Guidance counselors are often crucial to a student’s success in high school; they help them grow and succeed, and make decisions that can influence them for the rest of their life. Here at Seminole there are eight guidance counselors. This includes Ms. Mindi Craft, the current tenth through twelfth grade International Baccalaureate (IB) guidance counselor.

Senior Ariel Mojica says, “She gives good guidance and is very understanding of everyone’s situation.”

Craft has worked at Seminole since 2002 and has a Masters in Educational Leadership and Specialist in School Psychology. She decided to continue her educational career at Seminole after having to commute to Maitland High School each day from Lake Mary.

“I started looking for jobs as soon as I finished my Specialists in School Psychology and had my degree in codework and school counseling. I came to SHS and interviewed with our former, and wonderful, principal, Karen Coleman, and the IB coordinator at the time, Mary Neal. We had a wonderful conversation-a great interview- and they offered me the job,” Craft says.

Craft’s duties as the IB counselor have changed throughout the years. She attends workshops, monitors IB testing, and discusses financial aid, college admissions, and scholarships with her students. Additionally, Craft manages one of the annual college nights at the school, maintains the scholarship list on the Seminole High School webpage, and organizes the Honor Graduates ceremony at the end of each school year. Craft offers career, academic, and social counseling year-round, and answers student and parent questions through communication devices such as voicemails, emails, and scheduled meetings.

“She’s the coolest person ever; she actually looks out for you unlike any [other guidance counselor],” says junior Naddav Rubina.

However, Craft sees her role as similar to that of her colleagues. 

“I don’t think what I do is any different from what [other guidance counselors] do; I think that the needs of our students tend to be different. I think that because I don’t have a group of students I really need to work through to get to graduation, mine are self-propelling, [and that] frees me up some time to be able to do different types of counseling…[and] academic advising [with my students],” says Craft.

Despite her academic duties and busy schedule, Craft still has time for fun. She used to mountain bike constantly, until a trip to Colorado left her knowing how it feels to fall off a mountain and rip her lip open. Outside of the office, she can be found working out at the gym, traveling with her husband, or spending time with her husband and dog.

Craft says, “I think [the best part of my job is] getting to know students, [and the] uniqueness of their lives, and [being able to] match up or identify their goals and where they want to be. I think one of the best parts of the job is seeing students grow from ninth graders to seniors; the change is so amazing. I think I’m very lucky to have this job because I work with some amazing students and staff. I am very lucky.”