It’s the same old story for the students lucky enough to fall under the Di-H spectrum of last names in the guidance department; another year, another counselor. And as I sit here as a victim of this annual alternation, I can’t help but question why this seems to be so frequent.

When I was a freshman, Mr. Gansky was in charge of this alphabetical section of Harriton students. He was an approachable man who even sponsored Student Council. He truly cared about Harriton, was incredibly friendly, and made an effort to form relationships with his students.

However, summer approaching sophomore year, a letter came in the mail informing me that Mr. Gansky had been moved to Welsh Valley Middle School, and that I would be under the counseling of a new faculty member. I had established a great relationship with Mr. Gansky, but had little doubt that I would fail to create a similar relationship with the new counselor. While I remember my mother being nervous about the change of plans, it did not seem to affect me too much. After all, the painful college application process (that I sit here currently enduring) seemed like such a distant idea after just having completed my first year of high school.

The year went on, I met with that counselor once or twice, and then the year of my nightmares rolled around: Junior year. It was game time. My relationship with my guidance counselor had to be solidified. And although I truly don’t even remember the name of that guidance counselor that I was assigned to sophomore year, this proved to be far from a problem, as I started off junior year and the guidance department informed my family that the district was in search of a new counselor for the Di-H students.

As the year took flight, the district hired Ms. Bowlby to fill the position as the Di-H guidance counselor. I met with her a few times in the beginning of the year about scheduling, and once again at the end of the year to start talks about college. My mother and she got along great. Ms. Bowlby gave substantial advice about college applications, and she showed a real interest in the role I played in the Harriton community.  So as I sit here filling out endless applications, I have very few worries about my relationship with my guidance counselor and the steps she will take to make my application process run as smoothly as possible.

However, after hearing about a recent meeting held for students and parents detailing the college application process, I was informed that the former college counselor of the district, Ms. Serratore, has taken a leave, and that the Di-H counselor, Ms. Bowbly will now be filling her spot. Fortunately for seniors like myself, Ms. Bowbly will continue to be our guidance counselor as we battle the application process, but for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors in the Di-H section, they will once again have to find home with a new guidance counselor.

Although I am comfortable with Ms. Bowlby and have almost no doubts that she will fulfill my needs throughout this process, I can’t speak for every Di-H student. For some, the idea of having a fourth guidance counselor serve the same students in four years can be incredibly overwhelming, and rightfully so. After all, your high school guidance counselor plays a vital role in that big thing called your future. He/she helps you decide what you want, which institutions will cater to your needs, where you will fit in best, and ultimately writes a recommendation to the schools that you apply to, detailing your character and progress throughout your high school career. So while the I-Mc students have had Ms. Coleman for every year that I have been a student at Harriton, we Di-H students have swapped counselors like Tiger Woods swaps mistresses.

But all kidding aside, what’s up with this? Why is it the same group of students changing counselors every year? Is there something that the district can do to prevent the discomfort that this causes to the students that are victims of these changes? And as I sit here filling out the Common Application being asked questions that I don’t know answers to, like what month and year did you move into your house? Which extra curricular means the most to you? What about this college in particular attracts you to it? What would you like to major in? I guess I’ll just have to add this matter to my long list of inquiries and my minimal supply of responses.