As a first-generation college student with minimal guidance from parents and counselors, new counselor Tanya Silva struggled finding her passion for what to pursue. Due to this, Silva’s goal for her first year at SCHS is to know her students by name and make them feel comfortable enough to talk about anything.

Silva explained that she wants to help her students be open to new opportunities. Her own path to becoming a high school counselor was fueled by her open mindedness.

“I call myself an accidental counselor,” Silva said. “I went to community college, got a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology. I did it and got my degree and realized I don’t want to do this for the rest of my life. I floundered trying to figure out what direction I was headed.”

After earning her degree in kinesiology at San Jose State University, Silva’s aunt, who worked as a registrar at a high school in San Jose, helped Silva get a job there as a health clerk. That was when Silva realized she wanted to be a counselor.

“I was kind of unofficially a counselor in the health office because students would come in not feeling well, and sometimes (they were) not well because they got in a fight with their mom, or they were having friend issues,” Silva said. “That was really what pushed me and gave me a ton of experience while I was going to school (to become a counselor).”

Silva worked as a health clerk for five years. Two years into it, she went back to San Jose State University to become a counselor. Once she graduated, she came to SCHS for two reasons.

“I’m originally from down here. I’m a Campbell girl,” Silva said. “And ultimately, I was really impressed with what’s happening in Santa Clara. The low case numbers for counselors is unheard of. It’s amazing. And then all of the resources and support that are out here are what convinced me to make the move.”

In her time at SCHS, Silva hopes to inspire students when choosing their career paths. She mentioned the importance of continuing to try new and out-of -the-box experiences.

“Be open to new opportunities and try as much as you can. I’m usually most concerned with the students who are like, ‘I know exactly what I want to do, and this is my path’ because so much changes and so many things come into your life that if you’re closed off to it, you miss out on opportunities,” Silva said. “So be brave and try new things and look at options that you didn’t even consider before, and be like, ‘Huh, maybe.’”