Most students know Jon Miale as a familiar face from the counseling center, but his roles in the school extend much further.
Miale has been a school counselor at Commack High School since February of 2021. However, he didn’t always know that counseling would be his career path. After initially studying business and communications, he would later obtain a master’s degree in school counseling.
“It was the best decision I ever made. I did have a career prior to working in education that, I’ll be honest, it was a great experience. It’s made me who I am today, but it’s something that I didn’t want to do for decades of my life and now I truly feel [that] I don’t have a job. I wake up excited to come [to work] everyday,” said Miale.
Prior to his career, Miale’s family friend, who worked as a guidance counselor, inspired his choice to go into the profession.
“He always had this great personality. He was always so positive and he always spoke so beautifully about what he did and something that always sat with me was always [his belief of] ‘why would I ever retire, I love what I do,’” said Miale.
An aspect of counseling that holds particular significance to Miale is being able to guide freshmen and watch their growth until graduation.
“The real fun of it is watching them grow through ninth grade, until the time when their name is called, when they ultimately graduate on our field,” said Miale.
In addition to his duties in the counseling center, Miale enthusiastically serves as the adviser of the Special Olympics Support Club. He took on this role due to his own experiences with the Special Olympics and his relationship with his mentor, Donald Graham.
“There was no stopping me, that was what I wanted to do and it’s been great because I get to work with not just students in my case load, but students across the board, as well as students [with] varied levels of abilities,” said Miale.
Miale’s relationship with special needs students extends beyond just the Special Olympics, as he serves as the assistant coach of the unified basketball and bowling teams.
“Seeing […] some of those students who maybe wouldn’t have that typical varsity athletic experience gain that through those unified sports is just incredible,” said Miale.
In addition, Miale also serves as the school’s AP Coordinator and the coach of the middle school baseball team. All of these roles require Miale to manage his commitments and time wisely, a situation that many of his students also face.
“I’m a big fan of being proactive, not reactive, and I often times say to students ‘don’t overextend yourself’[…] and I have to do a good job of practicing what I preach because I preach that to my students and I’ll be honest, when I look in the mirror sometimes I’m not practicing as much as I can. But I think what it comes down to is the time management [and] organization […],” said Miale.
Even with the challenges that may come with having so many roles in the school, Miale emphasizes that the need for positivity is crucial.
“I think the running joke around Commack here at this point is ‘have you seen Mr. Miale with his list?’ [I] always have a notepad, I always have my list. […] The biggest part is just being organized, being patient, and always trying to stay positive,” said Miale.
Since Miale is just five years into his career at CHS, he has no plans to change his role at any point in the future.
“I hope to be in this office 25 years from now. […] I want to stay here until I can’t do it anymore. […] I don’t necessarily envision me changing [my role] anytime soon, but you never know what the future brings,” said Miale.
From his office, to the Special Olympics, to the middle school baseball field, Miale has cemented his place in the Commack community.
