The start of the 2018-2019 school year has brought about some surprising changes to the environment that we are all accustomed to—most specifically to our staff and faculty. ACP has expanded considerably in our population size this year and with that, we are proud to welcome the arrival of our new school counselors: Mr. Vezzosi and Mrs. Vitton.

My interest peaked when I heard of the new counselors, and I was determined to learn more about Mr. Vezzosi and Mrs. Vitton. I sought them out, and eventually, I was given the opportunity to sit down with the two and interview them:

Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your yourself and life?

Mr. Vezzosi: I grew up in Detroit, Michigan and moved out here to Arizona when I was eighteen. I’ve coached and taught for twenty years. I have three daughters, and have been married for seventeen years. I have a junior at Seaton Catholic, one at Oakland, and one who is three years old.

Mrs. Vitton: I grew up in Chicago, and I’m one of five kids. I went to Notre Dame and went to a program through the University of Portland called Alliance of Catholic Education, where we taught for two years in the South, because they really needed teachers. I moved here about five years ago, and this is my twenty-first year in education. I have three children as well—two girls and a boy—and I’m excited to be here in Erie.

Q: Did you always want to become a school counselor? If not, what was your original intentions when enrolling in college?

Mr. Vezzosi: I studied psychology as my undergraduate, and that’s when I really decided I wanted to be a head coach. I thought counseling was a good mix between coaching and education, which led me to my doctorate’s in performance psychology. I haven’t coached in a couple years, but I really enjoy the counseling of students, and that’s been my passion for a long time.

Mrs. Vitton: I studied psychology as an undergraduate at Notre Dame. My mom was a teacher, and I knew about that occupation, so I was exposed to that. I thought that counseling was a nice mix between psychology and teaching. So, that’s why I decided to be a counselor, because I love psychology.

Q: What are the highlights in your life?

Mr. Vezzosi: One thing that stands out to me is, once again, my family, obviously. My three daughters, my wife, and my two brothers are important to me. I lost both parents within a year of each other, and one thing I can tell you that I remember more than anything was something we used to do. There was a resort out on Lake Michigan, and we used to go back every summer. It was kind of like those old resorts, and it’s still there. That’s a memory that I have that’s important to my life.

Mrs. Vitton: I would say my family. I’m one of five kids, and I have a twin sister, so my twin sister is important to me. My family, my husband, and my three children are important to me. We grew up going to Michigan, which is about an hour from Chicago, to a place on a lake. That’s kind of a special place for me to go back. We still get back there once a year.

Q: Finally, how do you hope to inspire our students for the future?

Mr. Vezzosi: I think most students have gotten the hard work part of it down, but I would always like to make sure that they doesn’t settle. And when I say don’t settle, I mean to not settle by what somebody tells them to, or they don’t settle for something they don’t want to do because they’re told to do it. I think it’s important that they settle for what they want, and that it’s important to reach for what they want to do. Don’t ever settle.

Mrs. Vitton: I think—kind of going with that—is just respecting yourself and who you are. It’s important to celebrate who you are as a person, and just be happy and proud of who you are as a person. Push yourself to be the best person you can and don’t worry about the judgement of others. That’s what I hope to inspire.

Mr. Vezzosi and Mrs. Vitton, welcome to the ACP community, and we hope you have an amazing time here with our Knights.