A New Face on Campus

With the many changes that Damien Memorial has encountered, from bringing back traditional activities to hiring new staff members on campus, a fresh, new face that is well-liked by many middle schoolers is Mrs. Pupiales, Damien Memorial’s middle school counselor. From providing her students with academic affordability to being there for them emotionally, she is trained to juggle all of these factors.  Now, you get to see her beyond just being one of our school's counselors, as a faith-filled advocate and mother.

Q: How do you keep yourself organized, being that you are the only counselor for grades 6-8?

“Being a school counselor, you never know how your day is going to be. You can be as organized as far as knowing what students you need to check in or what your tentative daily plans are. However, at any given point, it can take a turn and totally change what you had in mind for the day. So, being a school counselor, or the only school counselor for middle school, you definitely have to be flexible in serving the needs of your students emotional, academic, and mental wellbeing.”

Q: What led you to pursue a career in counseling?

“I became a school counselor, initially when I lived in Germany. I lived next to my neighbor who was a school counselor on base for the Dodd School, and she became a mentor to me. She would ask me if I wanted to volunteer at her school, especially during testing time, to kind of help her get organized for this high stake exam. So, like anything else, when you get your feet wet and you kind of understand and learn about the job, you definitely see the possibilities of a career. Once I had my daughter, I decided that I wanted to work in an environment where I could be on a really good schedule with my family with the summers off and breaks, something that is ideal with having children. So, that really pushed me to pursue counseling, but also the fact that I can communicate and help students across the board because I worked in elementary, middle, and high school.”

Q: What has been your most significant achievement in consulting with a student thus far?

“That I feel like every single job that I worked at, I was able to connect and make an impact with my students. However, I feel like one of my proudest moments is when I was working at Tucson Unified School District in Arizona. I worked with a lot of lower socio-economic students, underprivileged students. I noticed that a lot of students didn't have a lot of food at home. They were just coming to school just to eat lunch, and then they would ditch. So, I decided that I would partner up with the food bank. I started to get food and nonperishable items from the food bank, and I created a food pantry. Each week we would send home maybe 50 food bags with students, and they became dependent on it, because, again, a lot of these students didn't have the resources or the food at home to help them become successful at school. So, this was just an added resource that they could come to school and receive food for their families.”

Q: How do you like to spend time with your family?

“I'm so blessed because I'm moving back home to Hawaii after 18 years. Without any help from my external family to help me raise my children, coming back home was so nice, because now I have my whole family here or to just celebrate different occasions with us, but I come from a very tight, knit family where I have a lot of cousins and what not. So, the best way that I like to spend time with my family is for all of us to be together, which is very often. We get together for every event, birthdays, Super Bowl, Easter or just hanging out with my immediate as well as my external family. My cousins and what not. I like to spend time with them because my kids get to interact with their aunties and uncles and just kind of continue the generation of family and show my kids the importance of family.”

Q: If you weren’t a counselor, what would you be?

“I think I would have joined the military. Actually, at one point in my life when I was younger I was already married. I just got my degree and I was just thinking, “what am I going to do” and you know, I just thought joining the military wouldn't be bad. I almost was considering it, maybe doing reserves, because my husband was on full time active duty. I just love the leadership of women in the military and nowadays I feel like they are so strong and they have a good mindset. So, I feel like maybe joining the military.”

Q: Knowing what you know now, what would you tell your 18 year old self?

“I would tell my 18 year-old self to not be afraid to not go with the popular crowd. To kind of stand strong with your morals, your values, or I should say to continue. I think at the time when I was 18, on a mission and like I knew what I wanted and what I didn't, but of course the world tempts you and what not, but definitely stay true to who you are. As frustrating as it can be to go through the waiting process, good things can come from waiting, because I think that's the hardest part and you're going to feel that, because I think when you're going to college, you're like, “Oh, I just want this to be over. I just want to be in my field already”, but again, that's the whole waiting process. That's the whole refinery. You're experiencing different things, and by the time you get to that point and you're making good money and whatnot, you're like, “Wow, I made it through all of that.” So I think having more patience, enjoying the waiting process, and not beating yourself up for not being where you want to be. Things are going to happen when they are supposed to.”

Mrs. Pupiales has always felt driven to be a school counselor. The joy that she feels from facilitating the growth and development of the students at Damien Memorial School reaffirms her passion. She believes that enthusiasm, positive attitude, and hands-on experience working with the middle school students will not only make her become a better counselor but a role model for all grade levels. Being that she is a new face to this campus, she believes that Damien Memorial School is something special and is looking forward to helping shape young minds by making a difference in their lives!