All About Ms. Internicola, New Supervisor of Guidance

All+About+Ms.+Internicola%2C+New+Supervisor+of+Guidance

Corinne Schenone, Opinions Editor

“I am very excited to be here,” said Christine Internicola, new Supervisor of Guidance at the Westwood Regional School District. Although she has only been here for a few weeks, Internicola has big plans for this school year and her time at Westwood.

Prior to taking this job, Internicola was working at Becton High School in East Rutherford. She was drawn to Westwood because of everything she had heard about the school spirit within the halls, coming from both students and staff. Internicola says, “I find that it is a different experience which is really cool. I am going to be handling K-12 which really interests me.”

In East Rutherford, Internicola worked as a guidance counselor with a set number of students that she checked in with regularly, similar to the guidance counselors at Westwood High School. In her new position, however, Internicola explains that she has some adjusting to do: “For this school year I think my biggest plan is getting to know everyone because it is K-12 so there are a lot of different buildings I need to be in and a lot of faculty and students.”

Surprisingly, however, Internicola did not go to college to work in a school. She said, “When I was getting my Masters I thought that I would go into private practice as a counselor and I took an internship in a public school and a private school and I ended up loving it. So I decided to go into education.” Internicola explains that, to her, the students are the most important.

From working with students and teachers during her internships to having a job in the East Rutherford district, Internicola has learned some of her most valuable means of interactions with students. She said, “I am very open to ideas and I love when students are vocal.” Internicola wants to promote the action of students coming forward with their thoughts on school activities and improvements.

Internicola is a dog lover and in her previous districts, has always conducted fundraisers for local animal shelters. She was thrilled to see that Westwood High School already had a similar fundraiser going on when she arrived. Internicola says, “I always think no matter where you go, even when you come into a positive work environment, you can always bring even more ideas, creativity and morale.”