Hi everybody! I go by Mr. Tom. I was born in La Crosse, but my family moved away when I was about 4. We moved to a small city near Chicago, called DeKalb, where I grew up. After attending DeKalb High School, I graduated with a Bacherlor's in Psychology from Northern Illinois University (go Huskies!). At this point, I spent roughly 5 years working as a Paraprofessional at a local school for children with Autism and/or social/emotional disorders. Here, I realized that helping kids in a school setting was something that I really loved doing. I decided I wanted to pursue a career as a School Counselor. In 2018, I moved back to the area to attend Winona State University, where I received my Master's in School Counseling. During my time there, I was hired on to the De Soto team as a School Counseling Intern. After graduation, I happily accepted the position as De Soto's full-time School Counselor, and I am now in my 3rd year in the position. I have many hobbies outside of school. I enjoy watching sports (luckily, I became a Packers fan before I left for the Chicago area), and I love to play sports, too, as a member of several clubs and leagues in the La Crosse area. I'm also an avid reader, music concert enthusiast, and I love to travel (thank goodness for summers off!).
Feel free to reach out anytime. I'm happy to help with whatever I am able to. Thanks for reading!