By Eddie Lopez
Amidst the constant commotion of college application season, a small section of the C building serves as a sanctuary for college applicants. With its fitting logo (a lighthouse), the college corner is a beacon of hope guiding Columbus students through the college storm.
Mrs. Heather de la Osa, college counselor for students with last names L-Z, can be found running around campus spreading awareness of the college application process. When she takes a break from her constant hustle, she is found in her office handling the never-ending questions from Columbus students eager to perfect their college applications and get into the school of their choice.
Her journey to guidance started about 1,000 miles north of Miami in the city of Baltimore, Maryland.
Although she was born and raised in Maryland, her heroism in the academic world can be traced back to her Spartan bloodline, which she gets from her father and takes great pride in his birthplace of Sparta, Greece.
Very similar to Columbus, she attended an all-girls Catholic school for seven years and played lacrosse. Being of warrior blood, it was only natural that she was a great athlete and was actually recruited to play Division One Lacrosse.
“My team was pretty good in high school so I was able to get recruited to college. From there I went to play lacrosse at Vanderbilt University,” said de la Osa.
Pretty good is an understatement as her alma mater Notre Dame Prep became IAAM (Interscholastic Athletics Association of Maryland) champions in 2003 finishing with a record of 14-4-1 and ranked third in the nation. She finished her high school career as a three-year letter winner.
At Vanderbilt, she built on her accomplishments starting a total of 25 games playing against well noted schools such as Johns Hopkins University, Princeton and Syracuse.
Along with the success of her playing career, Mrs. de la Osa knew that the structure and rigidity of the Student athlete life as well as the collaboration needed to perform as a functioning team were always things that called to her.
“I loved being a student athlete as it provided a lot of structure for me as a student. For example, having study hall at a certain time, dinner at a certain time, nutrition and practice at a certain time as well all gave structure to my day. I loved being a part of a team, something bigger than myself and in a sport like lacrosse, you can’t win a game by yourself so I really had to depend on my teammates. I learned a lot about working with other people, having a common goal and made a lot of wonderful friendships along the way,” said de la Osa.
After her chapter at Vanderbilt closed in 2008, Mrs. de la Osa moved on to the University of Miami for her master’s degree. It was in the hallways of the Coral Gables campus that she realized her calling to make a difference bigger than herself.
Her background in athletics opened a door for her to become a part of the UM athletics department in 2012.
“I knew I wanted to work with students and I still loved sports, so soon after graduation, I started working in UM’s athletics department. Even though I was on the athletic side, I was an academic advisor so I wasn’t talking to them about sports, or their nutrition. We were talking about their classes, graduation, support services, tutoring, majors and career exploration. The population that I worked with just happened to be student athletes,” said de la Osa.
Since moving to Miami, she constantly heard great things about Columbus. Her inquiries about the brotherhood opened up a new opportunity for a job and after nine years of working for the University of Miami, she decided to take the job at Columbus as a college counselor.
“I had heard about Columbus for many many years and had a lot of friends that came and went through Columbus who are such great people. I had also heard of the support [Columbus] provides for its students and the support of the brotherhood and the camaraderie that is here at the school and I wanted to be a part of it. An opportunity became available and I was lucky enough to be offered a job,” she said.
It has now been three years since she made her debut in the college corner. Three years full of memories and experiences. But, one aspect of her job in particular she finds is the most gratifying.
“Everyday we get to work with students and learn about the wonderful things and accomplishments that they are doing and there is so much diversity in those accomplishments. That is the most gratifying part of my job, just hearing all of the amazing things our students do,” said de la Osa.
Along with the gratifying nature of hearing her student’s accomplishments, she enjoys another angle of working for a high school system, which is even more pronounced in the nature of Columbus.
”One of the reasons I love working at a high school as opposed to a college is that there are so many things outside of the classroom that I think make core memories for the students here,” de la Osa said. “I will never forget my first week of being on campus for orientation and students were gathered in the gym and Mr. Marinelli and Mr. Pugh were just hyping everyone up and it was this moment of like, ‘man this is what it is all about.' Providing that excitement for the students and being a part of those core memories,” she added.
Offering students aid ranging from personal, and academic, to athletic, with events spanning from in-house college fairs to statewide college tours, Mrs. de la Osa understands the importance of her role at Columbus and hopes that students take advantage of the resources provided to them.
“We are working closely with our seniors because we are in the midst of application season right now. I’m hoping that all of our seniors are benefiting and taking advantage of us,” said de la Osa.
Most students are already doing exactly that and understand the profound impact Ms. de la Osa and the college corner have had on them.
“I really didn’t know where to start in my application journey but I was always seeing the newsletters on the boards around school that said we could stop by at any time to the college corner. The very first time I went in, Mrs. de la Osa was super welcoming, and super nice and she helped me a lot with getting everything set up. It has been amazing throughout my college journey because she has helped me so much with my essay, applying in general and having everything in order,” said senior Nicholas Rivas.
“She really pushed me in the right direction. The constructive criticism that she gives is very helpful for anyone creating a college application in general. Maia Learning and the Common App along with all of the other resources that she and her colleagues have created for any student at Columbus to have access to have helped a ton. Any senior or junior interested in setting up and completing their application should take advantage of the resources available to strengthen their application,” said senior Mathias Leroux.
Not only have students taken note of the amazing job she does as a counselor, but administration as well, noting the connections she is able to make with the students.
“[Mrs. de la Osa] is someone who is dedicated and committed to the success of her students. She has an incredible personality; she is a hard worker and she is determined and really wants what’s best for all of her boys. She brings tremendous knowledge and experience to Columbus and in addition to obviously the college admissions, she works closely with student-athletes for NCAA eligibility. She, along with her team, really does a phenomenal job. The fact that the students feel so welcomed at that college corner, is really exciting,” said Dr. Vila.
If there is one thing to be learned from Mrs. de la Osa, it is her relentless pursuit of greatness that not only translates to greatness of her own, but that of others. She hopes that students realize their potential and reach their ultimate goals.
“I want our students to know that they can do anything, whatever they want to do, the options are endless. Whatever interests and passions they have, it’s out there. They need to find that passion and drive for something they are passionate about and that can be different for every student.”
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