Marisa Fonkert

Chris Lewis is excited to start his counseling journey at MSHS.

Chris Lewis is the new counselor for students with last names A-K at Manitou Springs High School for this upcoming school year. He has come to MSHS for the location and community and is excited to thrive in his role by connecting with students during his time here. 

Lewis has been a counselor for 23 years and has also worked as a teacher for a few years prior. 

He feels this type of role has always been a natural fit for him ever since he was a kid. “Growing up, even when I was a kid, like in middle school and high school, I was always kind of drawn to that kid that’s sitting by themselves over in the corner,” Lewis said. “Why aren’t they included in these conversations? Why aren’t they included in activities? So I was always drawn to the people that needed extra help.”

Lewis says he specifically wanted to be a part of MSHS because of the outside environment. He enjoys being outdoors and he loves the mountains. He was also looking for a small school environment to work in. “I had interview options at other schools that were much bigger, and I wanted to be closer to what I grew up in, which was a small Midwestern town,” Lewis said.

Lewis has roles and responsibilities such as helping with scheduling, making sure kids are on track to graduate and supporting students’ social and emotional growth. 

Lewis makes sure that everyone is included in the school environment. “A pep assembly was a perfect example of that,” Lewis said. “Everybody was on their feet and everybody had the class colors on, so that’s kind of my primary responsibility.”

Lewis also says that with these responsibilities he needs to be able to really know how to help kids. And with that comes really knowing what students need.

 “In order to help people you have to get to know them first,” Lewis said. “That’s been my role for the first couple of weeks, just getting to know as many kids as possible and understanding where their needs are.”

Lewis feels that the most important quality of a school counselor is to be an active listener. 

“I know a lot of people listen, but they don’t necessarily listen,” Lewis said. “They hear the words that are coming out, but they don’t really process them, so counseling is primarily listening and then being able to meet a kid halfway and know where they’re coming from.”

Lewis believes that one of the main things that have prepared him for this role is that he has worked in a lot of different schools with a wide range of students. “I’ve lived in a lot of different places, so I’ve counseled kids from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds and a wide range of religious backgrounds,” Lewis said.

Alisha Strupp, a counselor at Manitou Springs High School, has been a counselor at MSHS for 9 years, and has worked as a counselor overall for 13 years. 

Strupp believes that to be a good counselor you need to be up for the unpredictability of high school, build genuine relationships, be a good communicator and overall manage these tasks effectively. “There are a lot of people that are dependent on you, and you have to make sure that you’re giving everyone the attention that they deserve,” Strupp said.

Strupp also thinks that when hiring the school is always making sure to look for someone who will benefit MSHS and make it a better place. “We’re not going to hire just anybody,” Strupp said. “We really want to be sure that we’re looking for the absolute best fit for our small school.” 

Some advice that Strupp would give Lewis is to have fun and be willing to try new things and have new experiences. Strupp also says that it is important to advocate for your role. “We need to be ready for the day to day changes that come our way and we really just need to promote our role to students, staff and family,” Strupp said. “We are a big resource for kids that they might not realize exists in the building, and we can connect them to a lot of great opportunities and resources if they stop by, get to know us and ask.” 

Strupp says that she thinks Lewis is a great addition to MSHS and she can already see him making great connections with kids. “I know that the counselor in charge of that caseload has changed frequently and I really think Mr. Lewis is a long term fit,” Strupp said. “Kids feel comfortable with him and he’s able to connect with kids in a genuine way.” 

Isaac Boczkiewicz (11), a student who falls under Lewis’s counseling group, feels that he is in a gray area, as he really liked the counselor at MSHS last school year, but also believes that Lewis seems really funny and kind. “When I first came in to talk about my schedule changes, he was very humorous,” Boczkiewicz said. “I like that about him, he’s pretty funny and he’s very helpful.” 

Boczkiewicz also thinks that Lewis is going to thrive here at MSHS. “I think he’s going to do really well at this school because the students at our school have good relationships with the teachers,” Boczkiewicz said.

Lewis’s favorite part about working at Manitou so far is that students are very receptive to advice. He also feels that the MSHS community has a supportive group of kids and staff that have truly welcomed him. “It feels like I’ve been here forever, and I’ve only been here for a couple weeks. But you feel like you’re at home, which is something a lot of schools don’t have,” Lewis said. “There’s people that spend years and years at schools, and they never feel like they’re part of the environment.”

Lewis’s goals for this school year are to understand and learn about the freshmen so that he can help them better in the future.

 He wants to prioritize helping students get on track to graduate, whether their goals are to go to college or just to get across the stage at graduation. “It’s my role to convince them that they can and to support them,” Lewis said. “The baby steps to get to where they need to be to graduate from high school.”

Lewis loves the environment and the people here at MSHS. He says that people have been very nice and welcoming to him as he starts his journey at MSHS. “I’ve only been here for a couple weeks, but I already feel like I’m part of the Manitou family,” he said.