Bronxville Middle School guidance counselor Tim Nelson has been named Counselor of the Year by the Westchester Rockland Putnam Counseling Association.
“What makes Tim extraordinary is the way he connects with kids,” said fellow counselor Samantha Mazo, who nominated him for the award. “He understands that relationships are at the center of everything we do. Whether he’s playing catch with a student, teaching someone a drumbeat, jamming on his guitar with kids, talking – or even playing – video games, or just sitting quietly and holding space when a student needs it most, Tim meets kids exactly where they are. He makes students feel safe, seen and valued – sometimes before they even know how to ask for that themselves.”
Mazo described Nelson as someone who brings warmth and energy into every room he enters, with a unique ability to lift people up even on their hardest days. She said he inspires confidence in others and reassures them that things will work out.
“Students feel it, staff feel it and honestly, our whole building feels it,” Mazo said. “Tim is a culture changer.”
A longtime musician, Nelson also brings a unique depth of life experience to his work, sharing stories about the many people and places he has encountered.
“What I admire most as a colleague is that Tim will do absolutely anything for this school community,” Mazo said. “He supports students fiercely, advocates thoughtfully, collaborates beautifully with teachers and somehow manages to do all of it with humility, humor and heart.”