Who is Ms. Mandujano? Well to start, she is the BEST counselor you would ever meet. She has been,by far, the most helpful person in our lives as seniors, as she has been very helpful and supportive with the whole process of applying to colleges and applying for financial assistance. Something that makes Ms. Mandujano unique is that she has so much patience for us, she has not ever made us feel pressured in any way or form. On the contrary, she is such a comforting genuine, considerate, and hardworking person. There are infinite words to describe Ms.Mandujano, but if we had to settle on one it would be “great.” We admire her so much. She spent so much time helping us and listening to our problems, that we decided to create some interview questions to get to know Ms. Mandujano better.

Did your family’s culture or background influence who you are now? 

“In some ways. One of the ways would be about giving love and being respectful, that's a cultural norm to be respectful and put love into the world. I learned to change as I got older.” 

What inspired you to become a counselor at Neuwirth?

“I thought I wanted to be a nurse. I knew that I wanted to help people but during my 2nd year of college; I found myself helping people in different ways, mostly for educational purposes. I chose this school because I wanted to stay here in LA. Overall, it was mostly because of the community. I want to stay because of the community.”

What's your favorite thing about Neuwirth? 

“My favorite thing about Neuwirth is the students. They make it easy to look forward to coming to work.”

If your house were to catch on fire, what item(s) would you save? 

“My 2 dogs, Evie and Roxy, because they would be scared.”

What were some challenges you faced throughout your life that motivated you?

“Being first gen is a challenge in itself going to college because I'm the oldest and I didn't have anyone to tell me what to expect and this placed a lot of challenges being independent. This taught me that it was ok to ask for help if I needed it. When I went to college I had to ask for help choosing my classes and tutoring because I was afraid to fall behind.”

What is one concert that you REALLY want to go to?

“DANG! That's a hard one. But I think a concert that I really want to go to is Tomorrow Land in Belgium.” 

Do you have any hidden talents or unique skills?

“I'm really good at UNO, I'm pretty competitive in that game and I usually win.”

What is a certain dish from your culture that you really value and why?

“Mole. I used to not like it as a child, but as I got older I saw how much time and dedication it takes to make this dish to prepare everything. The love and labor that my mom puts into this food made it become my favorite dish that she makes.”

What is something you wish to accomplish that you haven’t yet?

“I want to go to the concert in Belgium, I also want to go to Europe one day to see the Eiffel Tower or to go to Spain or Italy.”

Who do you look up to and why?

“I look up to my dad because I see how hard he works just to provide for my siblings and me. I also look up to my mom because she always pushes me to try my very best and she listens. That is a trait that goes a long way because I can just sit down and talk to her about how I feel.”

If you were to go back in time, and you were able to choose your career all over again, would you still choose to be a counselor here at Neuwirth?

“YESSS! I love being a school counselor. I love my job because students make it fun to come to work.”

It was a pleasure interviewing Ms. Mandujano. We think she is wonderful, and we aren’t the only ones who think this way. 

School Social Worker, Mr.Diaz, describes Ms.Mandujano as patient: “She's a good balance in our counseling team. Despite the challenges, she brings calmness to the team and gets us through the events and support we provide to students. She's helpful and always willing to support others, which helps us as a team because we know we can count on her. She’s very invested in the counseling field; she is so dedicated to helping our students here way more.” 

Assistant Principal, Mr. McKinney, describes Ms. Manduajno as a cheerful person: “She always brings a lot of joy, I've never seen her angry or upset, and she's always positive. I appreciate her energy, and her good vibes all the time. It’s no wonder she was named Alliance Counselor of the Year, two years ago. Ms Mandujano cares about the kids she works with and always makes sure they have the best support.” 

Mr. Diaz and Mr.Mckinney also think there aren't enough words in the dictionary to describe how amazing Ms.Mandujano is, but if we had to choose one word to describe her it would be: Magnificent. You should give her a visit - trust us you will not regret meeting her. She will be supportive and helpful in anything, even the smallest things that you may think don’t have importance. 

On behalf of the class of 2024, we want to say “thank you” and “we love you” to Ms.Mandujano, a magnificent counselor and person.