Benjamin Moua joined Amador Valley High School after working as a counselor in the Stockton Unified District, serving students K-8th grade. He has been a counselor for 6 years, and this is his first time being a high school counselor. 

Responses are official statements from Moua, and were edited for length and clarity.

Can you introduce yourself and your role at Amador?

My name is Mr. Ben Moua. I’m a high school counselor serving students with last names A-CH at Amador. 

What did you pursue in college?

I attended Fresno State and I originally went to college undeclared and then jumped around majors for a few years. I tried social work, liberal studies, and then eventually graduated with a sociology degree. 

I always knew that I wanted to work in education and always wanted to work with students. Teaching wasn’t really my thing because I felt more comfortable working with smaller group sizes and I found that counseling was a very good fit for me because I prefer the one-on-ones, the small group interactions, and just the type of work that counselors do in supporting students. 

Why Amador?

I chose Amador because I wanted to come to the Tri-Valley and I’ve had a good experience in the Tri-Valley and when the opportunity to apply for Amador Valley came up, I didn’t want to miss the chance to be here in the Tri-Valley and be here in Pleasanton and just to really give the best experience I can as a high school counselor. 

First impressions?

The students are really great and the students are really persistent and inviting. It’s been a great experience so far. 

Favorite part of counseling?

My favorite part about being a counselor is having a wonderful counseling team to work with and having great students to talk with and engage with. The best experience so far is just being here everyday and getting to meet students and getting to know them. I want to get to know as many students as I can and really just try to build as many strong relationships as I can. 

Any advice for current students?

Take the time to balance yourselves out. Mental health is just as important as academics so don’t stress too hard about always trying to be the best in the class. Take time to take care of  yourselves, take a break, whatever you need.