汉娜Sarafinas, class of 2020, is flourishing as a school counselor four years post-graduation. Sarafinas began her Penn State journey at 白兰地酒 in 2016, 主修人类发展和家庭研究, 辅修公民和社区参与, and receiving a certificate in youth development and social justice.
媒体,爸爸. — 汉娜Sarafinas, class of 2020, is flourishing as a school counselor four years post-graduation.
Sarafinas began her Penn State journey at 白兰地酒 in 2016, 主修人类发展和家庭研究, 辅修公民和社区参与, and receiving a certificate in youth development and social justice. She said she chose to attend 白兰地酒 because of how much she enjoyed the environment on her first tour.
“An admissions counselor from 白兰地酒 came to my high school and spoke about how the campus was a community. His pitch to the high school students was really one of the driving factors of me wanting to go to Penn State,”她说。.
“I went to take a tour of the campus on a snowy day, and as soon as I walked into the gym and saw a basketball game going on, I knew at that moment this was where I wanted to be. 我很快就受到了博比·卡普赖斯的欢迎, 体育主任, and she made me feel so at home and I knew this was going to be my school for the next four years.”
Sarafinas was very involved during her time at 白兰地酒, as she was a middle blocker on 白兰地酒’s volleyball team, 担任全球大使, 并帮助成立了一个名为“BWine促销”的俱乐部,” which was an athletics club to promote athletic events on campus. She recalls her time as a global ambassador and studying abroad as one of her favorite memories at 白兰地酒.
“Through Global Programs, I was able to go to Sicily, Malta, Ireland and Spain. One of my favorite experiences from that trip was celebrating New Year’s in Barcelona. 这是一次很酷的旅行，”她说.
“Another one of my favorite memories was getting to attend college with my younger brother (Ben). We had two years together and we were known as the Sarafinas Duo since we both played sports here and were a well-known sibling pair at 白兰地酒. Just having that opportunity to be at Penn State with my younger brother and being able to travel together and participate in athletics together was one of the best memories I made.”
从白兰地酒学院毕业后, Sarafinas attended West Chester University to earn her master’s degree in school counseling. 从那里, 她在塔拉哈西做学校辅导员, 佛罗里达, for a year before moving back up to 宾西法尼亚 to work in her current role as a school counselor in the Oxford Area School District.
在她的角色中, she is a school counselor for fifth- and sixth-grade students in person and ninth- through 12th-grade students virtually. 明年, she will be a fully virtual school counselor for students in kindergarten through 12th grade for the district’s virtual academy.
“I really wanted to work at a school that was close to home. I lived in Tallahassee last school year while my fiancé was finishing school. We wanted to move, but we didn’t know where or at what time,” she explained. “He ended up getting a job in Malvern, which is 20 minutes from our hometown. We originally had no plans to come back to 宾西法尼亚, 但既然我们回来了, I wanted a school district that I was familiar with and was going to help me learn.”
Sarafinas noted that her favorite part of her job is the people she works with on a daily basis.
“I love the students I work with, both in person and virtually. I love the staff I’ve gotten to know over the school year, 我的政府一直很出色,”她说。.
“I had a very hard first year of school counseling last year when I was in Tallahassee. It really led me to feel burnout and made me question my career path. Coming into the district I’m in now, this school year has been so successful for me. I’ve really adapted to the point where I see myself within the school district for a long time.”
如果你有什么想做的事, 只管去做, 因为在宾州州立大学白兰地酒学院, 你有足够的支持去做这件事.——hannah Sarafinas, 2020届毕业生
When asked what advice she would give to Penn State students, Sarafinas said to get involved as much as possible and make the most of your college experience.
“Get involved as much as you can, and definitely travel the world if you have the opportunity. There are so many scholarships that can be provided — that’s how I was able to travel as much as I did,”她说。. “同时，把你自己放在那里. When I started BWine Promotions, I had the help of Bobbi Caprice. 如果你有什么想做的事, 只管去做, 因为在宾州州立大学白兰地酒学院, 你有足够的支持去做这件事.”
