Ms. Jessica Vasquez was welcomed to the HMSA family in late October of the 2015-2016 school year.

She is now the school’s co-counselor alongside Ms. Bui. However, Ms. Vasquez is mostly the corresponding counselor for students whose last names start with the letters A-L.

Ms. Vasquez attended the prestigious University of California, Berkeley and double majored in Sociology and Ethnic Studies. She then traveled to the Big Apple where she attended New York University in order to pursue Guidance and Counseling.

Before deciding to become a professional counselor, Ms. Vasquez was studying law. However, she participated in counseling services in high school and fell into the comfortable position. She worked at Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, but she continued volunteering because counseling “came naturally” to her. While preparing for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), Ms. Vasquez decided that her true passion was counseling and helping students and families. She applied to NYU as a Guidance and Counseling major, uprooted her life in California, and took off to pursue her passion.

Ms. Vasquez previously worked in East Harlem and Lincoln Heights as a counselor for three collective years. She loved working with the elementary student in East Harlem, but decided to move back to Los Angeles. She loved Lincoln Heights as well, but decided to transition into HMSA because she was  tired of the long and expensive daily commute.

Ms. Vasquez is happily married to the man with whom she carried a long-distance relationship while at NYU. In addition to enjoying her work at HMSA, Ms. Vasquez also likes reaching out to youth in her community. She is active in the Lennox Youth Council. She also hopes to soon be a part of CASA for Children, a program where Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers support the best interest of abused and neglected children. Ms. Vasquez also enjoys various sports. She is part of two soccer teams: one all-girls indoor team and another co-ed team. She is very outdoorsy and even backpacked Central America for nine months!

Ms. Vasquez believes she “fits better at HMSA,” and the students and faculty are doing their best to make her feel welcome.