Recognizing Mr. Kelly

In addition to selecting an above and beyond teacher as Teacher of the Year, Gateway also honors a Gateway staff member yearly as Professional of the Year. This year’s recipient was middle school guidance counselor, Mr. Kelly!

Mr. Kelly has been a Gateway employee for nine years now, but wasn’t always a counselor. He was an aide, a teacher, and a soccer coach all before making the shift into the Guidance Department. With this, Mr. Kelly has seen Gateway from many different perspectives, which is very rewarding when you think about it. All of Mr. Kelly’s experiences working with students in different forms culminated to help him be successful in listening and understanding the students he now meets with as a guidance counselor.

He decided to make the move to guidance after majoring in elementary education and realizing during student teaching that the job wasn’t for him.

He shared, “I wanted to transition to a role still within a school that I could make a difference in, and being a counselor was just that.”

Because of his long run as a Gateway employee, Mr. Kelly could not pick just one favorite memory. His top memories include being selected as a Teacher’s Choice Representative, being offered the position of Middle School Counselor, and beating Schalick on the road in penalty kicks during his first ever soccer season as the varsity coach. Mr. Kelly is also grateful to work closely at Gateway with so many friends and mentors that make every day an adventure.

Mr. Kelly loves watching his students realize their own successes. He shared that, as a counselor, it is the most rewarding when students of his get to brag about getting into a long shot university or making it through a difficult class. It is so important for students to recognize and celebrate their successes, especially if it took a lot of grit to succeed. Mr. Kelly is happy to help students get to this point.

While being a great guidance counselor is one of Mr. Kelly’s top priorities, outside of school he loves spending time with his wife and two daughters. Specifically, he enjoys watching his children play hockey, soccer, t-ball, and dance. Mr. Kelly is a huge “sports dad,” so he is glad his daughters enjoy them as well. He golfs, fishes, and plays adult hockey on Tuesdays. He even has season tickets for the Philadelphia Union soccer team.

Being a guidance counselor is not always easy, but, as Mr. Kelly shared, the strong Gateway community is integral to the success of Gateway students. Mr. Kelly is proud to be a Gator and is thankful for the help of the Gateway community, specifically the families and outside services, that help make Gateway so strong.

Congratulations, Mr. Kelly!