New Faculty Profile: Mrs. Viktoria Evans-Clair

lindsay johnson | sept. 7, 2023 | features

Stanton College Preparatory School welcomes two new guidance counselors to the guidance office this school year. These counselors add to the current guidance staff as resources for students to rely on for advice and support. In this interview, Mrs. Viktoria Evans-Clair, the new counselor for students of all grades with last names that begin with A through D, talks about her background, and upcoming goals at Stanton.

How long have you been a counselor? 

“I’ve been a school counselor for about a year and a half now, but I’m considering this my second full year of being a school counselor.” 

So how did you choose this profession? 

“When I was a kid, I didn’t have a lot of role models going to college. I was the first student in my family going to college, and I knew how hard that was to navigate, and unfortunately at my high school, the school counselors were spread very, very thin. [Due to this], even the school counselors were not really a person that a student who is lost could rely on, and I had a lot of frustrations with that while I was in high school. I want to be a person that students can come to and I’ve known that for a long time, and so here I am, school counselor!”

Why did you choose Stanton? 

“I’m from California, I had a lot of experience interning as a high school counselor when I stayed over there with my family. I’ve been in Florida for about four years now, [and] I started as an elementary school counselor. [However], because of my internship experience and the reasoning for me wanting to become a school counselor, I knew I always wanted to be a high school counselor. This past school year I was browsing on the job openings and I saw Stanton as being one of the high schools open. I did some research, [and] saw how incredible of a school Stanton was. I saw that there were a lot of kids that were preparing to go to college, hence the college prep name. I knew that's exactly where I wanted to be, I wanted to help guide students like the kids at Stanton to different opportunities in life.”

I like how you took what you wanted, and made sure to look for something that went with that.

“Absolutely, and I think that is one of the things that drew me to Stanton was I saw online was the Ubuntu motto, ‘I am because we are,’ and when I read that I knew this is where I wanted to be, because it is a group effort getting to where you want to be in life. I didn’t do this alone and I want students to know that they are not alone.”

What goals do you have as Stanton’s new counselor?

“I just hope that I can provide new perspectives, or be a person that students can rely on when maybe one of the other wonderful counselors are busy, [since] we do have an open door policy here. I just hope to really collaborate with my coworkers and colleagues and also the students and families, just to create and build upon the culture that is already here at Stanton.”

What are you most excited for in this coming year?

“Honestly, I’m so excited to connect with [the students]. I’m looking forward to all the ways I can connect [with] Stanton culture, whether that be going to football games, attending a swim meet, supporting the marching band, [or] getting to know what that multicultural club is all about, just looking for all the ways that I can reach out and be there for [students].”

So what should students come to their counselor about?

“Honestly, anything. Like I said, we kind of support students academically and personally, so, [for example] if you're struggling with seeing eye to eye with a teacher, come to us for some perspective. If you need help with college applications [or] figuring out where you want to wanna go in life; I know when I was a student I didn’t have it all figured out, I kind of went back and forth, ‘Do I wanna do this, do I wanna do that,’ and that can be hard to navigate, especially as a young mind. Even the smartest people can face mental or personal roadblocks, so [if] you need to talk, come to the guidance office.”

Is there anything else you would like to say to the students that are going to read this?

“Don’t be a stranger, come to the counseling office if you need something. We’re all eager to connect with you, especially when you all are seniors knocking on our door for those letters of recommendation. If we don’t even know who you are, it's going to be hard, so reach out, let us help you.”