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Alamosa High Counselor Honored As School Counselor Of The Year At White House

ALAMOSA, Colo. (CBS4) - A school counselor from Alamosa High School was honored by first lady Michelle Obama at the White House on Saturday.

Cory Notestine, a counselor at Alamosa High School, took to the stage in the East Room of the White House with 36 finalists and semi-finalists and was named this year's School Counselor of the Year.

"I wanted nothing more than to be an advocate for those without a voice, and to collaborate to make systemic changes in my school to provide a more equal educational environment," Notestine said.

It's the first year for the honor, which the White House made in collaboration with the American School Counselor Association (ASCA).

Television star Connie Britton, who played high school counselor Tami Taylor in the hit TV series "Friday Night Lights," also spoke at the event.

"We all owe our school counselors a great debt of gratitude," Britton told the audience.

RELATED: Read More On The White House Blog

The first lady said counselors are the ones who "track students down who don't think they're college material, or who don't think they can afford it, and they shake them up and they tell them, 'You have what it takes, I believe in you, now fill out those FAFSA forms and sign up for those AP classes, get started on those college essays.' "

To read more about Cory and the exemplary strides that he has made within Alamosa High School's counseling department, check out the first lady's remarks here.

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