This past summer, Mia Naddeo saw a view of France that most will never have an opportunity to see.
“[Last summer] I did some mountaineering and did a backpacking trip around Mount Blanc. I summited Mount Blanc, which is the highest peak in Western Europe, so that was really cool,” Naddeo said.
She loves spending her time outdoors. When the weather is nice, she hikes, and in the winter, she skis.
While she is at Highland, Naddeo focuses on helping her students summit their own mountains… figuratively speaking.
She works with students with the last initials H through LE. She supports all these students with their academic growth.
The number of students she has to counsel can be challenging, because it’s hard to get to know 300 students personally. Because counselors are assigned by last name instead of grade, each counselor gets four years with each student, which helps Naddeo spend more time getting to know her students.
As a counselor, she helps guide students through their high school life. Many students don’t know what to do when they leave high school, but Naddeo helps them through that.
“It’s really important that students start with a really strong foundation so that they have all the opportunities available to them down the road,” Naddeo said. “I think it is important to take a variety of classes to expose students to different topics”.
The classes that Naddeo helps her students pick open opportunities for them in the future, whether they know what they want to do after high school or not.
She mentions how lots of students have limited exposure to different career options, but You Science assessments can help build a path to finding a passion.
Traveling and the outdoors is a big passion for her. One great thing about this job for her the long summer break, that she uses to explore. Because she’s not a Utah native, she grew her love for the outdoors and now travels to experience all the outdoor options that Utah has to offer.
Naddeo moved from Pennsylvania to Utah about 13 years ago. She studied psychology during her undergrad at Penn State, then did graduate school for school counseling.
She said that she loves the East Coast, but a big motivating factor to move to Utah from Pennsylvania was nature.
Naddeo loves the Highland community. Her favorite part about working at Highland is the team of people she gets to work with. She says that who you work with can really determine an experience.
