By: Sarah Kline

Although you may not see her in a classroom environment, Ms. Jango-Cohen works behind the scenes as a new school counselor. It’s only her third year at Westborough High School, but Jango-Cohen is fitting in just nicely with the rest of the school counseling staff. Finding her co workers both supportive and funny, she describes her transition into Westborough High School as challenging yet incredibly rewarding: “My coworkers are both friends and professional mentors.”

Growing up in Burlington, Massachusetts, Jango-Cohen dedicated copious amounts of time to studying ballet. Starting at a young age, she hoped to become a professional ballerina until her senior year of high school where she discovered she also had a love for psychology. After the hard decision of choosing to let go of ballet, she attended UMASS Amherst, where she majored in Psychology and minored in Education.

Following graduation, Jango-Cohen was still unsure of her path and how she wanted to use her degrees. After a challenging neuroscience course and gaining research experience within the Brain and Cognitive Science Department at MIT, she began to realize that she was interested in pursuing a career where she could balance her studies in education with social sciences. This knowledge matched with her great passion for working with the LGBT community and her interest in supporting the self-esteem/empowerment of girls had led her to realize that the school counseling environment was perfect for her.

When asked about her favorite part of her job, she concluded “all relationships I have built.” She thoroughly enjoys coming to school everyday to see her coworkers and endless amount of “awesome students” she is able to build connections with. She continued to describe a scenario she had with a former student who shared his passion of singing with her. She referred to the scenario as a “spontaneous connection” that made her feel as if she wasn’t at work but rather a part of a fun community.  

Jango-Cohen’s family has greatly influenced who she is to this day. Her mother, father, and younger brother have all contributed a little piece to her mindset and passions in life. Her mother taught her always look on the brightside and her father made her become devoted to travel. Although growing up her and her brother fought regularly, their relationship today is strong and he has taught her his ways of being both kind and thoughtful.

Giving up on her dream of becoming a professional ballerina was a tough time in her life, but she continues to dance to this day to fulfill her passion. Instead of ballet dancing, she performs Israeli dance twice a week. The quick, upbeat dance derives from traditional folk dance, which has evolved into becoming a very popular business. Along with dancing, Jango-Cohen loves to travel and take backpacking trips. She finds hiking alone both empowering and eye opening.

A favorite travel experience was a one month Western European tour where she learned about the culture through historical monuments which significantly enlightened her views of the world. She had just recently hiked the Wonderland Trail around Mount Rainier in Washington solo, which she confidently describes as a “proud, profound” moment in her life.

Her absolute love for traveling is extremely prevalent in her life and she already has plans for the near future. She hopes to backpack parts of Europe and particularly visit Amsterdam this upcoming April. Over the summer, she is thinking about backpacking the 211 mile John Muir Trail in California for the first time.

Jango-Cohen continues to inspire and support those looking for any kind of guidance. Her connection to her students and faculty makes her an excellent contribution to the Westborough High School staff. Either in her office or in the dance studio, she will always strive for perfection.