This year, Jones welcomed a new member to the counseling department, Ms. Anne Halliday, who was first here temporarily but was recently granted a permanent position with the departure of Ms. Goins.
Ms. Halliday grew up in Hinsdale, a suburb of Chicago. She graduated from Hinsdale Central High School and continued her education at Northwestern University where she double majored in Spanish and Journalism.
From there, she moved to Birmingham, Alabama where she briefly worked for Southern Living Magazine. Halliday then moved back to Chicago where she took up an internship with Chicago Magazine at the Tribune Tower.
However, due to a couple of motivating factors, Ms. Halliday decided to go back to school and get a teaching degree at Loyola. After doing so, she began working at Pulaski International, a Chicago Public School (CPS) located in Bucktown. Halliday worked as a CPS Spanish teacher for 11 years before ultimately deciding to go back to school one final time and acquire her second degree in school counseling.
“I noticed that students had some pretty big social, emotional events and that’s when I decided I wanted to do something different,” said Halliday. “I love working in schools and our schools do so much more than just give an education, they provide resources to tons of families and build a community.”
Halliday’s addition to the Jones community has been met with a lot of positivity from students.
“She’s very efficient and very friendly. I’ve only talked to her in person three times and I already feel like I’ve made a connection with her,” said Grace Ronan ‘24.
She has been especially committed to assisting the seniors as they navigate their college applications. Many are grateful for her prompt responses and eagerness to help. Her overall presence at Jones has left many seniors a little less stressed about their college applications.
Feeling similarly, Halliday expresses a lot of positivity regarding her admittance into the Jones community and its students so far.
“My favorite part of my job is always working with the students. I sometimes have to be behind my computer sending emails, which is a bit of a bummer, but when I’m with people, that’s always my favorite part,” said Halliday.
Along with the excitement of adding a new counselor to the team, there is also the question of what this could now offer the Jones community. Halliday has experiences and new ideas that could benefit Jones in many different ways.
Her passions, along with her linguistic skills, could bring about helpful changes that could aid numerous students.
“I am particularly excited to leverage her interest and experience in leading small counseling groups is particularly passionate about self-compassion groups and I think that would be a great fit for students here at Jones,” said Mr. Coleman, a fellow Jones counselor.
Halliday’s background could open Jones up to new opportunities for students and bring about a lot of positive change within the Jones community. Her presence has been met with enthusiasm thus far and is sure to continue throughout her time here at Jones.
