Eagles Serve the Knights
UPA girls' JV and varsity volleyball win against rival Saint Thomas More.
September 22, 2019
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Kristian Crowther, Multimedia Manager
Kristian Crowther, a junior in high school, is starting his second year in journalism. He chose to take it again because he wants to help build a stronger...
![From momentous changes on the UPA campus such as the Grab-n-Go to new teachers, UPA also gained two new mental health counselors, Johnny Duran and Allison Kendrick. Inspired by a person in his life who helped him face challenges as a child, Duran wants to pay that forward. “There’s so many different types of people and everyday I feel like it opens my mind even more,'' Duran said. As for Kendrick, she was inspired to become a counselor through her natural empathy towards those who sought her guidance. “I love seeing the growth [of my clients]. Even in sessions when I see those little moments where it’s like a lightbulb comes on, or like a change takes place, it’s exciting to me,” Kendrick said. While both new to UPA, Duran and Kendrick share the common goal of wanting to help UPA students in the best way they possibly can. Duran and Kendrick are aware of the students’ hesitancy towards mental health counseling because it offers a degree of vulnerability that students may not be comfortable with. In giving advice to students who may be hesitant to try out mental health counseling, Duran and Kendrick agree that there is no such thing as a big or small problem -- all problems matter. On alternating days, Duran and Kendrick can be seen in the counselor’s office tucked away on the second floor of the Family Life Center. On Wednesdays, Duran holds his sessions in Ms. Trotch’s counseling office while Kendrick occupies the main mental health counseling office.
First photo: Allison Kendrick, UPA mental health counselor
Second photo: Johnny Duran, UPA mental health counselor
Reporting and photos by Betty Nguyen, Reporter.
Correction: The original post included an error about the location of mental health counseling, which takes place in the Family Life Center. Aquila regrets the error.](https://upaaquila.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
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