Juan Diego CHS counselor honored for excellence
DRAPER — Roxanne Kammerer, the senior class advisor/college counselor at Juan Diego Catholic High School, was one of three winners for the inaugural "I Love My School Counselor" award, presented March 27 by The Utah School Counselor Association.
The award is part of a campaign that USCA created. "We’re trying to get the word out to the public about the great work that school counselors do and all the services we provide," said Brent Burnham, USCA public relations chairman and an elementary school counselor in the Wasatch School District.
The award was given to counselors working at an elementary school, a middle school and a high school, who were nominated by students, parents and educators.
Kammerer won the high school award. The other winners were Nate Evalson of Union Middle School and Shandi Engman of Elk Run Elementary School. They were selected from a pool of 16 nominations.
Kammerer was nominated by Molly Dumas, JDCHS’ administrative director of advancement. In her letter of recommendation, Dumas said Kammerer has been instrumental in hosting the Rocky Mountain College Fair for at least 10 years.
Also, during the last year when the school community suffered 28 deaths of students, parents, staff and family members, Kammerer "was rock-solid throughout, mobilizing resources from various school districts, and guiding us all through the painful process of coping with suicide and grief. Many of these traumas were new to Juan Diego. I serve on the school’s Emergency Response Team, and she was invaluable in securing an age-appropriate, organized and comprehensive response for every student, teacher and staff person on our campus," Dumas wrote, adding, "There are some people who embody a quiet calm, an empathetic nature, and a genuinely positive attitude that makes students feel secure, loved and proud of their achievements. Kammerer is all that and more."
Kammerer has worked as a counselor for 25 years, 13 at JDCHS and, prior to that, 12 at Judge Memorial Catholic High School.
"I’m very blessed because I work in a smaller institution with a smaller student load than most of my colleagues in the public schools who work with 400 or 500 students apiece," Kammerer said. "I’m very lucky to have just over 200. It’s very humbling in that regard – I don’t feel like I deserve it as much as some of my colleagues, who have much greater challenges. At the same time, school counseling is a very challenging, very time-consuming position and it feels nice to be recognized for the work that we do."
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