Career guidance specialist, Julie Van Vacter, retires after nearly 20 years

For nearly 20 years, Julie Van Vacter served as the the career guidance specialist at La Quinta High School, making sure that students and staff alike have felt supported with college applications and testing. Recently, however, Van Vacter made the decision to retire from her position.

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Courtesy of Julie Van Vacter

Julie Van Vacter served as the career guidance specialist for nearly 20 years before retiring in December 2021.

Question: How long did you work at La Quinta High School?

Julie Van Vacter: Just under 20 years. I started in February of 2002. 

Q: So you weren’t a teacher—you had more of a faculty job, yes?

JV: Yeah, I was a classified employee. The position of career guidance specialist is a classified employee, not a certificate. So, I wasn’t a teacher. 

Q: What did you do in that position?

JV: I assisted students in filling out their college applications, filling out the FAFSA, and filling out job applications. I set up all the presentations with college reps in the Career Center. The Career Center used to have its own room, not in the office. I maintained the Career Center. A lot of what I did was heavily involved in all the state testing and stuff—so often, that took up a lot of my time. But I was mainly there to assist students with college and their college and career goals. 

Q: What are you going to miss about the school?

JV: I will miss getting to know the students and I’ll miss the staff that I worked there with—all those people for all of this time—but I will really miss the students.

Q: So, what are your plans for now?

JV: Well, my immediate thing is to try to get healthier. The reason I left now was for health reasons, otherwise, I would have stayed a few more years. But I just want to relax. I’m here with my mom and my husband. I want to help take care of my mom. My husband, I was just able to get him here because he’s from another country. So now we get to spend time together and it’s great. 

We really never know how we impact people. And sometimes it’s students that we don’t even realize that we impacted them.

— Julie Van Vacter

Q: What impact would you like to leave behind?

JV: Well, the main thing, while I was there, I told the staff the other day that I really hope that I made a difference in the lives of some of the students. We really never know how we impact people. And sometimes it’s students that we don’t even realize that we impacted them. And the other thing is that, when I was there, I always wanted my career center to be a place where students felt comfortable. I wanted them to know that they could come in there and that it was a safe space for them. And that, you know, that, at least, was one place they could come. And if they couldn’t go anywhere else, they could come into the career center.

Q: What impact do you think you had on LQHS?

JV: Teachers who have been there a long time… I wonder what they think about me helping them with the testing because I used to organize that and try to make it easier for them. I would give them extra instructions, try to simplify everything instead of making the teachers figure it out. I had everything organized and the teachers doing testing would always appreciate it. Now we have a lot of newer teachers who I haven’t worked with within that capacity, but I know there are the long-term teachers who think of me when they think of testing. That’s where I left my impact, with the teachers.

Interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. 

To read about recently retired Blackhawk staff and faculty, click here