“Students, faculty, and staff have been very welcoming” says Allyson Carvell, who has started her first year at VHS as a guidance counselor.

Before Ms. Carvell started at VHS she studied at the University of Delaware, where she got her undergraduate degree, and at William Paterson University, where she received her master’s degree. Ms. Carvell also worked at many colleges and universities such as Goldey-Beacom College and New York University as an admissions counselor before she became a school counselor at Glen Ridge High School.

“VHS has been very different from other schools because it is a smaller community, easier to navigate,” she says.

When she worked as an admission counselor, she “only got to know people through their words and not interaction.” She was inspired to become a guidance counselor because she wanted to work more directly with students.  Ms. Carvell says that “her high school experience was challenging so she wants to help and support her students through their high school experience.”