Elizabeth Cavallari, Director of College Counseling
Instant connection: just add hot chocolate
When I first started at HRA, I worried about building relationships with the current seniors. I wanted them to feel comfortable using me as a resource throughout the college application process, even though I was new. So I appealed to their hearts, and their stomachs, by bringing baked goods every Thursday. Little by little, seniors appeared in the College Counseling Office for a baked treat … then a baked treat and a question … then eventually a scheduled meeting to work on their application materials.
While I still love to bake (and homemade treats do still appear from time to time), this year hot chocolate has become the gateway for all students—not just seniors—to come into the College Counseling Office. Who knew that a Keurig, seasonally themed cups, and many Costco-sized boxes of hot chocolate would make such a difference? But they have.
Students come in to catch up, with each other and with me, and we are building meaningful relationships. At HRA, the goal is for our relationships to be authentic. We aim to create a space where students can come share good news, work through the bad, and ask the million questions that come with the college application process.
What’s happening in the College Counseling Office is happening all over HRA. Our Upper School counselor is available for quick chats about football and a bowl of candy. Our Dean of Students and AP English Lit teacher always has hot water for tea ready in her classroom for students to get at their leisure. Our Director of Admissions and varsity boys basketball coach has informal huddles with student-athletes who just like to check in with him. So when something important happens, it’s not just a face—it’s a person with whom the student already has a genuine connection.
These relationships also highlight what college prep really means beyond simply getting into college. It’s about being ready for college, not only academically, but socially and emotionally as well. It’s about learning to build relationships with professors, how to network, how to ask meaningful questions, and how to advocate for yourself.
And this year, in the College Counseling Office, it all starts with the magic of hot chocolate, a warm and comforting symbol of the support students find here.
Interested in helping support this initiative? The College Counseling Office always welcomes donations of hot chocolate packets.
