Koziol Receives NSCS Counseling Excellence Award

Dan Koziol receiving award
Dan Koziol, left, K-12 School Counselor at Twin River Public Schools in Genoa, Neb. and NSCS Counseling Excellence Award winner poses with Kevin Halle, Wayne State College's Admissions Director. (Courtesy photo)

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LINCOLN – The Nebraska State College System (NSCS) named Dan Koziol as the 2018 NSCS Counseling Excellence Award winner. Koziol is the K-12 School Counselor at Twin River Public Schools in Genoa, Nebraska.

"High school counselors play a vital role in the college search process,” said Stan Carpenter, Chancellor of the NSCS. “We are thankful to have counselors like Mr. Koziol helping students explore opportunities after high school and identifying the best fit for their future.”

The NSCS Counseling Excellence Award is an annual award created to honor counselors for exemplary service and commitment to students. Students at Chadron, Peru and Wayne State Colleges have the opportunity to nominate high school counselors for the award.

As an alumnus of Wayne State College, Koziol understands firsthand the benefits in receiving an NSCS degree, and promotes accessibility to higher education to students at all grade levels. He is a strong advocate of admissions representative visits to his school, and participates in most of those visits in order to gather information about opportunities at each college. He encourages his students to ask questions and engage with the admissions representatives. He never wants his students to feel like higher education is intimidating. Koziol hosts a College Planning Night for his upper level students at the beginning of the school year so they can learn what steps they should take in their college search.

He does not hesitate to reach out to his admissions contacts with questions, to learn more, or to check on the status of a student’s application. Koziol also strongly believes in students experiencing college campuses at a young age. His middle school students have benefited from a campus visit during eighth grade for several years. 

-NSCS Office

Category: Campus News, Nebraska State College System