Jeanette Sawaya trades the dance studio for the counseling office

Intermountain Catholic

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Jeanette Sawaya

SALT LAKE CITY — Jeanette Sawaya headed the Judge Memorial Catholic High School dance department for 28 years before returning to school for a counseling certificate. She is now Judge’s part-time college guidance counselor and yoga instructor.

The yoga classes have grown over 13 years and are now additional to the dance program, which has also grown, said Sawaya, who teaches three yoga classes. "Counseling and yoga balance and complement each other. The practice of yoga has both physical and mental aspects and the whole college application process is soft exploration for the students; finding out about who they are and presenting that can be taught through yoga. The college application speaks to who the students are as a person."

Sawaya still has a connection with the students, she said. "I wasn’t ready to leave the classroom; there is that certain magic that happens in the classroom. You build these interesting relationships that you don’t build anywhere else. The students change so much as teenagers that you have to investigate and figure out how to change with them in your style of teaching, and dance was so consuming, that I was ready to let go of it."

Going back to school after 29 years was challenging, she said. "It was fun going back to school and doing research again, but when I was in school before we used typewriters. After I got over the shock of having everything public [online], it was good. Now I feel like I know these people from across the world" who were lawyers and engineers and became guidance counselors.

Being a teacher gave Sawaya an advantage in counseling, she said. "I felt comfortable talking to the students. "My challenge is to continue to know them so I can write letters of recommendations and know their strengths and be able to spin their weaknesses into a positive. The world is big and diverse and connected through social media, and students might not know what choices to make, but it’s exciting to help them find success."