Kaitlin Chau

Kaitlin Chau is a counseling intern working with guidance counselor Richard Gorman. Prior to moving to Boston, she lived in San Diego, California, and attended University of California San Diego before attending Boston College for graduate school. In her free time, Chau enjoys reading.

What led you to counseling and the high school?
I’ve always wanted to be that person in the guidance suite that people who look like me can feel comfortable talking to. I feel like I wasn’t able to fully personally connect with anyone really until I was in college, so I wish I had that in high school when I was figuring out what I wanted to do with my life, and what better way to do that then at the high school. I’m from San Diego, California, so it feels very different on the surface level, but I wanted to come to the high school after hearing about all the great things, all the different support systems, and how students tend to thrive here. I was excited to see how a well-resourced school runs.

How are you dealing with the cold here in Massachusetts?
Everyone told me, “invest in a good jacket,” and “invest in warm shoes,” so I have all the equipment now, but I enjoy the blizzard days that I can watch it from my window in the comfort of my own home. That’s when the cold is bearable, not when I’m walking around with my face freezing and my ears feeling like they’re going to fall off.

How do you connect with your culture?
I used to hate having to eat porridge every morning with my family because I was like “it’s bland”, “it’s boring”, “it’s not a waffle with syrup”, but now I’m really missing it and I don’t know how to make it. It’s probably really easy to make porridge but I haven’t made it on my own before. Connecting with food for me has been helpful in reclaiming and redefining what being Chinese American means for me. A lot of the time it feels like your individual experiences are like just that – only you’re going through them – and only in college did I realize that I’m not the only one who’s gone through all these experiences. Not necessarily just with the struggles, but other fun things like, “Oh your family also does that?” So that connection with other people my age especially made it more personal for me.

What’s your favorite book?
I really like to read. I’ve always been a fan of fantasy and now that’s expanded to more contemporary books. I read the Harry Potter series for the first time this past summer so that’s been fun. I really like books that give me warm fuzzy feelings. The Percy Jackson series -those were the books that got me into reading and got me excited about reading. I’m very excited about the TV series, I have very high hopes for it.

Do you think you are more like a hamburger or a hot dog?
I want to say a hot dog. I feel like hamburgers can get complicated, and I try to keep everything simple and clear; having the mustard, relish, ketchup, that’s like it. Sometimes chili sauce, when I’m feeling fancy.