Students met with their counselors to discuss options for electives and college planning during physical welfare (PW) classes on Oct. 7. PW teachers instructed seniors to bring their social security numbers to class that day in order to fill out FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) paperwork. 

Guidance counselor Happi Bills planned the event in order to orient students to Schoolinks and get them involved in the course selection process. Freshman, sophomore and junior students worked on course planning, and seniors made progress in their college applications.

“We really tried to frame it in terms of career pathways because that’s what we want students to be thinking about,” Bills said. “We’re giving them more agency and more voice.”

Guidance counselor Ben Grais held six sessions with students.

“I thought it was really well received,” Grais said. “Kids were fully engaged. When we were walking around, they were asking questions.”

Organizing the event involved communication with the PW department. PW teacher Jason Macejak was aware of the designated time and requirements for students. 

“It was discussed at a meeting, a department meeting and an email went out a few days ahead of time,” Macejak said.

Some seniors were told to bring their social security numbers to school, but were not told why they needed them and found the request strange. Social security numbers are issued by the federal government to citizens and legal residents of the United States. People are generally advised to keep such documentation in a safe place at home, and to never share that information with anyone. 

Some seniors like Emily Quizhpi were not given context as to why they should bring their social security numbers to school, but were able to connect the dots.

“I think that they didn’t tell us it was directly for FAFSA, but if you actually connect the dots, like ‘oh then it’s for FAFSA,’ but they didn’t give us a really direct answer,” Quizhpi said. 

Senior Michael Ashorian knew about the need to bring his social security number to school.

“At first, I thought it was kind of weird, but then I found out that they had to use it for the website or something,” Ashorian said.

Director of Physical Welfare Joseph Collins did not know what counselors were planning to do with students during this event, or why students would need their social security numbers.

 “I don’t even think I knew why [they needed their social security numbers],” Collins said. “I didn’t know what [the students] would have been doing, so I don’t think I told [PW teachers] why.”

The counseling department Instagram page, @nwschoolcounselors posted about the event after it took place.

Bills acknowledged that this was their first year doing this event, and that she is open to receiving feedback. She hopes to continue this event for upcoming years and improve it.

“We want to grow from this … we are really excited to make this a better event next year,” Bills said.