Teresa Hall

Professor

“I want our students to know all the options they have. Counseling is like putting the pieces of a puzzle together. We give them the information to make good decisions.”

“You know what? I’m just like a cheerleader,” says Teresa Hall in true “rah-rah” fashion. “I tell people they can do what they need to do. Don’t think you can’t get ahead because you don’t have good memory skills or because your parents never went to college. A lot of times, people just need to be thinking, ‘Yes, I can.’”

Teresa has been counseling at SMC for six years, the last two in the Scholars’ Program. “I have a lot of great students because they tend to be really focused on specific goals and with a need to transfer as soon as they can.” But Teresa’s concerns extend to all SMC students. “My advice to everyone is to seek out a counselor as early as possible to set up an educational plan,” she says. “If you wander around without making sure you’re on the right path you can waste a lot of time. In fact,” she continues, “I wish the Human Development class I teach for scholars was mandatory for everyone. It’s an opportunity to learn everything they need to know about the process of education; how to transfer, financial aid, the differences of UC and private schools, calculating GPA, etc.” But though she can’t reach everyone with her “cheerleading,” Teresa has reached out to create some notable successes with her counseling skills.

“I had one student who had only UCLA on her mind. And I mentioned Pepperdine to her and all the financial aid they have available. A year later, she was at Pepperdine on a full scholarship. But if she had never come in and we hadn’t talked about what she was looking for,” Teresa continues, “she never would have considered that school at all.” So consider your options. And consider Teresa Hall, SMC “cheerleader.”

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