Ms. Andrea Munoz ~ AHHC and Head Conselor
Ms. Andrea Munoz is the head counselor at Hoover while representing and supervising the Academy of Health and Healthy Communities, or AHHC for short. She has been working at Hoover for about 12 years and is still going! Fun fact, Ms. Munoz used to work at Clark Middle School, so the transition from a middle school to a high school was a great experience for her. She definitely likes high school more because of the maturity and the more open opportunities and student involvement. The reason Ms. Munoz became a counselor was her old high school counselor, who wasn’t the best and she took that as her inspiration to become better than her counselor. At first she wanted to become a lawyer, studied in that field, but when she tutored middle school students, she fell in love with the job. Two things she would change about Hoover is the constant trash being left behind after lunch, and to clear the dirty rumor that “Hoover isn’t a good school.” She believes that people who believe in that rumor only see the bad, yet Hoover is diverse and magical in so many ways. Some of Ms. Munoz favorite things include running, yoga, going to the beach(where she does her running), traveling, going and participating in Hoover events and her secret way to appease her is chocolate and Starbucks; her favorite duo.
Mr. Frank Zavala ~ AOIT Counselor
Mr. Frank Zavala is a counseler here in Herbert Hoover High School. Mr.Zalavala is the counselor for the Academy of Information Technology or AOIT. His purpose here at Hoover is to help kids finish high school on time and graduate with a diploma. He also helps students who want to go to college and helps guide them through the process of it. He choose to be a counseler because it involves people. When he started off at San Diego State, he was a business major and he felt like his classes were too boring and he didnt like the environment so he moved into psychology and felt more comfortable there. He’s been a counseler for almost 20 years from 1998 to 2007, he was a counselor here at Hoover and then he left to reopen Lincoln, where he stayed for six years. He went to a elementary school for one year and then came back to Hoover. The thing he most enjoys about Hoover is being able to work with the kids that feel they dont have a chance to graduate or kids who think they’re not going to make it and helps them to graduate. he thinks working with the kids that are going to college is great but a lot of times thwy already have a lot of people helping them and mentoring them that they dont need him to successed. It’s helping the kids that are so far behind that they think they don’t have a chance to graduate but helping them see that they do have a chance and seeing the look of satisfaction when they achieve that goal is what he likes about his job.
Ms. Laura Romo ~ SJS Counselor
Mrs. Laura Romo-Ricardo is the counselor for the Social Justice Academy or SJA for short. She has been a counselor here for almost seven years. Some of her favorite things in general is that she loves running, thai tea boba, and is a huge college nerd meaning, she loves everything about college. She loves talking about it and educating students, families, even other staff members and teachers about the opportunities college has to offer to anyone and everyone. She has some favorite people, which is her new-born son and of course her family. Ms. Romo loves Hoover’s strong feeling of community, she believes that the teachers and students try really hard to welcome everyone equally and graciously. She believes that Hoover is the teacher’s and the staff’s second home. Ms. Romo became a counselor because when she was in high school, she took AP classes and was only introduced to college because she took AP classes. She wants to make sure kids are introduced to college at the earliest time possible even if they are not taking AP classes. Her inspiration to come to work everyday is the students here at Hoover High, she always looks forward to daily interactions with students and staff and she just hopes her positive interactions make even the smallest impact in someone’s day.
Mrs. Patty Hollman ~ SABE Counselor
Mrs. Patty Hollman is the counselor for the Sustainable Academy of Building & Engineering (SABE). She has been at Hoover for eight years since 2015, and is a San Diego native from Logan Heights. Some fun facts about her are that she has a twin and loves Halloween. Something she loves about being a counselor is her interactions with students. What led her to the career path of being a counselor is that she had always wanted to work with kids, and when she was in school, she did not feel a connection with her counselor, and she wanted to make a difference. Her favorite thing about Hoover is the diversity and her favorite thing about working with students is how they teach each other and grow together.
Ms. Tawnya Pringle ~ ALMA 10th – 12th
Tanya Pringle is the ALMA academy counselor for grades 10th through 12th here at Hoover High School. Not only that, she is also the scholarship counselor. When she’s not guiding students towards a successful life during and beyond highschool, Ms. Pringle loves to travel to see new places and try new things. Besides traveling, she loves spending time with her husband, dancing, reading, connecting with her family members and good friends. Ms. Pringle was inspired to help kids that aren’t heard. She believes that students without a voice need to be heard and represented. Ms. Pringle knew she had to be that voice for all students and constantly works hard everyday to make sure all students are happy and successful.
Ms. Beatriz Montes – ALMA 9th Grade
Beatriz Montes is a counselor at Hoover High School for the ALMA academy and for ELD. 2023 marks her second year as a counselor at Hoover. She was actually a counselor at San Diego High School before coming to Hoover. She sees herself as a school counselor for a long time and hopes to continue to be one until retirement. When she was in middle school, she wanted to become a teacher. She felt this way through college as well, and even studied to become one. A significant person actually inspired her to become one, and she later developed a passion for counseling. The highlight of her day is to see her students. Ms. Montes was born in San Diego, California, to a Mexican family. She loves to travel, especially during spring and summer break. Places she has traveled to include Italy, Beirut, and Malta. She looks forward to traveling in the near future as well. Her favorite genre of music is Reggaeton. Her favorite movie is Batman Returns. Her favorite food is birria. If Beatriz Montes could speak to her younger self, she would say to “always be yourself” and “speak up.”
