Cutting Edge Counselors

When it comes to the well-being of teenagers and all of the struggles they face, Mrs. Corazza is here to help. A brand new staff member is now on our campus with the sole purpose of aiding the students of Sage Creek with whatever help they may require; this is the story of Sage Creek’s new counselor, Mrs. Corazza.

Mrs. Corazza

When Mrs. Corazza had been deciding what career path she wanted to take, she already knew that she “liked working with people.” Her desire to aid and guide people had led to multiple jobs before she had realized her true calling: counseling.

“I will tell you I tried my hand at different types of jobs; I was a lifeguard, I taught swim lessons, and I found that I had a lot of joy and satisfaction working with others. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else [counseling],” Mrs. Corazza said.  

With this now discovered, Mrs. Corazza had decided that she specifically wanted to work with “adolescents” or teenagers; thus embarking on her career in high school counseling. She believes that “there is something … really awesome about working with high school students” in which a counselor is able to work with them from when they first enter high school until they graduate, and then has the opportunity to watch them grow and develop as a person. Mrs. Corazza believes that being a high school counselor “is really a neat process” and “love[s] maintaining relationships” with her students, because it means that her work as a counselor is being fulfilled.

Before settling down in Southern California, Mrs. Corazza had traveled across the globe, and counseled teenagers in the process. She has worked as a counselor in Virginia, Madrid, and San Francisco, and has also worked within the San Diego Unified School District previously in her career.

Now that she has returned to Southern California, and has been welcomed into our Bobcat Nation, Mrs. Corazza describes her experience so far as being “fantastic!”

“What I really like about Sage is it’s a lot more personal, the campus is beautiful, and the families are really invested in the community. Really the kids are kind of neat, I think there is something unique about the student that selects Sage Creek, where as the last school that I worked at (Menlo-Atherton High School in San Francisco, California) was assigned by address,” Mrs. Corazza said.

Mrs. Corazza believes that her work as a counselor is extremely beneficial for students, and that by being at Sage Creek she has the chance to help the students on our campus as well. She states that her role as a counselor “is to advocate for students [and] to advocate for the teaching community … [She is also responsible for ensuring] that students have the most positive academic, personal and social experience throughout high school.” She wants to aid students by helping them plan for their future after high school; to explore a student’s “innate talents and interests, and [to help] align … them[with] … [their] opportunities in the future.” In the end, Mrs. Corazza desires to assist students with any problem they may face, get to know all of her students both on an academic basis and on a personal level, and to make every student at Sage Creek feel well supported.

In addition to her profession and her passion for helping others, Mrs. Corazza also has a fondness for running. You can find Mrs. Corazza training for full to half marathon(s) at any given time. This new counselor wants the students of Sage Creek to know that she loves her “job as much as [she] did when… [she] started 13 years ago.” She would also “love students to come by [and] introduce themselves.”

Ms. DiBenedetto

Resolving student’s problems and issues, helping teenagers with all of the stress that comes with high school, and planning the future of young adults are all apart of Ms. DiBenedetto’s career.

Ms. DiBenedetto explored many career options throughout her early years in college before she realized she wanted to become a high school counselor; all in all she knew that her overall goal was to help people. “I love helping people and so I thought I would go into Human Resources initially, and then decided I don’t like firing people. So I decided I wanted to help people more and … worked at Legoland in my undergrad at San Diego State as an intern. I had a great time doing that and I liked working with teenagers and so that is how I became a High School counselor,” Ms. DiBenedetto said.

Helping teenagers was Ms. DiBenedetto’s passion and she has accomplished this in every school that she has worked at throughout her career. Ms. DiBenedetto has worked at many of the schools both within the Carlsbad Unified School District and the surrounding Districts. The schools she has previously worked at include: “Guajome Park Academy in Vista, Carlsbad High School and Army and Navy Academy here in Carlsbad.”

Although Ms. DiBenedetto is very familiar with the other high schools in the Carlsbad Unified School District, she was not very familiar with Sage Creek’s unique trimester system. With the trimester system being very different than the “normal” semester system, it can take a little more time to become accustomed to our school. Also, the troubles that students had with their schedules at the beginning of the school year had not made any of the Counselor’s job that much easier, especially the two who are just joining the Sage Creek community.

“Well, it has been a whirlwind, it’s super busy in the beginning of the year as I have learned with the trimester system, but I think I have really gotten that down,” Ms. DiBenedetto commented.

In order to limit the time it takes to meet with a counselor next school year about a possible scheduling issue, Ms. DiBenedetto suggests filling out and turning in the proper paperwork before the first day of school.

“It really helps to get the paper forms filled out before coming to see me because then at least I have the information, know what the student is looking for and then it makes the process more efficient,” Ms. DiBenedetto said.

After quickly becoming familiar with the trimester system, Ms. DiBenedetto has seemed to truly enjoy meeting all of the students that make up Sage Creek.

“I am really enjoying meeting the students, they seem really dynamic and fun and so… [that] is translating into how I feel being here,” Ms. DiBenedetto said.

Having counselors on a high school campus is important because they are another amazing resource for students, according to Ms. DeBenedetto. She also believes that counselors are valuable because of their capability to have relationships between teachers and students, and in turn can enable them to benefit the others.

“I think… [having high school counselors is] really important because we complement what the faculty and staff, including the teachers and administration, are doing on campus and provide another resource for students to come to when they need extra support… If we weren’t here then they wouldn’t have anybody to go to.”

In her daily life, Ms. DiBenedetto can be found spending time with her daughter and son, or watching some of her favorite football teams. Her top three favorite football teams include the Golden State Warriors, San Francisco 49ers, and the New York Giants. Ms. DiBenedetto’s son (Ryan) and daughter (Allison) are both 9 years old and are fraternal twins. This counselor has a special connection with her children, and even keeps artwork that they made in their preschool years on display in her office.