Years of love & dedication prove to be of worth

Upper School Counselor Dr. Bill Rosenbaum has spent 46 years of his life changing the lives of St. Martin’s Episcopal School students through teaching and counseling. Upper school students seek out Rosenbaum for guidance in their daily lives and are free to ask Rosenbaum just about anything.

“Whenever I have a bad day, I feel like I can just go into his office at any time and seek insight into ways to cope with whatever I’ve been going through,” said Sophomore Gabby Killett.

Before being the upper school counselor, Rosenbaum was a teacher in the middle school.

“I started in the social studies department in middle school and worked there for 12 years,” Rosenbaum said. “In the mid ’80s, I moved up to the upper school.”

Rosenbaum moved to counseling when he realized his true passion is helping others.

“At the end of the day, I think that the most important thing is to find your true passion,” Rosenbaum said. “I feel very fortunate that I found my passion, which is working with young adults.”

Rosenbaum’s colleagues saw the effect that Rosenbaum had on the students and were not surprised when he went into counseling.

“He was always more into personal interaction,” said Retired Math Teacher Jim Marsalis. “He always thought that what he was teaching was nowhere near as important as the effect he was having on the students, and as a counselor, he was more able to fulfill that.”

Rosenbaum has a long list of programs that he has implemented into the St. Martin’s community. Some of these programs include career day, senior internships, and life skills class.

Life skills is a semester- long class that is available to juniors and seniors. The class teaches students skills that they can take into their future endeavors. Rosenbaum also requires that the students complete a minimum of 50 service hours over the course of the semester.

“I took life skills over the summer, and it was a very interesting class,” said Senior Julia Scofield. “I am really glad that students have to take it. Rosenbaum caters his class to information that is relevant to us, which is very helpful.”

Rosenbaum encourages students to be themselves, and he supports them throughout their high school career.

“Rosenbaum understands who he is working with,” Scofield said. “He doesn’t have unrealistic expectations of teenagers.”

Rosenbaum has had a lasting effect on previous students, according to Michael Musso (’03). Rosenbaum prepared Musso for his college essays and really emphasized doing what he was passionate about.

“If it weren’t for him pushing me to go where I want and choosing what I want, then I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am today,” Musso said.

Rosenbaum stays with the school for one reason and one reason only – love.

“People always ask me, ‘Bill, why don’t you retire?’” Rosenbaum said. “Well, why would I retire when I absolutely love what I do?”