November's nomination for Dr. Howard Staff of the Month Award was Aurora Diaz-Meraz.

Mrs. Meraz is one of the three dedicated counselors at Brooks.

Here is what some of the voting students and staff had to say about her:

"She goes above and beyond as a counselor. She makes your worst stories sound normal. She is the shoulder to cry on. She wants everyone to succeed and does an excellent job of showing it by being on us about scholarships, applications, etc."

"She has helped me apply to schools and scholarships. She looks into different things for you as far as questions she doesn't know. She replies immediately and is very effective in helping us succeed. I love her. She is indeed the best counselor and deserves recognition for her hard work."

"Honestly, I wish I could nominate the entire Counseling staff but I'm prepared to start here. You could not ask for a more dedicated, empathetic and genuinely warm and good-natured person. Mrs. Diaz is always ready to help a fellow colleague, student or parent. She works tirelessly to that end. She is also gives the students some of the best guilt trips I have ever seen when they are not acting right. She does a highly effective concerned mother role better than Meryl Streep ever could. This motivates the students (and sometimes adults) to do the right thing."

"She helps with all sorts of testing, student applications and college admissions, personal/life counseling, and I am sure a bunch of other behind the scenes stuff that we just don't know about. This is on top of always being available to help out a colleague or show up to (or plan) a school event."

"Is she amazing, maybe. Is she one of the best counselors in the the city? Well, she's definitely in the top 3."

Congratulations Mrs. Meraz!