A job posting for a new college counselor at St. Paul Academy and Summit School, pinned to a bulletin board, caught Mary Hill’s eye. Bright-eyed and eager to help students and their families through the college search process, she jumped at the opportunity.
Now, 24 years later, Hill has made the decision to leave the SPA community after the 2023-24 school year comes to a close, retiring from her role as the Director of College Counseling and Academic Planning and shifting her focus to her personal life.
Lightheartedly, she said, “I’ve enjoyed [the work], I’ve valued it, but it’ll be great when I don’t everyday have to check my email to see what is happening.”
Hill’s career began on the college admissions side of college counseling, and she worked at both Colgate University and Williams College for a total of 15 years.
“I came to think, wow, maybe this is something I really want to keep doing because I could do it, I could talk enthusiastically about a college other than the one I attended,” Hill said.
Her enthusiasm for college admissions lasted for years to come, but eventually, Hill needed a change of scenery to keep working life interesting, which led her to apply for the job at SPA in 2000. Before even getting hired, she was familiar with the Upper School from recruiting visits she took part in in the early 90s, making SPA an intriguing place to land.
Hill said, “I was ready to be on […] what we call the other side of this process, not just representing one college, but working in a setting where I could help more students and families think about college.”
Upon arriving at SPA, Hill was one of two college counselors, making her a co-director of the program. Since then, the college counseling department has expanded to three counselors and an assistant, a necessary change for the growing student body. Though much of the work is split across the department, Hill has special leadership responsibilities as the Director of College Counseling and Academic Planning.
“I think being the director, you’re leading the effort to keep the program thoughtful and current and educational,” she said. “I think that’s really important that we’re not just helping you get through the transaction of applying to college, but we’re helping you understand more about yourself fundamentally, as well as opportunities that make sense for you.”
The college counseling process at SPA is very personalized to each student and their goals, which is something Hill makes sure to prioritize. The benefit of a small school is that she can engage with her counselees on a deeper level, getting to know their family and personal values and the things that make them excited for the next chapter of their lives.
Hill said, “We really like to try to bring out the idea that everyone brings their own values and purpose to this [college counseling] process.”
Through so many years of working with SPA students of varying interests and personalities, Hill has developed a love for talking with these students and watching them grow on their journey from high school to college. In fact, her proudest moments as a college counselor have been when “it comes up in conversation that [students have] learned something about themselves.”
Though these conversations and interactions with students will soon be removed from Hill’s everyday life, she will hold on to the skills she has learned from them over the years, including the abilities to be flexible, adapt to different obstacles and listen to what people need. She will miss getting to know students and their families and being a part of the SPA community, but she is also ready to move on to a new chapter of her life.
“I just feel ready to kind of rediscover myself, and that sounds kind of corny, but really to know myself and live my life in a way that isn’t so centered on this work,” Hill said.
This period of rediscovery will include volunteering in the community to decrease issues of food insecurity, playing piano and singing in choir to grow her musical talents, and spending more time with her loved ones who live out of state.
Hill’s wish for the future of the college counseling program is simple: “I hope someone’s excited to be here and join the great work that my colleagues do. I think we have a great team. When people say nice things to me because I’m retiring, I’m like, well, I don’t do any of this alone. This is always all of us.”
