In a school of over 3,300 students and 200 staff, it’s easy to get lost. But for AHS Class of 2020, there are two staff members who have been with them since even before their freshman year. Ms. Chin and Ms. Oku, currently the Senior Class Counselors, have given this year’s seniors immense guidance, support, and advice over the last four years. And in this hectic season filled with college applications, there’s never a dull moment in the Counseling Offices.

There should be some sort of special award the Senior Class Counselors get for having survived four years with the same 800 students. “Congratulations for managing to not go bonkers over 400 students!” or  something like that. Their never-ending patience is commendable and greatly appreciated by each student they come across.

Perhaps the most embarrassing thing is how much Ms. Chin and Ms. Oku have seen the seniors grow. From rowdy freshmen, hated by the rest of the student body, to slightly-less-rowdy-and-just-stressed seniors, now hating the system, there’s a lot the Senior Class Counselors have seen. Yet, it’s only the surface of what students see from the counselors as well.

Currently, the biggest thing that is at the forefront of many seniors’ minds is college applications. And one of the most essential facets of a college application is the counselor letter of recommendation. The Senior Class Counselors and the rest of the counseling department take on this grueling task every year; for the students Ms. Chin and Ms. Oku write recommendations for, it’s a culmination of the four years they’ve come to know them.

In the spring, after the college application (and acceptance!) process is over, course registration begins. Seniors graduate, and it’s time to program incoming freshman. Like a fresh start, Class of 2020’s Senior Class Counselors will not be programming the kids they’ve seen grow up over the past couple years. Class of 2024 will arrive on campus, fresh-faced and excited for prospects they can’t get enough of.

This piece cannot be explicitly from first person, but I think I can speak for the Class of 2020 when I thank Ms. Chin and Ms. Oku for all that they have done. It’s more than just 5 minutes in the career center every April, or a recommendation interview that we might get to skip class for. The impact is in the lunch meetings, the never-ending support and guidance, and the trust that we will do our best. I’ve come to know Ms. Chin’s office like the back of my hand, and many of my friends share the same sentiment for both Ms. Oku and Ms. Chin. In the whirlwind of changes that constitutes AHS, Ms. Chin and Ms. Oku have been the constants in our lives.

I think the entirety of AHS Class of 2020 can agree that there’s far more that the Senior Class Counselors have given to them than can possibly be expressed in gratitude. When we graduate this spring, wherever we are off to, we’ll keep our Senior Class Counselors in our hearts. To them, many of us are just a face among 400, or among 800; we might only be the last name that they were assigned to. From the AHS Class of 2020, thank you—for encouraging us to be unconventional; for supporting us in all our endeavours; for being there with all of our highs and lows; for always offering the best advice; for helping us navigate AHS; and for everything.

In the wise words of Dr. Seuss, we have brains in our heads (some of us?), feet in our shoes (… or fake Birks), we can steer ourselves in any direction we choose—thanks to our Senior Class Counselors!