Gabriela Medina is a school counselor at Rolling Meadows High School with over 15 years of experience in counseling and education. She holds master's degrees in School Leadership and Human Services and Counseling. As a counselor, she provides academic, career, and personal counseling to students, implements MTSS programs, teaches counseling curriculum, and analyzes student data. She has received several awards for her contributions to education. Previously, she worked as a counselor at Wheeling High School and for youth services organizations. Medina is fluent in Spanish and advocates for Spanish-speaking families.

1. GABRIELA MEDINA
Phone: 847-502-2085 E-mail: gaby324@gmail.com
Linkedin: MedinaGd214 Twitter: @GMedina_IL
EDUCATION RECOGNITIONS
Northeastern Illinois University
M.A., School Leadership, 2016
DePaul University
M.A., Human Services and Counseling, 2006
Loyola University Chicago
B.S., Psychology, 2000
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
District 214 Rolling Meadows High School
School Counselor (2013-Present)
❖ Counsel students and families addressing academic, career, and
personal/social needs, along with college and financial planning
❖ Lead efforts supporting Student Services in addressing the needs of
students from an MTSS lens and in alignment with the American School
Counseling Association developmental model
❖ Work on a problem solving team to assess appropriate level of services
❖ Counselor for AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), a
program that closes the achievement gap by helping students with college
readiness and success
❖ Collaborate with staff district-wide on AVID strategies and participate in
ongoing professional development
❖ Teach counseling curriculum lessons in classrooms and provide training for
professional staff, including teachers, student service personnel,
administrators, and support staff on an ongoing basis
❖ Collect and analyze student growth data on academic progress, Advanced
Placement scores, standardized test scores, attendance, and participation in
career pathway experiences
❖ Implement programming for Spanish-speaking families in our school and
district-wide: inviting Spanish-speaking authors, activists, college and
university representatives, and providing financial aid workshops
❖ Utilize electronic platforms to engage students in scheduling counseling
appointments, educate them in learning about post-secondary experiences
and self-assess progress towards graduation in alignment with an identified
career pathway of interest
❖ Support the ongoing development of a career pathway guide that aligns
academic courses, extracurricular activities and career experiences to the 16
nationally recognized career clusters
❖ Completed administrative certification and internship, along with serving as
liaison on many district-wide administrative teams
❖ Served on several interviewing teams for student services staff, support
staff, and administrative positions
❖ Trained and supervised counselor interns in counseling, crisis intervention,
documentation, data-collection, and the development of interventions
2017 American School Counselor of
the Year Nominee
2016 Illinois School Counselor of the
Year
2015 Outstanding Contributor to
Education*
2012 Principal’s Award*
2011 Outstanding Contributor to
Education*
2010 Special Recognition of Student
Services for RAMP*
2008 Illinois School Counselor of the
Year Nominee
Outstanding Contributor to
Education*
2006 ACA Foundation Annual
Convention Student Grant
Recipient
*Denotes award by District 214
PRESENTATIONS
2016 Illinois Hispanic Legislative
Caucus: Education Forum
Panelist
Illinois School Counselor
Association Annual
Conference: Long-term EL
Career Academy
2015 39TH Annual Statewide
Conference for Teachers Serving
Linguistically and Culturally
Diverse Students: Long-term
EL Career Academy
2014 District 214 Symposium:
Interrupting the Generational
Cycle of ELL
38TH Annual Statewide
Conference for Teachers Serving
Linguistically and Culturally
Diverse Students: Connecting the
Data Behind the Stories
2013 Evidence Based School
Counseling National Conference:
Examining the Problem-Solving
Process through Multi-Tiered
Systems of Supports (MTSS)

2. District 214 John Hersey High School
Summer School Instructor for Career Academy I & II (2015, 2016)
❖ Developed curriculum and taught two career courses targeting EL and
exited EL students
❖ Identified and recruited students to participate in summer career
programming in Career Academy I Course
❖ Taught Career Academy II course which included several micro-internship
experiences for students
❖ Created skills assessments, rubrics and developed resume building
templates
❖ Visited internship assignments and took students to local business for
career awareness seminars
District 214 Wheeling High School
School Counselor (2006-2013)
❖ Spearheaded the American School Counseling Association developmental
model program serving students in grades 9-12
❖ Counseled students and families addressing academic, career, and
personal/social needs, along with college and financial planning
❖ Worked on a problem solving team to assess appropriate level of services
❖ Trained and supervised counselor interns in counseling, crisis intervention,
documentation, data-collection, and the development of interventions
❖ Taught core counseling curriculum in classrooms and provide training for
professional staff, including teachers, student service personnel,
administrators, and support staff on an ongoing basis
❖ Collected and analyzed student growth data on academic progress,
Advanced Placement scores, class enrollment and standardized test scores
to assess achieving the gap needs and inform practices
❖ Led the Latino Family Night team, educating Spanish-speakers on career
pathways, postsecondary planning, issues related to youth development,
parent engagement and financial aid awareness through guest speakers
❖ Contributed to the development and implementation of career pathways
programming school-wide aligned to the 16 nationally recognized career
clusters
❖ Served on several interviewing teams for student services, educational
support staff and administrative positions
RELATED EXPERIENCE
Omni Youth Services
Outreach Counselor
❖ Linked clients to educational, medical, legal, and financial resources
❖ Supervised and enhanced programs at two sites: ESL classes, computer
classes, homework center, tutoring center, and a 4-6 week summer camp
❖ Provided crisis intervention in schools for Spanish speaking families
The Harbour
Counselor II
❖ Maintained a safe milieu for teen residents in a non-restraint facility
❖ Facilitated group discussions
❖ Communicated with teens’ guardians, educators, and physicians
2011 Illinois School Counselor
Association Annual Conference:
Sophomore Seminar-Using
Career Pathways and Technology
to Promote Secondary Success
2009 Illinois School Counselor
Association Annual Conference:
Counseling in a STEM for ALL
School
Illinois Counseling Association
Annual Conference: Parents
And Schools-Making the Move
from Huh? to Aha!
SKILLS
Fluent in Spanish; bilingual/bicultural;
Proctor for standardized testing;
Proficient with: Career Cruising
Naviance, Google docs, Schoology and
Remind; Trained in AVID teaching
strategies; Trained in ACCESS testing
ORGANIZATIONS
Illinois School Counselor Association
Illinois Counseling Association
SCHOOL BASED ACTIVITIES
Rolling Meadows High School:
AVID Site Team Member (2014-
present); Capital One Coders
Program Sponsor (2015); Bilingual
Parent Advisory Committee (2013-19);
Career Ready Data Retreat (2016);
Counselor Leadership Team (2017-19);
Parent Engagement Roundtable (2016);
Roundtable on Credit Recovery (2016);
Harper College Latino Summit
Committee (2013-15); Holmes Impact
Club (2014-15); Latino Family Program
Committee (2013-16); Latinos Unidos
Co-sponsor (2013-15); Student Services
Advisory Council Co-facilitator (2016)
Wheeling High School:
Badminton coach (2007-12); Counselor
Leadership Team (2006-12); Counselor
Evaluation Committee (2013); Latino
Club Co-sponsor (2011-13); Latino
Family Nights Committee (2006-13);
Harper College Latino Summit
Committee (2006-13); Lunch’n’Learn
Committee (2007-13); RAMP
Committee (2009-12); RAMP
Recognized School (2010); SADD
sponsor (2010-11); Snowball sponsor
(2011-13)