In honor of National School Counseling Week, XAP and Bridges would like to recognize...

Karen Fiedler
Capital High School
Santa Fe, NM

Karen Fiedler has worked in many levels of the education system over her 40-year career, from pre-kindergarten through community college.

"Of all these, counseling is my most heart-felt favorite," she says. Fiedler has been a counselor for 10 years, and now works with students and staff at Capital High School with Santa Fe Public Schools.

It was her experience as a teacher that led her to counseling. "I decided to get a degree in counseling because I was working in an inner-city school in New York and saw the great needs and huge obstacles my students were facing. I knew I needed to increase my skills in order to help them," she says. She adds that training as a counselor has helped her grow as an educator.

"I really feel that being a counselor is the crowning achievement of a wonderful lifetime career and feel privileged to be able to work with my excellent students and staff," says Fiedler.

Fiedler's nominator praised her work with the DIVAS group, a support group for female students. DIVAS, which stands for Dedication Initiative Vision Advancement Support, was created after her school identified a need for social development groups. The results have been inspiring.

"We have a membership of outstanding young women, and we are growing and working on numerous projects," Fiedler says. "Our latest is the Ambassador project where the DIVAS are working with mid-school students to help them transition more successfully to high school."

The initiative behind the DIVAS group is typical of Fiedler's approach to her work. She's always looking for solutions for her students and ways to get them involved in their school. "So often, I just do not have an appropriate place to refer students or I have projects I would like to do, but no funding," she says. "Having been in education so long, I realize that this is a fact of life and have become very creative in finding ways to get things done; I also don't mind asking for help for my students."

Her work is appreciated by the entire school. A colleague praises Fiedler's work ethic: "She has lots of success stories. She is a pleasure to work with and we do not know what we'd do without her... She will work until the job gets done, she never "punches" the clock. You can count on her for any task large or small."

XAP and Bridges congratulate Karen Fiedler for making a difference in the lives of her students!

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