Josa Juarbe-Valdez also contributed to the article.
This year, there is a new addition to the Brunelli house office: Sally Zhang, who has joined as the new social worker. “She’s a great new addition to the staff; she comforts the students,” Brunelli House Principal Ewald Charles explained.
Charles was delighted to add her to the staff this year. “Ms. Zhang is a great fit for MHS because she connects with the students, which creates a safe space for them.”
In previous years, Zhang was a student at MHS, and graduated as a part of the Class of 2018. Once she graduated from MHS, she attended Boston College. After graduation, she did an internship at Goodyear Elementary School and at Woburn Memorial.
This is Zhang’s first official time being a counselor at a high school. She was so excited to assume this role as a counselor and was proud to finally achieve her goal. “My family motivates me… I have a lot of determination,” Zhang explained. She feels as though when considering her goals, her family is the first to motivate her.
Zhang feels more comfortable at MHS because of the diversity of the school. Another thing that makes her comfortable is that she was a student at MHS before, and a lot of the teachers that she had as a teenager still work here. Zhang finds it very exciting to work alongside people that she once studied under.
Part of the reason that Zhang wanted to be a counselor was because she felt that she as a student was impacted by the counselors she met. “When I was growing up, I had the chance to meet with a counselor. And I thought that if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have been so confident now it was very meaningful to me so I wanted to give back,” Zhang expressed.
