Pine View’s administrative team gained another new face this year – guidance counselor Paula Lindsey.
As the new guidance counselor for eighth and ninth-graders, Lindsey is thankful for the chance to combine her two interests: mental health therapy and working with children.
“I love interacting with people,” Lindsey said. “It’s a joy to help people.” Lindsey enjoys assisting students with choosing classes that match their interests and helping them find careers based on their strengths.
After two years at Ashton Elementary as a guidance counselor, Lindsey came to work at Pine View. Her prior experience includes internships at both McIntosh Middle School and Tatum Ridge Elementary School.
Lindsey’s experience with students ranges far beyond Sarasota County. She and her family are the founders ofWaves of Love, an organization dedicated to helping children in Nicaragua.
In the past two summers, Lindsey’s family, with the help of teenage interns, has built 12 homes, a school art room, several latrines and snack shacks for students. They also provide surf and swim classes for the local children. “I have a drive to help people,” she said.
As a guidance counselor, Lindsey said she is well-aware of many issues that eighth and ninth-grade Pine View students face on a day-to-day basis. “The complex issue of grades eight and nine is that so much is coming onto them at one time,” she said.
Lindsey advises students to “learn to have a balanced life.” According to Lindsey, finding a balance between friends, family and school eliminates unnecessary stress.
Likewise, she wishes to foster enthusiasm among students for their future. “I hope that the students here [at Pine View] align their careers with the things they are passionate about,” she said. “I can’t think of any worse than going to a job that you dread.”