Scott Guttentag, Dos Pueblos Activities Director and counselor, began his career at DP with a nonprofit which placed him specifically with students who were at risk of not graduating from high school. Scott worked in collaboration with the local runaway shelter, which opened his eyes to problems within our community and led him to drug and alcohol counseling for a diverse teenage group. This introduced Scott to the high school community and opened doors for future opportunities to work with students. Scott continued his work with a variety of nonprofits for about seven years, until he was hired to be a counselor at the school.
However, Scott didn’t have much interest in being an average high school counselor. He worked with At-Promise students, as part of an initiative to help facilitate student success and graduation, which intrigued him and developed his passion for assisting students in need. Working with At-Promise students allowed Scott to provide students the extra push toward graduation and their post-high school plans. Thirty-three years later, Scott said he is still doing what he loves most, and his passion for driving students toward success has only expanded.
Since then, Scott developed the seminar program, which aims to help student growth by ensuring all students who are struggling academically can get proper help and support. He also serves as the Activities Director, supervises the leadership class, and runs the Guided Studies program, designed to keep seniors on a path towards graduation. “I want them to kind of see other opportunities that they could potentially go to, and not eliminate college, but also not think that if they don’t go to college, that they’re not successful,” Scott said. He said he strives to provide assistance in students’ academic journeys, in addition to their personal success, and show his students that they have many opportunities and talents up their sleeves.
His love for Dos Pueblos is “something that comes natural[ly] to [him],” Scott says. When he was given the opportunity to be Dos Pueblos’ Activities Director, one of his main goals was to ensure that every student at the school had something for them – whether it be through a club, sport, class, or any other activity offered that suits their interest. Over the course of the past 33 years, Scott has done his best to reach his goals and make Dos Pueblos feel like a welcoming and versatile place for everyone.
“I really love what I do. And so it’s not like coming to school is work. I just love coming and doing what I do,” Scott said.