From providing juniors and their parents with information regarding the ins-and-outs of the college application process to helping seniors find the perfect fit school, Stuyvesant’s college counselors are always busy helping students.

Recently, college counselor Patricia Cleary was recognized as the Counselor of the Month by Robin Mamlet and Christine VanDeVelde, co-authors of the book “College Admission, From Application to Acceptance Step by Step.”

“Ms. Cleary is an invaluable college counselor and mentor,” senior Loullyana Saney said. “The support she has given me and countless other students these past few months has been unerring.”

In order to be considered for Counselor of the Month, high school college counselors must be recommended to the book’s co-authors and belong to a school that sends over 90 percent of its students to college.

Cleary, a member of the University of Chicago’s Counselor Advisory Board, was recommended for this distinction by James Nondorf, the university’s Dean of Admissions.

“[Ms. Cleary] is a shining example of an excellent counselor and partner in the process of helping students find, apply to, and matriculate at their best college matches,” Nondorf wrote in an e-mail interview. “She is a great listener, advocator, and infinitely fair-minded.”

Mamlet and VanDeVelde interview the recommended counselors and publish interviews on the book’s online blog, True Admissions!, so that people can benefit from what these counselors know about applying to college. Cleary is the fifth Counselor of the Month that has been featured on the blog. Her interview was published online on Tuesday, January 3.

“Being the Counselor of the Month is really just a sample of my work,” Cleary said. “The interview is a summation of my philosophy as a counselor.”

Cleary began her work at Stuyvesant 12 years ago. As the head counselor, she develops PowerPoint presentations about college admissions, interacts with teachers, and collaborates with the Student Leadership Team, in addition to helping students.

“She makes it clear which schools are targets, which are safeties, and which are reaches,” senior Nader Daoud said. “It’s not easy to be that honest regarding matters so important to students, but it’s necessary, and she handles it well.”

Furthermore, Cleary helps seniors in homerooms 7A through 7H become familiar with the application process through a series of lectures and information sessions. She also meets individually with these students, primarily through 20-minute interviews.

“When I get to interview these kids, I have said many times in meetings that I don’t worry about the future of the United States,” she said. “Our kids are very introspective, but they know that they have a lot of talent. They are great thinkers, and it’s just a pleasure to read their backgrounds.”

Students are appreciative of Cleary’s efforts as their college counselor.

“Ms. Cleary has done everything possible to prepare me for college with her advice and help,” senior Ariel Matalon said. “She has always helped students not only with the college process but has given them the foundation and mindset to deal with the difficult parts of life and build meaningful careers from their education.”

Senior Donald Ho agrees. “During our brief interview, [Ms. Cleary] helped me polish my application by telling me to add this and that, stuff that I would have overlooked if not for her,” he said. “Her amiable personality and devotion to her students should deserve a better title than just Counselor of the Month.”