Spend 30 minutes with Steve Carey, College Guidance Counselor, 25-year veteran Pingree teacher, and tireless advocate for our kids and you get to see the Pingree spirit come to life.

What’s your secret working with kids? I have a sign hanging in my office. It says “Children should be seen and heard and believed.” That’s my secret I guess. I’m in the camp of encouragement - give them a glimpse of who they might become.

How do the students respond? One of my favorite cartoons has two caterpillars talking to each other. One says “What do you think we’ll become?” and the other says “I don’t know, but I hope it comes in a hurry.” That pretty much says it.

What do you find is scariest for students looking for colleges? It’s the expectation. Years back parents sent their kids here for enrichment, for greater thinking and growth. Now kids are feeling a different kind of pressure - they feel personally responsible to achieve at every level. That it’s only ok if they become molecular biologists or something to that effect.

Have the students changed in your years? Not really. They come to us with one foot in childhood and one stepping toward adulthood. We keep a look out for the procrastinators and for those in a hurry.

How do you help them sort out where they should go to school? If you listen really carefully and get to know them well you can hear what their mother wants, their father wants and what they want for themselves. I have a steadfast allegiance to them and preserving their process.

Funniest thing that’s happened in memory? Lots of opening day comedies. I can remember a math teacher bending over to pick up a book and splitting his pants right down the seam. But there are legions.

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