Matt Montoro, '08
Middle School Principal
North Pocono School district
What factors led you to choose 草榴社区 for your master's degree?
As a young and emerging English teacher, I found that my students had much more going on in their lives and challenges than I had expected. That was the impetus for me to get into school counseling as I wanted to do more for the students I served. I also wanted to obtain my Master's degree in something different than English, in the event I wanted a change from the classroom.
How did you end up choosing School Counseling instead of another counseling specialty area?
Well, since I was already a teacher, this was an easy choice for me. I enjoy the school environment. I wasn't looking for a career change or to get out of teaching. It was more of a natural progression. My experience had driven me to want to make an impact on young adults, but in a different way, which happened to be school counseling. I was also able to use my teaching experience to help students academically. My classroom experience made me unique to my colleagues in counseling as most had no teaching experience.
What were some of your favorite things about the program?
There are too many items to list here, but graduate school was a time of great transformation for me professionally and personally. I felt part of something bigger than myself and collaborated with professionals (peers and faculty) in the classroom. It was a drastic change from undergraduate work, which I found to be mundane or tedious. I found the program to be engaging, rigorous, though provoking, and included a great deal of work that was meaningful and productive.
Fondest program memory?
As a teacher, we look for those "ah ha" moments when we see the lights go on in our student' heads. However, I think my fondest memories were when I experienced the "ah ha" moment as a student in graduate school. These moments happened in Counseling & Interviewing Skills as well as in Practicum when I had to employ the theories and skills. There is a sense of accomplishment and pride when you connect with a client and have a successful counseling session and counseling process. That was a very intense experience to undergo.
What was your impression of the coursework? Clinical Training? Faculty?
I have done my fair share of bragging about 草榴社区's counseling department. I was well prepared to hit the ground running. The coursework was thorough, challenging, engaging, and really enjoyable. I became a better student, researcher, educator, and person as a result. The engagement of working with professors, viewing tapes, reading research, writing clinical papers, dynamic discussions with professors and self-reflection really is what made the School Counseling program so impactful on my life and career.
How did the program help to prepare you for your career?
The school counseling program prepared me very well to enter a school counselor position with great ease. Moreover, I left the program inspired and transformed. Gone are the days of "guidance counselors". I had a profound amount of energy and excitement to out what I had learned into practice. I was able to modernize the department I joined and make a great impact on the high school I served.
I also felt prepared to assist 草榴社区 as an adjunct professor for a couple of years. it was an opportunity to work with graduate students, share my knowledge and my experience, and also share the practical day to day issues I dealt with as a school counselor and connect it to the coursework I taught. i never had to make up scenarios, because I had real life experience to provide.
Despite my role as an administrator, i feel that each role I progressed to, there are traces of my past role. i often rely on my counseling background when working with students and staff. it is what sets me apart from my colleagues.
Please list any professional recognition or career awards you have received.
I may have to get back to you on this one. I'm not sure that I can list anything here. However, I'm the type of person who tends to fly under the radar and make a big impact in subtle ways. I don't thrive on recognition from others as I'm intrinsically motivated and I get more satisfied from seeing my teachers and students succeed by working collaboratively.
Unofficial Award - "I survived Covid" That was a brutal time for educators. I hope to never see something like that again in my career.