Many Hoover freshmen have been waiting and wondering to see who their new counselor will be.

Hoover welcomed a new counselor, Nicole Hernandez, in early February.

Counselors are an important part of the school community, and a helpful resource to turn to when students need help. During her first week, Hernandez had been booked by students eager to talk with her. 

Hernandez had been inspired by her own high school and middle school counselors. 

“I went through a lot of challenges as a student, and they were really supportive throughout my entire middle school and high school period, so it just inspired me to want to help students,” she said.

She also always enjoyed working with youth and was looking for a position where she could be a good source of support.

She welcomes students to come and talk with her about anything.

“Sometimes I understand that students can’t find their own voice to advocate for themselves, and so I want to be that person for them,” she said when asked how she plans to help students with any type of guidance they need.

Hernandez even grew up in the Glendale Unified School District.

She went to Cerritos Elementary then Roosevelt Middle School and graduated from Glendale High School.

“I know that Glendale and Hoover are rivals, but at the end of the day it’s one community in my eyes and I wanted to come back and give back to my community just like my community once gave to me,” she said.

Some advice she would give to her students is, “Don’t be afraid to be you. Try out different things. It’s okay to not like things, it’s okay to like things, but try out things so that you can find out who you are as a person, and when you find out don’t be afraid to be that person.”