The Director of College & Career Counseling

As the director of college & career counseling, Ms. Amanda Leszczuk works with all high school students to guide them through the college identification and application process and determine the best college career path for each individual student.

College preparation starts early in the Mariemont City School District. To continue the process of college preparation, Ms. Leszczuk conducts college-planning programs for both freshmen and sophomores, where she introduces Scoir and other college preparation tools. She also provides students with college and career information in their Schoology Counseling course.

Beginning in the first quarter of junior year, Ms. Leszczuk meets with small groups of students to begin a more intensive approach to the college preparation process. Later in the school year, she meets with junior-year students and their parents on an individual basis for a college-planning meeting.

The summer before senior year, Ms. Leszczuk hosts College Application Workshops for all seniors, where she teaches students how to present themselves in their applications and works with them individually on resume and college essay revisions. By Thanksgiving break, she meets with all seniors regarding their post-secondary plans and maintains ongoing conversations with them regarding their academic achievement throughout the rest of the school year. Her goal is to work with each student to create a solid college or career path.

As the director of college & career counseling, Ms. Leszczuk completes an analysis of each junior and senior’s transcript to ensure that each individual student is earning the correct credits for graduation as well as making the best course choices for college; she works with at-risk students to help them identify the tools and courses they need to graduate; and she assists students with alternatives to college regarding post-secondary planning and choices.

Ms. Leszczuk strives to give as much one-on-one assistance to students as possible and to build relationships with all students and parents to inform and enhance the college decision-making process.

Ms. Leszczuk's Full Bio

Amanda Leszczuk

Director of College & Career Counseling

aleszczuk@mariemontschools.org

After receiving her undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Business Education from Bowling Green State University, Amanda Leszczuk started her career by teaching at Colerain High School. She attended the University of Cincinnati to obtain her master’s degree in school counseling and held the position of school counselor for Northwest Local Schools, Lakota Local Schools and Mason City Schools. She then went on to become the assistant principal at Lakota West High School, creating or implementing programs such as the Big Sister Little Sister Program, an intervention lab and a behavior management group. Ms. Leszczuk received her master’s degree in Education Administration from the University of Cincinnati and has taught graduate-level courses at Xavier University, University of Dayton and University of Cincinnati.

With nearly 10 years of counseling experience, Ms. Leszczuk began working in the Mariemont City School District in 2005 as a high school counselor, where she coordinates the college and career preparation and application process for district students. She also supervises the internship graduate program and provides career classroom guidance lessons to groups of students using various web-based sites.

Ms. Leszczuk is certified as a national board-certified school counselor, permanent school counselor (K-12), secondary principal (7-12), and professional secondary educator in mathematics and basic business (7-12). Ms. Leszczuk serves on many board and committees, including the Greater Cincinnati Counseling Association and the Ohio Association for College Admissions Counseling. She has also received many accolades within her field, including the Excellent School Counselor of the Year award by Career Quest and the Marvin Rammelsberg Outstanding School Counselor Award; and she was nominated for Outstanding Graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s counseling program. She was also selected for the University of Cincinnati counseling expedition to present at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.

An advocate of group collaboration, Ms. Leszczuk has drafted numerous articles in publications such as The California Association for Counseling and Development and The Advocate, and has presented at events such as the All-Ohio Counselors Conference and the Greater Cincinnati Counseling Association Spring Workshop, ranging in topics from challenges in revising a district guidance curriculum to meeting the needs of diverse students.

Expertise Area: College Counseling

Year started: 2005

Degrees: B.S. - Math Education;M.Ed. - School Counseling;M. Ed. - School Administration

Publications: Leszczuk, A. D. (2009). A Case For National Board Certification. Advocate, Spring, 2009, 5.;Leszczuk, A.D. (2007). A Wonderful Experience. Advocate, Summer, 2007, 6.;Tang, M., Leszczuk, A.D., Bailie, P., Hord, R., & Ohe, D. (2001). Challenges of Revising A District Guidance Curriculum. California Association for Counseling and Development, 21, 23-29.

Awards: Awarded the excellent school counselor of the year award by Career Quest 2011;Marvin Rammelsberg Outstanding School Counselor Award, GCCA, 2010;Nominated for Outstanding Graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s Counseling Program, 2005;RAMP Reviewer for the American School Counselor Association, 2013;Selected for the University of Cincinnati counseling expedition presenting at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China;National Board Certified School Counselor, 2008;Permanent School Counselor License (K-12);Secondary Principal License (7-12);Professional Secondary Mathematics and Basic Business License (7-12)

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MCSD_CCPC