Pamela Hunnisett
Career & Academic Advisor

I am a passionate, lifelong learner who loves to read, research, take courses, write, create and attend theatre, garden, camp, walk, hike, bike, and travel the world. I am consummately filled with curiosity, wonder, and hope. I seek a full-time position in a High School or University as a Career and Academic Advisor.
My current positions - as a high school Inclusion Facilitator and English teacher - are fast-paced and challenging, which I approach with positivity and determination to help all students succeed to the best of their ability. My space is both inspiring and a refuge where students find achievement, academic engagement, and a place to belong.  
I am an idealist - someone who always seeks the best in each student and each colleague, who quests to reveal potential while being a supportive, empathetic listener and problem-solver when challenges arise. I embody the helping skills required of a high school guidance counsellor: empathy, respect, warmth, and genuineness. I learn quickly, work hard, and am adaptable to new challenges in order to meet the needs of a diverse variety of learners.  I love working with both teens and adults, helping them to develop their skills and efficacy, to achieve success (whatever success looks like for them), and to realize their potential. 
My personal world is also occupied with academic pursuits and post-secondary institutions, for I am married to a mathematics professor at the University of Calgary, which has exposed me to the realities and opportunities with a variety of post-secondary experiences and lifestyles across Canada, the US, Europe, and Argentina.  I am also a mother to two young adults - one studying Software Engineering at the University of Calgary (2nd year) and one pursuing Fine Arts at Alberta University of the Arts (1st year) - so my home reality is well-experienced with the challenges teens face in both academics and career possibilities: choosing secondary courses to align with future goals; post-secondary programming, requirements, and applications; scholarships, grants, and loans; gap year experiences, programs, and opportunities; and employment.  Further to this - as a Grade 12 teacher for most of my 26 years of teaching (including adult education), I've kept in touch with many alumni and learned from their own academic and career journeys - all of this provides me with a solid foundation of knowledge and experience. 

Presently, in the role of Inclusion Facilitator, I have spent the last few year working with students and families who face some challenges academically (learning disabilities, ADHD, ASD, executive functioning, mental health, behavioural, medical issues, etc....). I truly understand and empathize with the needs of students and families who have questions, concerns, and confusions about how to navigate these teen academic years while transitioning into post-secondary studies and adulthood.  These past few years have reinforced my goal to work in the heart of student services as the guidance counsellor to support the success of all students.