Alexis Pantoja

Ms. Alexis Pantoja is the college counselor for the Parker Juniors and Seniors. She is understanding, encouraging, and positive while helping the upper schoolers. She helps the high school students decide what tests they want to take. Ms. Pantoja has two children, with whom she plays baseball and basketball. Even at a younger age, she wished to work with students. Also, she really likes the school environment. This job was a very good choice for her because she gets to engage with the students a lot, just as she wished at a younger age.

Ms. Pantoja is very supportive of any decisions the students make. College Counseling starts junior year, but students apply to colleges senior year. Ms. Pantoja has been at Parker for one and a half years. She schedules all of the meetings with the representatives from colleges to talk to students. Many Parker students go to Michigan because the university understands how the students learn. Some parents need encouragement to get involved in their child’s education but, for the most part, the parents want their kids to have freedom in what they decide. Ms. Pantoja also deals with financial aid for Upper School students as well.

“It’s fun to see who you are going to interact with, what type of personality [they have].”

Like most adults, Ms. Pantoja has a job life, a childhood, and a life with her family. At the school that Ms. Pantoja attended, they did not have the same resources Parker has, but they did have a guidance counselor for the whole graduating class.

In her school life, Ms. Pantoja is in charge of helping Upper School students decide where they should go to college. She gives a lot of freedom to students in selecting a school and deciding what tests they want or need to take in order to reach their goal. If the students do not get into a particular college, she likes to reassure them that it is not the end of the world and that there are many other choices. Although she offers a lot of freedom, Ms. Pantoja does make some suggestions along the way. Ms. Pantoja thinks the SAT’s are more important, but it depends on the school. She also has to make sure everything is going smoothly throughout the process. Ms. Pantoja schedules about 130 meetings for the upper schoolers.

Ms. Pantoja is from the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago. She always wanted to be a teacher or a social worker because of her love of students. She loves kids because they are all different. Ms. Pantoja has always enjoyed being part of a school environment. She wanted to be a social worker, and she used to work for the Department of Children and Family Services, but it was too emotionally challenging, so she decided she should take on this job instead. In her time working, she has never been interviewed in this fashion.

Though Ms. Pantoja may only have been working at Parker for one and a half years, she has been a huge help to the upper school students. She has helped them prepare for college and is really great at what she does. She helps all the Upper School kids a lot. Without her, the Upper School would struggle a lot more about college. The students always feel that they have a comfortable and welcoming place to hang out in Ms. Pantoja's office, and she and her coworkers have strong working relationships with their students, ensuring they always feel welcome and cared for. Ms. Pantoja is a great and valued member of the Parker community, and we are so happy she took the time to interview with us!

Above: the College Counseling office in action!