At Rice, through the winded hallway is a classroom filled with plants, fairy lights, and creative thinking.
Natalia Livak has served as a staff member at Rice since 2022, and since then has transformed a once empty room to a learning lab filled with support as one of Rice’s school counselors. She has worked as a paraeducator at Burlington High School as well as in Aspire and was a school counselor at Christ the King for six years.
What is your role at Rice?
I am the learning lab coordinator, which is a supportive study hall that can also be a mental health space. It is academics through mental health.
What did you do for school to equip for this position?
I got my undergrad in psychology and my masters in school counseling.
Is there a favorite part of your job or day?
The random and silly interactions that I either see happen with me or between students. I also get to see the kindest and the good in students. I get to see the fun like students helping one another.
What are things you love to do outside of school?
I have children, so kid stuff! I also read, play video games, I [started building] Legos recently, like I do a whole bunch of different things. But a lot of stuff is like art stuff with my kids or going outside.
What is it like working with kids from Christ the King and then those same kids at Rice?
I feel old, but it is really neat that I already have a connection with some students, which does help my space by already knowing them and their families.
How does the learning lab serve students?
It helps with executive functioning. It helps to be a safe space for any kind of anxiety or mental health within our community. There are many different communities within here.
Are there any future goals for the learning lab?
I kind of really like the way that it has shaken out right now, but it’ll change as the needs of the students change. Because this is not for me, it is for the students. But it has changed drastically in the past five years.
Do you have any advice for students on learning?
Read. Just pick up a book and read. Do not use Chat GPT, because you are doing yourself a disservice and actually stopping your brain from making connections and even learning the basics of asking a question to find the answer.
