hen Cornell Cotton sits across

Cotton has been a counselor at Fresno Adult School for the past three years . It ’ s a place he refers to as , “ a little gem in downtown .” There , he finds purpose through his work and happiness in helping others .

“ I think for some individuals , especially adults , this is like a second chance opportunity to go to school and they ’ re really , really happy to be here . I ’ m at a school where they seek out the counselor , not run away from them .

“ I think that ’ s the biggest benefit in working with adults and working with those who are really happy to come to school and coming to Fresno Adult School by choice ,” he said .

Cotton ’ s path to his current career has led him full circle . He went through school as an underachiever , because traditional education never felt like the right fit , and he now helps others who may feel the same .

“ I let them know about my story . I took the wayward way out of high school . I had been at a continuation high for a little while , and I had to take classes at adult school , and night school , and summer school and all kinds of school ,” he said .

It wasn ’ t until college that Cotton began to thrive . For him , it was as easy as realizing early morning classes didn ’ t work for him , and having the flexibility to change his schedule made all the difference .

Now , he enjoys the challenge of working with each of his students to figure out what they need to make their schooling work and says he connects with them because he can see himself in them .

“ I think that ’ s the biggest benefit , is to be able to see the potential of a student sitting across from me as them sitting in [ my seat someday ]. It ’ s easy to already see them successful ,” he said .

Cotton says he loves his role as a counselor because he can see the direct impact the job has on other people ’ s lives .

He works with students every day who are going through the programs at Fresno Adult School and graduating with jobs already lined up .

“ I feel like no matter what your start is . It doesn ’ t really determine your future ,” he said .

Cotton started his career at Fresno Unified as a paraeducator at Cooper Middle School , then worked as a substitute teacher while he finished up graduate school , before working as a substitute counselor through the pandemic , and finally taking on his current full-time role .

He comes from a family of educators , with his grandmother being a principal and his mother a vice principal , and he says an administration job may be in his future as well , but it would take a lot for him to give up counseling .

Wherever his path leads him next , he will continue being an ambassador for alternative and continuing education .

10