Diamond Bar High School’s intervention counselor Stephanie Duenas has been appointed as a Grade Level Coordinator for the class of 2017. She will officially begin carrying out her duties during this year’s summer registration.

After an application and interview process, Duenas was approved by the Board of Trustees and will be paired with GLC Kevin Patterson in working with the incoming senior class. She is taking over the position following the retirement of former GLC Jack Galeener.

“Mr. Galeener is a hard guy to follow in the footsteps of,” Duenas said. “The kids love him.”

But having worked in education counseling for years and being an alumnus of DBHS herself, Duenas feels prepared to take on her new responsibilities.

“I think it’s going to be a little bit of a learning process, but I feel confident enough having been here for the last four years, having gone to school here–kind of what my role is supposed to be,” Duenas said. “I know a lot of Mr. Galeener kids, [and] having worked so closely with him the last four years has helped me know his class a little bit better as well.”

Her role as an intervention counselor for the previous four years has been to provide support to students with emotional needs and help them achieve academic success at DBHS. She has worked with parents, teachers, GLCs and students both in and out of special programs.

“The nice part about intervention is that whoever is an intervention counselor always is kind of part of the GLC team,” Duenas said. “I think that having worked in this position has really helped me understand the role. We don’t necessarily have the exact same responsibilities, but we work really closely together.”

Duenas also has experience as a college and career counselor at Bonita High School and San Dimas High School. She worked at the Bonita Unified School District for several years before becoming a counselor at DBHS.

“Overall, I’m excited to work with the kids, excited to step in when they need me, and get them off to wherever they’re going.”