Holistic Healing

St. Dymphna Student Support Center

Published: February 6, 2026

Over the years, Notre Dame Academy’s counseling department has evolved to support the growing needs of NDA’s student body. While the primary emphasis used to be providing academic counseling, the department has evolved to care for the student holistically, with a strong emphasis on mental health counseling and support. 

NDA’s counseling team recently moved into new offices within the NDA building – using new space constructed as a result of the Empowering Women ~ Transforming Lives capital campaign. 

NDA alumna Abby (Beham) Hankenhof ’09 is the chair of NDA’s counseling department. She realized she was called to school counseling during her time with an AmeriCorps program called ‘City Year.’ 

“I loved the school environment, but questioned how I could justify asking a kid why they didn't complete their homework when they had experienced violence in their home the night before,” shares Abby. “I realized that the only way these kids would reach their full potential was by having an outlet to work through the things outside of school that were taking up so much space in their minds.”

Kristin (Eisel) Schank ’02 has served in NDA’s counseling department since 2016. “Before I was a school counselor, I was a teacher. I loved it, but I noticed that students would often seek me out to talk about their lives, their dreams, their concerns,” she recalls. “That is when I knew I wanted to become a counselor, to help students in more of a one-on-one setting, where I could really get to know them and support them to reach their goals.”

Molly Mehling is the third school counselor at NDA, and she joined the department last year. 

“I chose my career because of my high school counselor,” shares Molly. “The transition into high school was difficult for me, and I found myself going to see my school counselor often. I didn't realize until later just how much she had helped me grow. I had always planned on working with youth, and I realized I wanted to help students in the same capacity that my counselor had helped me.”

NDA’s counseling department meets students where they are. At the start of each school year, the counselors ask students to complete a counseling needs assessment to isolate the issues they want addressed that year. 

“As themes arise, we collaborate with other departments to address these needs,” explains Abby. “For example, students have asked about athlete mental health, so we provide opportunities for students to attend events on that topic.” At NDA, the school counselors are able to fully focus on student mental health, since testing coordination and college counseling are handled by other staff.  

NDA offers juniors and seniors the support of a dedicated college counselor, as well as a career counselor. College Counselor Erin Young advocates for students when it comes to college admissions and scholarships, in addition to planning events and presentations at NDA from college reps.

“I meet with each student during her junior and senior years to help with her college plans, and I also meet with parents about college planning and financial aid,” shares Erin. 

“We also celebrate the seniors' college decisions at the end of the school year with a College Decision Day, where the students can wear their college gear and have fun celebrating their accomplishments and their future goals.”

The glue that holds the department together is LeAnn (Fitch) Schoenfelt ’84. Many alumnae will remember Mrs. Schoenfelt as their science teacher, although she has worked in NDA’s counseling department for 12 years. There, she has witnessed transformative changes. 

“Curriculum and licensing credentials for school counselors have evolved from the early 2000s,” she explains. “NDA counselors have moved to counseling with a directed focus on the student's mental health.”

So, what does the future of the counseling program at NDA look like? 

“I'm very hopeful for the future of school counseling at NDA,” shares Abby. “Being present in the main building, and much more accessible to both students and teachers, will continue to reduce the stigma of talking to a counselor. I believe students will become even more comfortable working with us by seeing us more frequently throughout the day. We have a strong team that can tap into each of our strengths, all for the benefit of NDA’s students.”