A high school counselor in the Socorro Independent School District has been named one of six finalists in the state for the annual School Counselor of the Year award. Cristina Alvarez, counselor for the Socorro Early College High School, is a finalist for the 2025-2026 Lone Star State School Counselor Association Texas School Counselor of the Year.
Alvarez has been the counselor for the early college program at Socorro High School for three years. She has served as a counselor for 11 years total with seven of those years in the Socorro Independent School District.
She was honored to learn that she was a finalist for the state award.
“I’m really humbled, and I love that I get to represent the hard work that my colleagues and I do at Socorro High School,” Alvarez said. “It’s not just me, there are 8 of us (counselors at Socorro High School) and being a finalist lets me represent the work that we all do daily, serving our students with social and emotional support and academically.”
Alvarez was a counselor for four years at Salvador H. Sanchez Middle School and her students at the middle school level inspired her to make the move to the high school. She has enjoyed being a counselor at both levels because she’s been able to be part of a consistent support system for her students.
“I decided to move to the high school because of my students in middle school … I wanted to be the person that helped them, and they saw every day,” she said. “It has been a privilege to see them grow in high school, earn their associate degree and then graduate from high school.”
Alvarez will be participating in the interview process May 21 for the state accolade, and the 2025-2026 Texas School Counselor of the Year will be announced by the end of the month.