DVC's High School Counselor Conference

Scheduled on an earlier date than past years, DVC’s Counseling Department hosted the 21st annual “High School Counselor Conference” in the Trophy Room on Friday, Feb. 10. Some 25 staff and faculty members participated in providing a day’s worth of information, hands-on visits, partnerships and updates to over 50 high school counselors from our area feeder schools.  

DVC’s President Peter Garcia began the event with some personal remarks regarding the inspiration and help that he received from his high school counselor in nearby Pittsburg, which influenced his life in a very positive direction indeed! In addition to the traditional panels of student services speakers and information tables, this year included a new series of five break-out sessions, where participants could opt for any of several services and demonstrations on how best to use remodeled websites, programs, online resources, etc. Just prior to lunch at the Norsemen, participants took a tour of the new career tech offering in Medical Lab Technology, followed by a visit to the Administration of Justice program, with a live K-9 police-chase demonstration! 

DVC counselor Rob Peters, the conference coordinator, credits a number of elements at the planning and organization levels for their continued success. These include outstanding staff and faculty support, a structure and fresh format that also encourages fun, content that engages the participants, and cross-campus support. “We also rely upon good food and audience engagement, while punctuality is promoted, the content and speakers are diverse, and we’re not afraid to laugh at ourselves. Just as in a classroom, education should be enlightening and entertaining -- not merely dry and overwhelming! Judging by the surveyed feedback, folks from the high schools really respond to that format.”