St. Joseph Grad Student Earns Counseling Honor

AVON/WEST HARTFORD, CT — A resident of Avon and a graduate student of West Hartford's University of St. Joseph recently won a scholarship that included an application with an essay he wrote about the importance of school counseling.

According to St. Joseph, Angelo Virone, a master’s student in the school's school counseling program, won the Connecticut School Counselor Association’s 2022 Graduate Student Scholarship with an inspiring application.

“As a first-generation college student and a bilingual first-generation immigrant to the United States, I have experienced first-hand the benefits a school counselor can provide,” Virone said in a St. Joseph statement.

“I want to offer the same support, resources, and sense of clarity for my future students when I become a school counselor.”

Virone’s professor at USJ, Dr. Marte Ostvik-de Wilde, associate professor of counseling and applied behavioral studies, said “Mr. Virone has always shown a willingness to engage with new people and new ideas. His active advocacy and desire to support LGBTQI students in his work is an example of his compassion and ability to walk the walk, in terms of social justice work.”

Virone is slated to graduate from the school counseling program in May 2023 and he has worked with children as a special education paraeducator.

His academic achievements include earning admission into USJ’s Chi Sigma lota Counseling Honors Society.

For the full announcement by St. Joseph, lick on this link.

For more information on the Connecticut School Counselor Association, click on this link.