This is the second in Lancer Media’s Back to School Series:  People You Need to Know.  The staff members profiled in this series were selected because they influence freshmen success. 

If you’re a freshman, Mrs. Ilana Blum is the person you can go to for nearly anything because she is the guidance counselor for the entire 9^th grade class, as well as a co-advisor for the freshman class council.

Blum said that you can come see her if you need help of any kind. Many people think that the counselors only see students for scheduling conflicts or academic reasons, but this is not the case. Teachers use the counselors to help students who aren’t connecting in their classes, and students, she said, always need an adult on their side.

“My strengths are in building relationships with kids,” said Blum, which explains why she is so good at helping freshmen with the transition between middle and high school. She loves getting to know all types of students.

Blum is a co-advisor of the freshman class council, with Mr. James Hines.

Even outside of school, Blum is always interacting with kids. Her husband is a middle school PE teacher, and she has two children. She is very involved with her family, which loves to play sports. She said, “I’m normal, just like everyone else.”

Despite this self-proclaimed normalcy, she hopes that her students will see her as energetic and kind, as well as someone who helps them become better. Whether this improvement comes from helping them academically, emotionally or transitionally, Blum is certainly the person that any freshman should go to for any sort of help.