor. Bishop now counsels students with last names starting with Mas-Ras, and now completing a long-time goal. You can also see Bishop around campus, bonding with students and ensuring safety on campus.
Bishop has been teaching for 8-10 years as of now. She started as a substitute teacher in 2014 and eventually pursued full time teaching in 2017. As a teacher, Bishop has found herself counseling them through personal lives, mental health, or with academics and grades. When asked about what inspired counseling, Ms. Bishop said, “I think part of me has always been a counselor.” She enjoyed making connections with students as a teacher and often talked about their future plans and goals, reflecting her passion behind counseling.
When teaching Spanish, Bishop especially enjoyed teaching in a lively classroom with students around her. So when the COVID-19 pandemic took over the world in 2020, Bishop missed spending time with kids in-person, and she found herself especially connecting with kids through Zoom with discussion regarding mental health. This inspired Bishop to pursue counseling, to which she started to pursue a masters degree in high school counseling. Finally, congratulations were in order as Bishop completed her masters in March of 2024, and soon got hired to counsel kids. This shows the dedication and care she has towards the students of this high school.
When asked about what she misses about teaching now that she is a counselor, Bishop responded, “I do miss parts of the classroom and having all of my students all together.” Bishop is very excited for her first year of counseling and staff welcomes her into the office.
