Stephan Golas
Ella Beiser, Editor-In-Chief
- Where did you work before Lab?
- Mr. Golas worked most recently at Toronto French School in Canada as the head of college counseling.
- Would be able to give me a sense of your style of counseling, like how you interact with your students?
- “I really ask students to think hard about who they are as students and thinkers and learners and to really think hard about the kinds of environments that are going to sorta push them to be their best, to do their best and to challenge themselves. Four years is a long time to be at a college where you are not really happy with the kind of learning you are doing, so I really ask my students to be thoughtful and honest about who they are, and start with the student first, not the school first.”
- What do you hope the students who you counsel will say about you at the end of the year?
- “I hope they’ll say that I pushed them hard to think a lot about their values in this process and that I helped them find places that were absolutely good matches, good fits for them. I would love for them to feel a sense of being cared for and being seen and being heard by me. I would love for students to feel that I treated them equitably. Equity and inclusion is something that I value tremendously as an individual and in my practice. I really hope that they have fun in the process with me. Because, believe it or not, you can actually have fun with your college counselor. It’s not a scary process as a lot of kids come into it thinking it is.”
- What was one of your favorite pandemic activities?
- Mr. Golas has enjoyed moving to Chicago, and meeting his new students has reminded him of what he loves about working in education.
