Ms Ellen Clarke, one of GHS’s guidance counselors, has announced that she will be retiring after 19 years of working at GHS. 

Clarke got her undergraduate degree at Loyola University Maryland, studying psychology. After college, she worked for an insurance company in Boston, until she decided that she wanted to start a family.

“I had the opportunity to just take some time off, and then I realized I wanted to go back into education,” Clarke said.

She got her masters degree at Salem State University, and worked at Ipswich High School for 6 years before she came here. When her children started to go there, she decided it was better that her three sons had their own space, and left. She took a job at GHS, and the rest is history.

Clarke cites her husband’s retirement as her main motivation for retiring herself, as well as wanting to spend time with her family. 

“I have a granddaughter now, and I’d love to spend more time with her. When you’re working all day, it’s tough to spend time with new grandchildren. After having three boys, a granddaughter is just a blessing.”

Though she’s been here for a long time, Clarke doesn’t have a specific memory she names as her favorite. “I think it’s just that every day I love coming into the building. It wasn’t always that way—it started out rough and rocky, but now you get to do something new every single day, and you get to meet someone new every day. Something new always comes up.”

“Having Ms Clarke as a guidance counselor has been great,” junior April Smith said. “She’s been very helpful in helping me communicate my academic needs to the school, and I’ve always felt very supported by her.”

When asked about what she’ll missed most, Clarke’s answer was simple: “The students. And my guidance family. The students’ ideas, their thoughts, their dreams, all of it.” 

After she leaves, Clarke dreams of traveling around the US, and seeing more of the country.