I went to the main building to meet Mr. Max Tran. He looks like a Manual Arts student. But no, this guy is actually a counselor. Since Ms. Mayani left, Mr. Tran is the new counselor. This is the first time I’ve met our new counselor for SMART students with last names M through Z. 

I walked in Mr. Tran’s office. His office is extremely organized and clean. Unlike having a sticky floor, full of papers, trash, and spilled cokes, nothing is messy. He’s a very organized person. 

I’m always impressed by all counselors, but I am fully impressed to know what counselors like Mr. Tran do. For example, he takes care of scheduling, transferring, behavior problems, positive relationship building and supervising.

I wanted to know more about him, so I asked him five questions about his life.

First, I wanted to know the difference between Magnet and SMART schools.

“The pathway is different,” said Mr. Tran, “you’re supposed to get a certificate when you are done from SMART academy.”

Counselors are hard workers. They focus on helping students achieve their academic goals. I asked Mr. Tran to explain how he handles the hard work of being a counselor. 

“I’m still learning in my Small Learning Community (SLC),” says Mr. Tran, “teachers and students are very welcoming and support me to become part of SMART.” So it is important to support your counselor. 

So what college did Mr. Tran attend? He said, “I got my bachelor’s degree at UC Santa Barbara, and I got my masters for counseling at Cal State Long Beach.” 

At one point, Mr. Tran wanted to be a lawyer. “I got to a point where I no longer wanted to go to law school,” said Mr. Tran, “and I had to agree to do something I would actually enjoy doing.”

I am glad that Mr. Tran made the right choice to become a Manual Arts counselor. I hope he continues for the next year, and more years to come. Welcome to our Manual Arts campus, Mr. Tran! You’re the man, and this is your home.