This school year, Hamilton Southeastern High School added several new staff members. One of these new faculty members is Heather Baltz, counselor for last names DH through GRA.

“I worked at Taylor High School in Kokomo for 10 years as a counselor,” Baltz said. “It was much different because I was at a school that had about 425 students in grades nine through 12 and I was the only counselor there. I came here to a school of about 3200 students and there are nine [counselors], so it’s a little different.”

Baltz decided to switch jobs to try something different, as her previous school was her first experience as a counselor.

“Originally, I decided to switch because of location,” Baltz said. “I had been driving 40 minutes to and from work every day, so I kind of wanted to be close to home, but then I was kind of looking for something a little bit different.”

Baltz decided she wanted to become a counselor whilst working at a school for students with emotional disabilities.

“Before I was a counselor, I was a teacher at a school for emotional disabilities,” Baltz said. “I noticed that the part I really liked was when we talked about student issues or personal issues and behavior plans and trying to help students cope better with life in general. I had a degree in education and Special Ed, which led to a Masters Degree in counseling.”

Baltz believes that it’s important for teenagers to remain in touch with their emotions and connect with someone they are comfortable talking with. She plans to bond with students by getting to know them better throughout the school year.

“I think it’s important for anybody to be in touch with their emotions, but I think it’s in the way we handle it and, as we go through life, you kind of learn how to handle those emotions better or more efficiently or in a way that works for you and for the people around you,” Baltz said. “I think it’s important to share your emotions with someone you feel safe with. There’s an element of privacy that you want to maintain when things are a bit more serious, but you also want to find people that you can trust to talk to.”