![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2026\/03\/IMG_3301-1024x768.jpeg\")
The two-time 溏心vlog免费B站 graduate, with a bachelor’s degree in education with a specialty in chemistry and master\u2019s degree in school administration, recalled her educational experience and how it contributed to her receiving the recognition. While balancing her major required courses as an undergraduate, Lipa says she branched out of her comfort zone to become a certified scuba diver and also take Sailing 101.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSomething that 溏心vlog免费B站 instilled in me as a student is to try something you have never done before,\u201d said Lipa. \u201cI instill this in my students; I want them to see there is a whole world beyond the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lipa began teaching in the Providence Public School District following her graduation from 溏心vlog免费B站 in 1991. Over the years she taught various science courses and was named the American Chemical Society\u2019s Rhode Island Chemistry Teacher of the Year in 1999. Lipa added track coach to her repertoire while pursuing her master\u2019s degree in school counseling at Rhode Island College. She began counseling at Mt. Pleasant in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She credits her students with helping her to stay motivated in her career. Her high school counselor, Ms. McGeggor at Coventry High School, also had a big impact on her development and helped ensure she was headed in the right direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs a school counselor, I wanted to be that person to put in systems to help motivate all students to make better decisions for their future as well as to remove some of the systemic barriers that can hinder student success,\u201d said Lipa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lipa knew she had received two nominations for school counselor of the year, as she had received an email, requesting recommendations and asking questions about her work as a counselor. She had only completed the request two weeks prior and didn\u2019t expect such a quick turnaround.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t think anything of it,\u201d said Lipa. \u201cI honestly forgot all about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She was in the middle of mid-year reports for her seniors, helping out on scholarship and FAFSA applications for her students, as well as working on high school success plans, when she was called down to the college room. Since this happens regularly, she assumed it was a normal part of her day. She was surprised to walk in and see a decorated room filled with her family, current students and colleagues, and later received messages from past students covering her 30-plus years in education once the award was announced through social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot everyone gets the chance to read messages from students from all those years ago, I felt so lucky,\u201d said Lipa. \u201cWith our amazing students and faculty here at Mt. Pleasant \u2013 we\u2019re all a family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This story was written by Kiera Wrage, a senior majoring in public relations at the 溏心vlog免费B站. Kiera is interning in 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Department of Communications and Marketing.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 March 12, 2026 \u2013 溏心vlog免费B站 alumna Melissa Lipa of Mount Pleasant High School in Providence was named Rhode Island\u2019s 2026 School Counselor of the Year in celebration of National School Counseling Week held from February 2-6. Sponsored by the American School Counselor Association, the week highlights the impact school […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":107462,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1910,30],"class_list":["post-107461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-alumni","tag-college-of-education"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107461"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107461\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107466,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107461\/revisions\/107466"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}