Amy Kanellis (BA ‘76/MA ‘80/EdS ’89) has never met a student she didn’t like.

“There is always something you can celebrate about them,” she said.

With her sunny disposition, the school counseling veteran has earned the respect of her coworkers at Iowa City’s West High School, fellow counselors, and, most importantly, the students she serves.

“She can relate to people our age, so that’s pretty cool,” said Jack Henaman, who began his senior year at West High this fall. “She knows what we’re going through. You can be yourself around her.”

Jessa Mangin, also a West High senior, said Kanellis can always cheer her up when things aren’t going right in school.

“She’s just really easy to talk to,” she said, “and she always says good things about people.”

Kanellis, an Iowa City native who has served a handful of area schools in her 30 years as a counselor, said she feels fortunate to have found a career that allows her to work with kids. Her office shows evidence of a positive, student-centered approach. Student art adorns one wall. Near the door is a mannequin dressed in a West High Trojan-green cap and gown. She lets students write words to live by, such as, “If you believe in yourself, anything is possible,” on the faceless white mannequin’s head and hands.

Kanellis’ counseling load is approximately 300 students each year. She also leads the Guided Achievement Program, which provides individualized assistance to students who are struggling with their core academics. She particularly enjoys working with students who do not automatically connect with school through the Guided Achievement Program and teaching in West High’s Success Center, which helps students develop more effective study and organizational skills.

“That’s a real love of mine—watching them come to the realization of the world that opens up to them once they’ve learned to learn,” she said.

Molly Abraham, assistant principal at West High, said Kanellis has a special gift for reaching students, especially those that might be labeled as “problem” students.

“She’s able to see past whatever walls kids put up,” Abraham said. “And she’s a kid magnet—they just flock to her office.”

Abraham said she admires Kanellis’ energy and positive spirit, noting that she attends a lot of school activities and even has her own laminating machine for saving and sharing newspaper clippings celebrating students’ achievements.

“She is a giving person and goes out of her way to let the students know she’s interested in them,” Abraham said.

Amber Swenson, a Language Arts teacher at West High, said Kanellis has a gift for seeing and fostering potential in kids.

“She makes so many things possible for her students,” she said. “She creates opportunities and possibilities and hopes and vision in her students by making them feel good about themselves, helping them become successful in their classes, and does it by not placing a label, degree, or definition on success.”