--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I attended a high school with more than…" description: "\"I attended a high school with more than 4,000 students and met with a guidance counselor only once during my four-year stint. Despite my clear strength..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c19/peggy-johnson-9057_advice_i-attended-a-high-school-with-more-than_2492187.jpg" --- # I attended a high school with more than 4,000 students and… ![“I attended a high school with more than 4,000 students and met with a guidance counselor only once during my four-year stint. Despite my clear strengths in science and math, my counselor's advice was to pursue a degree in business. A career in engineering was never encouraged nor, in fact, ever…” quote by Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c19/peggy-johnson-9057_advice_i-attended-a-high-school-with-more-than_2492187.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c19/peggy-johnson-9057_advice_i-attended-a-high-school-with-more-than_2492187.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c19/peggy-johnson-9057_advice_i-attended-a-high-school-with-more-than_2492187.jpg) > “I attended a high school with more than 4,000 students and met with a guidance counselor only once during my four-year stint. Despite my clear strengths in science and math, my counselor's advice was to pursue a degree in business. A career in engineering was never encouraged nor, in fact, ever mentioned.” [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A student felt ignored by guidance counseling, receiving generic advice despite strong STEM abilities, leading to missed opportunities in engineering. **In simple terms:** Counselor gave generic business advice, ignoring STEM strengths. Key Takeaway Seek mentors who understand your strengths. Themes education career guidance STEM misalignment advocacy Mood frustrated determined hopeful Type advice personal experience When to use this quote - high school - college applications - career planning - student mentorship Key Concepts counseling bias career pathways self‑advocacy Questions to Reflect On - How can students find alternative guidance? - What systems can improve counseling relevance? A Different Perspective Counselor may have limited resources or bias, not intentional neglect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advice/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Counselor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counselor/) [Counselor Advice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counselor-advice-976279/) [Counselor Year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counselor-year-976280/) [Guidance counselor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guidance-counselor/) [High school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-school/) [Math Counselor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/math-counselor-976281/) [Mentorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mentorship/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [Never compare your inside with somebody else's outside. -Gabe Singleton remembering his counselor's first advice-](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palmer/never-compare-your-inside-with-somebody-else-s-outside-gabe-singleton/) [Michael Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palmer/) > [I think I was in high school, actually, and it was a guidance counselor or someone said, you know, you're just too loud; like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/i-think-i-was-in-high-school-actually-and-it-was-a-guidance-counselor/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [A symptomatic example of the way in which violence has saturated everyday life can be seen in the increased acceptance of criminalizing the behavior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/a-symptomatic-example-of-the-way-in-which-violence-has-saturated/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [When I was a kid, I thought I was going to be an architect, because when I was 12 years old I had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-yankovic/when-i-was-a-kid-i-thought-i-was-going-to-be-an-architect-because/) [Al Yankovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-yankovic/) > [“And maybe on the first day of school I’ll tell the guidance counselor I want to go to college after all so I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-lee/and-maybe-on-the-first-day-of-school-i-ll-tell-the-guidance-counselor/) [E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-lee/) > [I went to Amherst because my brother had gone there before me, and he went there because his guidance counselor thought that we would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stiglitz/i-went-to-amherst-because-my-brother-had-gone-there-before-me-and-he/) [Joseph Stiglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stiglitz/) > [Bridget who is crazy said that sometimes she thought about suicide when commercials come on during TV. She was sincere and this puzzled the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/bridget-who-is-crazy-said-that-sometimes-she-thought-about-suicide/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [“You're perfect just the way you are...is what your guidance counselor says. And she's an alcoholic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/you-re-perfect-just-the-way-you-are-is-what-your-guidance-counselor/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [God looks like a guidance counselor, God's got that smile. God says, 'How could this be? That's really odd I guess I'll have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dar-williams/god-looks-like-a-guidance-counselor-god-s-got-that-smile-god-says-how/) [Dar Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dar-williams/) > [“Are you being a guidance counselor again? Stop playing with your food.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hunter/are-you-being-a-guidance-counselor-again-stop-playing-with-your-food/) [Elizabeth Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hunter/) > [That was a mistake, I guess, going out to California. They have these things called guidance counselors in high school. They drink a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/that-was-a-mistake-i-guess-going-out-to-california-they-have-these/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [I was born and raised in Pawnee City, Nebraska. I lived right next to the sale barn and I raised pigs. My dad was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-the-cable-guy/i-was-born-and-raised-in-pawnee-city-nebraska-i-lived-right-next-to/) [Larry the Cable Guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-the-cable-guy/) > [Wow,” says Peter, “when your guidance counselor tells you to die, you really have problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-selzer/wow-says-peter-when-your-guidance-counselor-tells-you-to-die-you/) [Adam Selzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-selzer/) > [“We are not perfect. We are here to learn. Earth is one big classroom and God is our heavenly guidance counselor and teacher.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-friedenfeld/we-are-not-perfect-we-are-here-to-learn-earth-is-one-big-classroom/) [Molly Friedenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-friedenfeld/) > [I wanted to get out of Ashland, and I thought it would be pretty cool to go to school in the East. So I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/i-wanted-to-get-out-of-ashland-and-i-thought-it-would-be-pretty-cool/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) ## More by Peggy Johnson > [We're thrilled that our partnership with Adobe has now grown to span our three clouds - Microsoft Azure, Office 365, and Dynamics 365 -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-johnson/we-re-thrilled-that-our-partnership-with-adobe-has-now-grown-to-span/) [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) > [Gaming provides us with some very good signals about consumers and what they're interested in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-johnson/gaming-provides-us-with-some-very-good-signals-about-consumers-and/) [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) > [My parents had two rules: You had to go to college, and you had to pay for it yourself. So we all did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-johnson/my-parents-had-two-rules-you-had-to-go-to-college-and-you-had-to-pay/) [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) > [As a college freshman with an on-campus job, I was delivering paperwork to the engineering department one day. There, I encountered two department assistants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-johnson/as-a-college-freshman-with-an-on-campus-job-i-was-delivering/) [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) > [I spend a lot of time in the Valley. I'm probably down there every other week or so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-johnson/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-in-the-valley-i-m-probably-down-there-every/) [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) > [Great things happen when you converge services and devices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-johnson/great-things-happen-when-you-converge-services-and-devices/) [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) > [Access to the Internet is an essential tool for equipping students with 21st century skills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-johnson/access-to-the-internet-is-an-essential-tool-for-equipping-students/) [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) > [If a company has a navigation system or a database or a virtual assistant they like better, Microsoft will meet them in the middle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-johnson/if-a-company-has-a-navigation-system-or-a-database-or-a-virtual/) [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) > [Business development is a part of M&A - we identify signals in the market, whether its trends or disruptive technology, and bring them back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-johnson/business-development-is-a-part-of-m-a-we-identify-signals-in-the/) [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) > [I spent almost 25 years at Qualcomm before joining Microsoft, so in a sense, I grew up at one company. During that time, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-johnson/i-spent-almost-25-years-at-qualcomm-before-joining-microsoft-so-in-a/) [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) > [Valuations are always much-debated. I try to center on what is the value to us. Is it solving a problems for us? If it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-johnson/valuations-are-always-much-debated-i-try-to-center-on-what-is-the/) [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) > [The opportunity to build new and surprising partnerships to help Microsoft succeed in a mobile-first, cloud-first world is truly exciting, and I look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-johnson/the-opportunity-to-build-new-and-surprising-partnerships-to-help/) [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) > [Do one thing well, and then build from there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-johnson/do-one-thing-well-and-then-build-from-there/) [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) > [Cyanogen has done an interesting job with their version of Android - the Cyanogenmod. And they're on 50-million-plus devices. And that's just another ecosystem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-johnson/cyanogen-has-done-an-interesting-job-with-their-version-of-android/) [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) > [I envision a world where our smartphone is central to our lives in a non-obtrusive and intelligent way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-johnson/i-envision-a-world-where-our-smartphone-is-central-to-our-lives-in-a/) [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) [Explore all 75 Peggy Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) ## More Advice quotes > [The sensible person is always serious about sensible advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/the-sensible-person-is-always-serious-about-sensible-advice/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [I ask for tips, for advice. What I have also learnt is that I need to do things that are good for me. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthijs-de-ligt/i-ask-for-tips-for-advice-what-i-have-also-learnt-is-that-i-need-to/) [Matthijs de Ligt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthijs-de-ligt/) > [Don't get too attached to someone you know you can't be together with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/don-t-get-too-attached-to-someone-you-know-you-can-t-be-together-with/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [A low-minded person should not be given good advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanakya/a-low-minded-person-should-not-be-given-good-advice/) [Chanakya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanakya/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [When I was in my twenties and just so sexually prolific, the first time I went to Machu Picchu, this guy, a spiritual teacher,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/when-i-was-in-my-twenties-and-just-so-sexually-prolific-the-first/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [The best way to succeed in this world is to act on the advice you give to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/the-best-way-to-succeed-in-this-world-is-to-act-on-the-advice-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [Time is priceless. You have it, but you don't own it. You spend it, but you can't keep it. And once it's gone, there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/time-is-priceless-you-have-it-but-you-don-t-own-it-you-spend-it-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You don't need to take a persons advice to make him feel good, just ask him for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/you-don-t-need-to-take-a-persons-advice-to-make-him-feel-good-just/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) > [Some of the things that we hold onto the most, are the things that we need to let go of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryaj-ablando-catayas/some-of-the-things-that-we-hold-onto-the-most-are-the-things-that-we/) [Ryaj Ablando Catayas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryaj-ablando-catayas/) > [“If your clothes are enough to drive would-be friends away, they're not the kind of friends you want." Typical mother advice. Sweet, honest, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aprilynne-pike/if-your-clothes-are-enough-to-drive-would-be-friends-away-they-re-not/) [Aprilynne Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aprilynne-pike/) > [“My kingdom not for a horse, but for a good piece of advice!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/my-kingdom-not-for-a-horse-but-for-a-good-piece-of-advice/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I always advise people not to act upon the advice that I give them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/i-always-advise-people-not-to-act-upon-the-advice-that-i-give-them/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [ \[A\]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/a-s-you-partake-of-the-world-s-bill-of-fare-that-s-darned-good-advice/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [My relationship with Ibrahimovic was completely neutral. He is not the type of player to approach the younger players and give them advice. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-coman/my-relationship-with-ibrahimovic-was-completely-neutral-he-is-not-the/) [Kingsley Coman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-coman/) [Browse all 8,535 Advice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I attended a high school with more than 4,000 students and met with a guidance counselor only once during my four-year stint. Despite my clear strengths in science and math, my counselor's advice was to pursue a degree in business. 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