With the start of a new school year comes new staff members, bringing different voices and outlooks into Camas High School (CHS). Rachele Gentry is the new school psychologist, coming fresh out of college with a graduate from Central Washington University. She believes that all students should feel safe and comfortable at school, and wishes to ensure the happiness and wellbeing of all kids who she grows to know.

“This is my first time working at a school …it’s been a really welcoming community,” Gentry said. Although Camas High is the first school Gentry has ever worked in, she’s already making sure that she can relate to and help kids feel comfortable in the somewhat new environment of the classroom. “I’m really just excited to make one-on-one connections with students,” Gentry said.

Originally, Gentry comes from Georgia. She then moved to Florida where she grew up and became an undergraduate at Florida State. “I didn’t even know that school psychology was a thing until my junior year of college. When I heard about it, I thought that it was a really good way to combine my interests in education and psychology,” Gentry said. She went on to say that she’s always wanted to be a school psychologist since she found out what it was, and has now been licensed for about five months.

“I took AP psychology in high school and thought that the subject was really interesting. I’ve always been interested in why we do the things we do and how our brains work,” Gentry said. AP psychology is also a course provided at CHS, giving students the opportunity to discover interests they didn’t even know they had. “I thought about doing neuroscience for a long time, but that’s very science heavy,” Gentry said.

“Sometimes I just walk around the hallways just to see people and say hi … I’ve been going to GSA meetings to get involved,” Gentry said.