Counseling aligns services to support student success and access

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Western Nevada College’s new team of counselors includes, front row from left, Adrian Barrera and Tyler Golden, and back row, Claudette Dutra and Evan O’Brien. Kathryn Whitaker is not pictured.

As a higher education institution that serves many students in rural communities and offers different ways to enter college, Western Nevada College has repositioned and hired counselors to better serve these students.
Counseling Services added new team members Adrian Barrera, Claudette Dutra, Tyler Golden, Evan O’Brien and Kathryn Whitaker and trained them throughout the college’s 2022 spring semester.
“We’ve revamped or redesigned our entire office and what we do,” said Piper McCarthy, director of consulting services at WNC. “In many institutions there are offices with just academic advice. However, this is only part of the work of our team members.
This new counseling unit is unified to ensure student access to college and success.
“They are all uniquely related to the coordination of a service or program offered by WNC related to student access and/or success,” McCarthy said. “With everyone connected to one office and cross-trained in school counseling, this has allowed us to offer a better student-to-counsellor ratio, but has also allowed us to offer better services and coordinate more initiatives and programs effectively.”
Here are the roles these counselors will fulfill and the programs they will assist students with:
Claudette Dutra: She is the Dual Enrollment Coordinator and plays a key role for all high schools that WNC serves for dual enrollment. She coordinates services provided to high school students participating in dual enrollment programs and serves as in-home support for Outreach and Access Counsellors, schools, students and parents.
Adrian Barrera: He is an Awareness and Access Advisor: He leads the Awareness and Access Programs for Carson, Douglas and Virginia City High Schools. This role helps provide educational guidance, coordinate the Nevada Promise and Bridge to Success outreach and access program for high school students, and coordinate dual enrollment efforts.

Catherine Whitaker

Tyler Golden: Student Success Coordinator. He directs efforts toward First Year Orientation and Experience (https://www.wnc.edu/firstyearexperience/) and focuses on implementing systems and processes to ensure student success and retention. students – with both programs designed to support student success.
Catherine Whitaker: She is an academic advisor for the Fallon campus, as well as the lead for WNC outreach and access programs at Churchill County High School and Oasis Academy. This role helps provide academic counseling to any student on the Fallon campus, coordinate Nevada Promise and Bridge to Success outreach and access programs for high school students, and coordinate dual enrollment efforts for Oasis Academy and Churchill County High School.
Evan O’Brien: He acts as an academic advisor for outreach and access. Evan leads outreach and access programs in Lyon County, including high schools in Dayton, Silver Stage, Fernley, Yerington and Smith Valley. This role helps provide educational guidance, coordinate Nevada Promise and Bridge to Success outreach and access programs for high school students, and coordinate dual enrollment efforts.
For advice and information on dual enrollment and the Nevada Promise Fellowship, call 775-445-3267 or go to wnc.edu/counseling/.

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