Rachael Bonneau

School Counselor Julie Sumper is starting her first year working at Baldwin High School.

School counselor Julie Sumper has found passion in guiding students toward careers, but she didn’t always plan on being a counselor. 

Sumper grew up in New York and later worked as an editor for a publishing company in Baltimore for a few years. She enjoyed it but later realized it wasn’t her calling. 

“I didn’t feel like I was really making a difference,” she said. “I thought back to when I was in high school. A counselor who I had really helped me … and I thought that I could really do that.”

After she decided to pursue school counseling, Sumper moved to Pittsburgh with her husband to pursue her master’s degree at Duquesne. Since then, she has spent 10 years working in Pittsburgh Public Schools. 

Now she is the school counselor for Baldwin’s freshman class. 

Having a supportive counselor made Sumper feel more comfortable during her own high school experience, and that is something she carries into her counseling as well. 

“I think the most important part of high school is figuring out who you are.” she said. “Coming out of high school just realizing who you are as a person and where you think you might be headed doesn’t mean that you’re deciding exactly what you’re going to do for the rest of your life.” 

Outside of school, she enjoys gardening and spending time with her husband, two kids, and her dog named Alfredo.

Even before working at Baldwin, she and her family would attend Baldwin’s events such as musicals and sports games because their close proximity to the school made it an easy way to get involved in the community. 

“I passed the school every day,” Sumper said. “I have always just thought it’s a beautiful school.”