WOODBURY — He’s the smiling face of Nonnewaug High School. He’s a person you can always count on for a helping hand and welcoming presence when walking through the front doors.

He’s Christopher Maclean, a counselor at Nonnewaug.

”He is very welcoming to any student no matter who you are,” senior Ashley Blood said. 

Maclean got his first counseling job at Nonnewaug sixteen years ago. He enjoys counseling high school students because it makes him feel alive.

”I wanted to be a guidance counselor because it makes me feel young,” Maclean said. “I get to connect with young kids and learn new gossip.”

Every counselor has good and bad days with students. Maclean remembers his best kind of day at Nonnewaug. 

”My favorite day working as a high school counselor would be when I helped a kid go through a problem that was decently not the best,” Maclean said. “Helping students is the reason my days are good. Knowing someone is getting the help they need is what makes my day.” 

Maclean puts in hard work at the school to make students and teachers’ lives easier. With the school’s new schedule starting this past fall, Maclean had to find a way to put together the pieces of the entire school’s schedule.

“At the end of the 2024 school year, I had to try and find out how to be able to meet with every teacher, so I had to go around every teacher’s study halls or prep,” Maclean said.

Students love Maclean because of his soft and fun personality. Blood says he makes students feel welcomed, which means students are more likely to talk about their lives and issues.  

”He is very welcoming to any student no matter who you are,” Blood said. ”He’s more like a friend than a counselor because it is easier to talk to someone that feels like a friend then someone you are forced to go see.”

Emma Bigman, another senior at Nonnewaug, finds comfort in Maclean’s presence. 

”I love him. He is the best person to go to for advice,” Bigman said. ”He truly is such a kind person, and it takes a certain person to do what he does.”

It doesn’t just have to be a required meeting to see how nice Maclean is. Matthew Molleur is a junior who doesn’t have Maclean as his guidance counselor but still chooses to talk to Maclean. 

“He creates positive energy throughout the building,” Molleur said. “He is just an outgoing guy. He is always smiling and saying hi to everyone.”