We would like to introduce the Middle School to our new school psychologist, Dr. Wendy Simkin. Dr. Simkin said in response to our request for an interview, “I am very honored to have the chance to be interviewed by the Phoenix Inquirer!” We were glad to talk to her. She is here to help, so do not be afraid to reach out to her.
PI: What is your job at Friends Central?
WS: “My job at FCS is to be available to students, parents, faculty and staff around aspects of student well-being, socially and emotionally. It is my pleasure and my privilege to meet members of the school community both in times of wellness and routine situations, as well as in times of challenge.”
PI: What do you love most about your job?
WS: “The thing that I love most about my job is that I get the chance to do what I love most: meet new people, both students AND the families and educators who care about them, to partner around their well-being. It is something that means a great deal to me, and to be a part of a community that values the ideals ‘Let your life speak!’ and ‘…honor the light in every person’ means the world to me.”
PI: What is one thing you would like the Middle School community to know about you?
WS: “If I had to name one thing that I would like the Middle School community to know about me, it’s that I am grateful for the chance to get to know the members of this community and that I always welcome the chance to do so!”
PI: Is there a nickname that you would like to be called?
WS: “I love this question! I was surprised (though I shouldn’t have been) to hear ‘Dr. Z., Dr. Z.!’ being called [in the Middle School building] as my dad and I were both called that for many years since we were both ‘Dr. Zelikoff’! I have to let Dr. Zaradic have it, though, since I have gone by ‘Dr. Simkin’ for much longer than I’ve gone by ‘Dr. Zelikoff.’ ‘Dr. S.’ is how I usually sign my name, so I would happily respond to it in the hallway, too.”
PI: How long have you been a psychologist?
WS: “I have been a psychologist for a little over twenty years, if we’re counting from when I had both my professional license and my doctorate. I have been committed to the support of understanding ‘thoughts, feelings and behaviors’ for at least thirty years, though!”
PI: What made you want to become a psychologist?
WS: “I have wanted to be a psychologist since about my middle school years, which I’ve come to learn is a highly unusual thing, so please don’t worry if you don’t know what you want to do. MOST people don’t know what they want to do when they start college.”
PI: What is your favorite part about working with Middle School students?
WS: “My favorite part in working with Middle Schoolers would have to be their spirit! I am routinely impressed, again and again, by the honest and genuine spirit (whether happy or not) that I see in both word and deed in the Middle School community.”
PI: How can we contact you?
WS: “Please contact me at wsimkin@friendscentral.org, or if you have a concern that is urgent, reach out to Mrs. Petrarca, or any of our teachers or faculty, and they will help you reach me immediately.”
PI: What is the best part about your first year here?
WS: “Kids and their families have always held a fascination and, primarily, a delight for me, and I knew from the time that I was old enough to babysit that partnering with kids and those that care about them was one of the most important and meaningful things that I could hope to do. I’ve heard it said that ‘if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life!’ A week doesn’t go by that I haven’t felt this way more days than not; I wish the same for all of my friends in Middle School and their families!”