WESTFIELD — Westfield Career Services Counselor Patricia Healy was recognized this week as the Western Massachusetts recipient of the General Colin L. Powell Service Award. The award is presented to one high school counselor from each of the eastern and western half of the state that best supports young adults in making their individual educational and career choices in high school and upon graduation.
“I could not think of a more deserving person for this award,” said Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski in making the announcement.
“I was shocked. I was just doing my job,” Healy said.
Healy said this is only her second year as a career counselor after eight years as a school counselor at Westfield High School, but she has spent her entire career in education since graduating from college. She taught second grade at Munger Hill Elementary and sixth grade at the then-South Middle School for 17 years, and before that worked for four years as a college admissions counselor.
Healy was nominated by Tech. Sgt. Brian Whitman of the Air National Guard 104 and AT2 Micaela Veronese of the U.S. Navy, and was told this is the first time a counselor has ever been nominated by two different recruiters in the same year.
“I know Sgt. Whitman told me he nominated me. It’s wonderful to be nominated for doing your job, you don’t always get acknowledged at that level,” she said.
Healy said the Career Center at WHS has an open door policy where she meets with students one-on-one, in small groups, or addresses entire classes.
“If they ask for something, we try to make sure we help them get there,” she said, whether it is to meet with a recruiter, apply for jobs or experience a particular career through a job shadow. Currently, she has 48 students participating in internships in the community.
Healy said if a college or military service recruiter wants to come to WHS, or if a student wants to meet with them, she will facilitate an appointment. She called the two recruiters that nominated her “very friendly, easy to talk to, no pressure.”
“I always sit with them when they’re here. They’re fabulous about it,” Healy said, adding that the recruiters always tell the students after meeting with them that if they are interested in joining the service, then they will meet with their parents. She said her office will also administer the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test to students that wish to take it, and students can then choose whether to report their scores.
Healy agreed that Westfield has a strong relationship with the military, through the presence of the Air National Guard at Barnes-Westfield and a strong American Legion Post. She said there are also two staff members with military experience at WHS — Michael Ingraham, retired, and Stephania Biza, who is active military — who actively acknowledge students who join the service.
So far this year, Healy knows of three students who will be entering the military, one U.S. Navy, one U.S. Army, and one in the Air National Guard. She said every year about a dozen students enlist.
In the letter announcing the award, signed by Our Community Salutes Co-chairs Andy McCarty, Air Force veteran and Robert Notch, Army veteran, they said the nominations come from military recruiters who rely heavily upon counselors to help find and attract intelligent, upstanding and physically capable individuals. “Doing so without your partnership and steadfast devotion to student development and success would make this task infinitely more challenging,” wrote McCarty and Notch.
Healy is also invited to be recognized at the Enlistee Recognition Ceremony at 3 p.m. on May 10 at Gillette Stadium, which she said she will gladly attend. She said the majority of the ceremony is to honor and acknowledge students who are among the one percent of their peers to enlist. “I feel very blessed, very lucky,” she said.
The Career Center is funded in part by a state Connecting Activities grant, which helps to provide transportation for certain events, and also offsets salaries in the office.
