By: Ian Bernstein ’18

Nestled in a small office across from the cafeteria exists one of the most valuable resources offered to Staples students: Ed Milton.

Milton, a member of the Westport Youth Commision, accepted his position as the student outreach counselor on the basis of his love for the Westport community’s progressivism and his appreciation for the town being a “trendsetter for programing,” where “Westport is the first community to have something like this,” Milton said.

The primary purpose of a student outreach counselor is to guide students through non-academic issues and establish personal relationships with students to provide them with a dependable person to talk to during the school day. According to Jack Sharkey ’18, Milton fulfills his duties as the outreach counselor for Staples students.

“You can talk to him at anytime,” Sharkey said. “He’s very understanding and always so interested.”

As an advisor for the Teen Awareness Group (TAG), Milton is actively involved in identifying and resolving current adolescent-related issues, such as unsafe driving, drug abuse, poor decision-making, etc.

Hannah Eldh ’19 who joined TAG this past school-year, said Milton “gets it and understands how hard things are for a lot of us teenagers. He tries to not tell us what to do, but instead guides us in the right direction.”

From Milton’s perspective, his job has many gradual benefits besides offering guidance to teens.

“You get to develop relationships over four years,” Milton said. “You get to see people reach their potential.”