Counseling
New Counseling Intern
Mr. Cornelius
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Alex Cornelius and am the counseling intern from January through May 7th. I am very excited to be part of Rippon middle school. I will be working with Aida Hernandez, Counseling Director every Tuesday and available to help students one-on-one.
I was born and raised in New York, where I received a dual Bachelor's degree in Education and Mathematics. I really enjoyed my student teaching experiences, although, I realized that I enjoy connecting with students and helping them rather than teaching them math. After graduating in 2016, I moved to Springfield, Virginia and began substituting in D.C. charter schools. I enjoyed substituting in high schools, however, I left substituting to become the lead teacher of a KinderCare pre-kindergarten class. I love working with my young students and teaching them the basics of caring for one another, as well as academics.
In 2017 I moved into a townhouse in Dale City with my fiance. We fell in love with the area and decided to move our careers from Springfield to Woodbridge. My fiance, Janyce, is a fifth grade teacher at Enterprise Elementary School. We own two dogs that are a year old (Bella and Quito) and we are fostering a 6 month old puppy (Diego). Diego had his paw stuck in a bear trap, causing him to lose his paw, and we are helping to rehabilitate him. Diego is getting a prosthetic paw within the next few weeks and shortly after that we will be able to officially adopt him. Before we found Diego, Janyce and I, fostered 9 dogs (one at a time) and found them loving homes. Our dogs are very energetic and we all love hiking around Leesylvania State Park on the weekends. I also have two guinea pigs (Mocha and Little) that are five years old! Janyce and I are both vegetarians; she has been a vegetarian for 9 years and I have been for a year.
Currently, I am attending a school counseling Masters program through the University of Marymount. I am also working full time as a pre-kindergarten teacher at the Lake Ridge KinderCare. I am excited to begin working as a school counselor. Thank you for letting me become part of your school's community.
Quito and Bella
Quito and Bella
Quito
Bella
On the way home from a bath at the pet store.
Diego
This is when we first brought him home.
Diego, Bella, & Quito
The first day Bella and Quito met Diego, they played and napped together.
Special Message from Ms. Hernandez
We are very happy to have Mr. Cornelius with us! I will be in charge of supervising him on Tuesdays. If your son/daughter would like one-on-one counseling time, please email me. Having an intern gives us a little more freedom and time to work with students in a different way. You can email me here: hernanal@pwcs.edu.
Again, Welcome Mr. Cornelius! I am looking forward to working with you these next few months.
Ms. Hernandez