You know what they say: when you know, you know! Mrs. Kristina Bisceglia is the newest member of the Mount counseling department, and after our discussion with her, we know she is a perfect fit for our community!
Mrs. Bisceglia shared that she was incredibly drawn to MSDA, as it “checked all the boxes” for her. One of the main things that she wanted was to be in a position where she was able to empower and enable young women to be the best version of themselves, and what better way to do so than at an all-girls school like the Mount! She also said that wished to be a counselor in a Catholic school, so that she could also aid students in their spiritual and religious journeys. Finally, she knew she wanted to work with adolescents. To say the least, her wishes have definitely been fulfilled at the Mount, and we are so happy to have a counselor that has found everything she wanted at our school!
While MSDA has everything that Mrs. Bisceglia was looking for career-wise, it took her a while to get to this point. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Central Florida, and her graduate degree from Montclair State University. She shared that she worked in health for fifteen years as an assistant practice manager for a plastic surgery private practice. She shared that her reasoning for being in healthcare is because she has a love and passion for helping others, which she developed after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in science. However, she eventually decided to transfer to counseling, as it was focused even more on helping people, in comparison to her administrative duties working in healthcare.
Mrs. Bisceglia brings a unique set of skills in her role as a counselor at MSDA. She enjoys being at the Mount because it is smaller, and she gets to know everyone individually, more personally and create connections with her students. She was previously a counselor at Seton Hall Preparatory School; however, she felt as if her time was constrained due to having a larger student population there. She appreciates the smaller student population here, giving her more time to work with our young women.
Outside of school, Mrs. Bisceglia enjoys spending time with her 11-month-old daughter, Sofia, who has become her primary focus these days – outside of school! Before motherhood, however, she shared that she loved baking and reading books on the beach. Mrs. Bisceglia also shared that her all time favorite hobby is listening to Christian music, and turns out she is actually musically inclined herself! She told us how she uses GarageBand, a music software program, to download beats, write lyrics, and produce her own songs! She keeps a library of all her work, and revealed that she used to enjoy playing acoustic guitar and keyboard. When asked if she would be interested in pursuing any of her musical talents at the Mount, Mrs. Bisceglia said that she could definitely see herself participating in a Band Club coffeehouse, and maybe share her passion for music and self-written songs with Mounties in the future.
We spoke with Mrs. Bisceglia about our Four Pillars (Prayer, Community, Study and Mission) and which seemed most important to her, to which she responded that all of them have their importance, but the most notable one to her is prayer. She emphasized that to her, prayer is the most important, stating: “I would say, prayer is personally the most important. There are so many benefits to prayer. Studies say that when people are praying, there is a noticeable brain reaction.” Although prayer is her number one choice of importance, she says gracious things about the other three pillars, such as how service is beneficial to others and yourself; how it boosts your confidence and values and how study is also important, community and sense of belonging.
As our conversation with Mrs. Bisceglia was coming to a close, we decided to finish out our interview with a question that we were both wondering ourselves: From a counselor’s perspective, what skills do you think are most important for students to develop during their high school years? After a long reflection, she shared that she believed executive functioning was the most vital skill, as it includes time management and organizational skills. She said how it is something that transcends adulthood, and is nothing short of a very important skill set to have under your belt.
School Principal Dr. Karen D’Avino, shared a bit about her experience with Mrs. Bisceglia as well, and said how she “really appreciates that she is making a lot of effort to get to know her students.” Dr. D’Avino complimented Mrs. Bisceglia’s ability to get right into the swing of things, and how she has been working cooperatively with two other guidance counselors to “get to know how we do things here at the Mount.”
It is no surprise that Mrs. Bisceglia is so highly regarded, as the passion and dedication she puts into her work and her students is impossible to miss. She is most definitely a perfect fit for the Mount, and we are so grateful for the newest member of our guidance department – and our school community!
