Interview by Rebecca Beilinson

Phoenix: How do you like Pomperaug so far?

Mrs. Kosicki:I absolutely love it. I am in my dream job. I have been welcomed by everybody, by staff, by parents, by students. I love it.

Phoenix: Where did you work before Pomperaug?

Mrs. Kosicki:I came directly from Hartford public schools, and prior to that I was at the Capitol Region Education Council in Hartford.

Phoenix: What exactly is the job a of Guidance Director? What do you do on an everyday basis?

Mrs. Kosicki:The job of a Guidance Director is extremely multifaceted. It’s never the same day twice. I still carry a case load; I have about 40 to 50 students on my case load, so I love that part where I get to still meet with kids. As far as my job role here, Pomperaug Regional School District is one of the only school districts in the state that actually has a K-12 guidance program. So I supervise the whole program, K through 12. We’re working on developing some really comprehensive curriculum for kids, to really kind of target those areas of development that they might need extra help on: encouragement, motivation, we’ll be looking at decision-making skills. It’s a whole curriculum for K through 12.

Phoenix: What do you like to do outside of school?

Mrs. Kosicki:I’m a mom of two awesome little kids. My daugher Juliet is three years old and she’s in preschool, and my son is six and he just started first grade. We like to spend a lot of time on our boat and we like to fish. We value family time, and hanging out. Both take karate, and we get out and do T-ball and all kinds of stuff with them. So that’s my free time.

Phoenix: Where is the coolest place that you’ve ever been?

Mrs. Kosicki:Probably Cancun, Mexico. That was very cool.

Phoenix: What were you like in high school?

Mrs. Kosicki:I was a cheerleader in high school. I think I’m still kind of the same type of person I was in high school. I love talking; I love people. I always had a lot of friends. I was always the person that loved everybody for their uniqueness, for their abilities. I think I was the nurturing one of the class, who kind of accepted everybody, and I think that’s one of the reasons that this job is really good for me.

Phoenix: If you weren’t Pomperaug’s Guidance Director, what would be your dream job outside of the field?

Mrs. Kosicki:Hmm my dream job...Well I think that depends on whether or not I ever had talent in like singing, because I think I’d love to be a pop star, but I don’t think I could ever think to do that. So if I was doing something different out of education...It’s hard to think. Probably, real estate. (laughs) I would love to sell houses; I think that would be so cool.

Phoenix: What’s your favorite movie?

Mrs. Kosicki: Pretty Woman.

Phoenix: I know you’ve only been here a few weeks, but if you were to change one thing about PHS, what would it be?

Mrs. Kosicki:Well it’s a 45 minute drive for me, so I wish it was closer. That’s the only thing I would change, the distance between my house and the school.