Central has a new face in its counseling department. Diana Fries is Central’s new counselor for students with last names beginning with B, I, K and Y. Fries brings unique experiences and perspectives to Central, viewpoints that she anticipates will be helpful in her new position.

Fries is originally from Germany. However, she did not immediately decide to pursue a career in counseling. In Germany, she worked in law enforcement for several years. She was with the riot police and did patrol work before becoming a detective. She was a detective in Pfungstadt, Germany, a town of roughly 10,000 people, where she dealt with crimes including breaking and entering, theft, abuse and threats against schools.

Though Fries enjoyed police work, she came to a realization that caused her to begin pivoting towards work as a counselor. “I decided that students are sitting on the wrong side of my desk, that there was very little I could do for the kids that I worked with, that it was pretty much collecting the evidence and turning it over to the district attorney,” Fries said, “That was one of the turning points where I thought there needed to be a different approach, then I started my masters in school counseling while I was working with the police.”

From there, Fries continued her education sporadically. Though she started working towards her master’s degree in 2006, she was forced to take a break from her education when her family moved due to her husband’s career. He works with the United States Department of Defense which has necessitated her family’s movement. “I started…while we were stationed in Belgium, when we were ordered to come over to Florida I could not continue my studies because they didn’t transfer the credits,” Fries said, “I was on hold for three years.” After graduating, she worked for Department of Defense schools on U.S. installations before she moved to Omaha.

Over the course of her marriage, Fries and her family have moved seven times and lived in Germany, Maryland, Arizona, Belgium, Florida and now Omaha. Though moving has been hard at times, Fries has enjoyed traveling. “I think it makes you more resilient,” Fries said.

Fries’ husband works in a profession with few opportunities outside of the Pentagon and D.C. area. He found work in Omaha with the Department of Defense, which brought Fries and her family to Omaha.

Though there are cultural differences between Omaha and the other places Fries has lived, she has enjoyed many aspects of life in Omaha. “I think people here are very similar to the ones in Europe in the respect that they’re extending a hand to help,” Fries said, “But they also start, at least [in] what I’ve experienced, [by] staying to themselves a little bit.”

Fries added that other parts of Omaha’s culture have made it easy adjust. “We moved to Dundee and I think that area in particular has a little bit of the European charm, we bought a house that has the Dutch style and it just reminds me of home,” Fries said. She added that she misses German food, but that Omaha’s cuisine has been much better than the other places she has lived in the United States.

Fries was first introduced to Central High School when she was looking at schools for her daughter to attend. Fries and her husband decided that Central would be the best fit for their daughter.

Initially, Fries intended to work in mental health and social work. “I thought I might be able to have the largest impact there, working one-on-one with families that might need a little bit of help to get all sorts of things sorted out,” Fries said. In the summer before the start of school, though, Fries applied for a school counseling position at Central. She was awarded the position, and was thrilled.

Fries is appreciative of the acceptance she has felt from staff and students at Central. “Everybody is almost like a family, I have been welcomed by the staff, by the kids and everybody in the school,” Fries said, “I guess the Midwest charm is there.”

When asked about her favorite part of Omaha thus far, Fries said Central without any hesitation. “I just love coming here every day and I think that’s a great thing if you have a profession and a job you like and colleagues you like,” Fries said, “It’s just awesome.”

So far, her position has given her new opportunities while also presenting her with new challenges to work through. She loves Central’s diversity; her last school was not nearly as diverse. Working with a large student population has forced her to adapt to change. “Every day I have a plan and my plan doesn’t work out, it will be changed by the minute,” Fries said. This does not frustrate her, though, she loves all the challenges associated with her work and has adapted to the demands of her position.

Fries brings a valuable perspective to the counseling department, and Central as a whole. In the past year, tension has flared over police violence, and though these cases may be isolated they have severely affected the relations of many with the police. Fries comes to Central having worked as a police officer, which offers her a layer of understanding and a perspective that has helped her work through issues with students. “I’ve had a lot of students com[e] in [who] have [had] a bad experience with law enforcement and they come in here and they say ‘I hate cops’ and I clarify really quickly I say ‘Hey this is what I have done before, I want you to know I want to play with open cards, I’m a counselor right now, however, this is where I’m coming from’,” Fries said.

With the first quarter over, Fries feels that she has almost completely adjusted to her position. “Even having worked as a counselor before things are so different here and I’m trying to find my niche,” Fries said.

As the year continues, Fries hopes to sponsor an after-school program. Students have already approached her with interest in the club. “They want to look into equal communities and maybe an anti-hate campaign to make Central even better,” Fries said.

Fries has already helped hundreds of students at Central and looks forward to having an even larger impact in the rest of the year. She is an exceptional addition to Central’s staff and brings a global perspective to the counseling department and the whole school.