Hello, I am Olga Alvarado and I am a career Social Worker and one of the Wellness Counselors. I bleed "Orange", I received both my undergrad and grad degrees from UT!! Go Horns!! Unfortunately, my three children did not have the same passion I did about UT and went to other universities, but that's OKAY... they found their own place and are so HAPPY! Which makes me HAPPY!!! I absolutely love anything crafting, from quilting to embroidery to making T-shirts on my Cricut. This summer I spent my time wrangling Rattlesnakes, well, my husband caught them, I ran screaming the other way... We needed to get the snakes under control since one had already bitten our puppy boxer, Lulu. No worries, Lulu is okay since she has had her Rattlesnake shots...whew! This year I am proud to be LASA's FIRST EVER CHEER COACH! Yeah! I am so excited to be a part of the program! The team has been working really hard and I can't wait to share and spread some LASA RAPTOR SPIRIT!

Hello, I am Shannon Cardona. I have over 24 years of real-world experience in the field of education; as a teacher, coach, and counselor, Early College High School Adjunct Professor, and G.E.D. instructor.

I completed my undergrad at St. Edward’s University. I have an M. Ed. in Administration from GCU as well as an M.S in Professional Counseling. I am also an LPC. I have a strong passion for mental health and working with children of all ages and their families.

I enjoy watching horror movies, hanging out with my wife Stephanie, and playing with our two dogs, Arya and Zoë. I am a big fan of Sci-fi/Fantasy and all things Marvel/DC.

Vyasar Ganesan has been a college counselor at LASA since 2018, but he graduated from LASA in 2008! In the intervening years, he got his BA in English from Allegheny College and a MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University. He also served as an admissions counselor at Texas State University, where he learned to love the world of college counseling. He wrestled in high school (graduated 2008) and he is deeply excited about the sport and introducing it to a new generation of LASA wrestlers.

/*-->*/ /*-->*/ Howdy! My name is Adam and I am one of your Academic Counselors as of the 2023-24 school year. I started off my career teaching AP Social Studies to 9-11 graders in Giddings, TX in 2020. After two years in Giddings I decided I would move down to Austin and work on my Master's degree in School Counseling. Before I came to LASA, I was working as an Academic Advisor for Texas State University. My hobbies include gaming (board or digital), gardening, music (psych rock especially), and learning languages (currently studying Arabic).

I am a counselor at heart! I took a career placement test in high school (in the dark ages) and it said that I should be a counselor! It just took me a few years and other career paths before I arrived. I attended Reagan High School so I am from the neighborhood. My parents have lived in their house in northeast Austin for 50 years! I attended Texas Tech University and Texas A&M University and received a degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. I taught high school chemistry (AP, honors, regular) for 14 years. I went back to school to get my Masters in Counseling and have been a part of the LASA counseling team for 8 years. I adore my students, my team, and being a Raptor!

Hello! I am so happy to join the LASA counseling team! I have my BA in Liberal Studies with an emphasis on Linguistics from the California State University, San Marcos. In my last year of college, I took an independent study Linguistics course. I was planning to go to South Korea over the Summer, so I did my research project while I was living there for 2 months. It was such a cool experience to sit down with someone native to the country and transcribe words in another language. After college, I spent two years as an ESL teacher at a K-12 school in Ecuador, South America. It was my goal to become fluent in Spanish by living in a Spanish-speaking country. It just so happens that my family comes from Ecuador, so it was great to spend time with them and embrace our culture. I am an avid traveler, I’ve been all over the world and enjoy learning about other cultures as well. When I returned to the States, I worked as a college readiness coach, financial aid grad assistant and substitute teacher in California. I have my MA in Counseling from the University of San Diego. I have been working in education for 10 years in several roles, but I love being a School Counselor and helping students achieve their dreams and discover their path in life. I want students to find comfort and clarify when they visit my office. It takes a lot of planning, brainstorming and someone there to help you get through the daily ups and downs in life. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my husband and two dogs and doing DIY projects. Born in Houston, I am excited to be in Austin and return to my Texas roots!

My name is Cristina Torres and I am one of the academic counselors. I spent eighteen years in middle school before joining the “big kids” at LASA. Nine of those years were teaching math at Murchison MS and the other nine were spent counseling students at O. Henry MS. Prior to education, I worked for three years in sports marketing for the minor league Everett Aquasox baseball team and for the University of Tulsa athletics department.

I was born and raised in El Paso. I moved to Houston to attend Rice University and, after my time in sports marketing, eventually made my way back to El Paso to get my teaching certificate and masters from UTEP.

Outside of work I enjoy camping, sewing and crafting, musicals, puzzles and board games, and (let’s be honest) watching TV and lounging with my wife and dogs. Most importantly, I love working in education, helping students, and being a LASA Raptor!

Sandi Woodrow is an Academic Counselor at LASA. Prior to employment in Austin ISD, Ms. Woodrow served in the Arlington ISD for 18 years, as a teacher, a Special Education Counselor, and a School Counselor. She began her teaching career at age 20, at Fort Polk Elementary in Louisiana, where her husband was stationed as an Army Chaplain.

Ms. Woodrow completed her undergraduate work at Abilene Christian University with a B. S. in Education. She graduated with Masters degrees as each of her two sons graduated from high school. She has an M. Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Texas in Arlington and an M.S. in Counseling from the University of North Texas. She is also a Licensed Professional Counselor.

Ms. Woodrow lives in north Austin with her husband and enjoys the proximity to her sons’ families in Temple and Hutto. She has five treasured grandchildren and a host of other children who are precious to her that she loves spending time with. Ms. Woodrow enjoys hiking, reading, planning travel, and taking trips.

I am really excited to be part of the LASA family. I have been a School Counselor for more than 10 years, I became a certified College Admissions Counselor 5 years ago and I really love working with students and guiding them in the college application process. I am happy to say that I have found my passion, it is very rewarding to see my students working hard for what they want to achieve in life and reaching their goals. I always encourage my students to fight for their dreams and to give their best in everything they do. I have been married for almost 12 years and I have two beautiful kids, Mateo and Catalina. We just moved to Austin and we are really enjoying this new adventure as a family.  In my free time I love to spend time with my husband and children, do outdoor activities, watch movies and go out to eat.