A few minutes with ... Courtney Hatch Blauvelt

Ms. Hatch Blauvelt is the Director of College Counseling at MHS. She grew up in nearby Great Barrington, earned a master’s degree in school counseling from the University of Massachusetts Boston, and joined Miss Hall’s in 2017. Horizons Media Team member Dorothy Shi ’22 recently caught up with Ms. H.

• How did you come to Miss Hall’s?
I had a career in college financial aid and wanted to work in schools, but I didn’t want to teach, so it was recommended to me by one of my friends, who worked in the Admissions Office at MHS, that I consider becoming a college counselor at Miss Hall’s.

• What’s the difference between the first year you came here and this year?
This year is definitely a huge difference, mostly because of COVID-19, which makes it hard to see others. Also, students and faculty aren’t coming and going like usual. However, the most important things haven't changed, like being part of a supportive community and getting to help students figure out what they want to do after they leave Miss Hall’s.

• What is something that has made the biggest impression on you since coming to Miss Hall’s?
The most impressive thing was to see the college process from the students’ and families’ perspectives. Furthermore, I remember that when I was introduced to the senior class on my first day at MHS, I asked the seniors what I should know about the School. One of the answers they gave to me was surprising: They said I should definitely know about the Snake DanceThe evening before Commencement, the outgoing senior class presents each incoming senior with their new blazer in the Snake Dance Ceremony. Returning alumnae perform the Snake Dance every year at Reunion., one of the traditions of the seniors.

• What advice would you give to someone new to MHS?
One of the pieces of advice I give is to “prepare yourself to let students surprise you.”

• What advice do you have for students and/or graduates?
Where you go is not who you will be. You are the master of yourself, so only you can decide your future. Where you go is less important than who you are and what you'll do when you get there.