New Guidance From Mrs. Cusano

As the new year rings in, for most of us there are many new additions, goals, and excitement for a new start. For Cliffside park High School, if you have not stopped by, we have our own great new addition with Mrs. Cusano. While there has been a bittersweet transition due to Mr. Ludwig’s retirement, Mrs. Cusano brings a fresh face and new start to in the guidance department.

I had a chance to catch up with Mrs. Cusano, our new Supervisor of Guidance, a true New York native with a unique love for art and dance, along with a great love for school counseling. Mrs. Cusano, feels nostalgia for her early years at North Rockland High-school due to how her experiences guided the road which lead her to the very place her with us story begins. Her high-school, interestingly enough, had the same mascot as us, the Red Raiders.

Mrs Cusano recalls her own high school experience as being involved in various activities in school, earning her the nickname, of “club geek”. While she was not busy in being a member of the Student council, or in any other club, Mrs. Cusano was found on the soccer field, a sport which she truly enjoyed. As her high school years came to an end, Marymount College; a well known school for the Arts, was the next step.

As a Dance and Theater major, Mrs. Cusano endeavored in a passion she had followed through since high school. Dancing, acting, you name it, anything to do with arts, from auditioning for the Lion King on Broadway, to dancing for jazz companies, simply pursuing the “artsy” life that New York City brings to any young college student. As fun and fulfilling as this life was, Mrs. Cusano does admit that the lifestyle was very competitive, and the outlook for this future was not very promising.

Her decision to pursue in a completely different direction for her career brought her to her current position at CPHS. Mrs. Cusano remembers that when deciding to put dancing and theater in a back seat, she discovered a whole new direction which she could pursue. Her mother was a therapist and social worker well versed in the field which drove her to pick up an interest in it. All it took was a few classes in counseling in graduate school, at Long Island University, and that was it, Mrs. Cusano had found her true love and passion and what she wanted to pursue wholeheartedly; obtaining her Master’s Degree in School Counseling and Education Administration.

Mrs. Cusano, currently serves as our newest addition to Guidance, where her day-to-day tasks consist of overseeing the guidance department, AP and Sat Testing, and any events that tie into college and careers. Her goals for CPHS guidance are focused on bringing in different and diverse options for students who are college bound and even those who are not.

Coming in mid-year to a school is never easy, even worse when it’s a new job, but as Mrs. Cusano puts it, any new job is overwhelming and nerve wracking, but walking into CPHS gave her the feeling of home. Mrs. Cusano reflects that everyone from colleagues to students understood being new to a place and were accommodating and understanding. From the moment she arrived, she felt welcome.

This being something Mrs. Cusano looks forward to achieving. Still keeping her more artistic background, her dancing,and love for all music, and zumba is something she pursues as a fun hobby, and even watching Gwyneth Paltrow's movie Sliding Doors or eating her favorite food, NY Pizza; as long as she is not busy with the daily of being the head of Guidance at CPHS.

Getting to know a little bit more of Mrs. Cusano, really gave a sense of excitement and freshness to the future of guidance, and what doors could be further opened for our students here at CPHS. Mrs. Cusano is trying to get a feel for the students and needs of the school before making firm plans for the development of the department, so she encourages you all to come by to see her and let her know of anything guidance can do to better help you. Whether it be from expanding on our current guidance department, or from bringing new ideas to the table for students and our high school, the guidance with the new addition of Mrs. Cusano, will make for a great new 2019 here at CPHS.