By: Megan Saul 

Culture Editor

After 14 years at Los Gatos High School, treasured Wellness Center coordinator Mariana Cozzella has decided to retire at the end of the 2024-2025 school year. Known for her caring demeanor and supportive nature, the LGHS community will surely miss her presence on campus next year.  

Cozzella attended college in São Paulo, Brazil. Following her graduation from the University of São Paulo, she moved to Montreal, Canada. There, she worked as a French teacher, her first role interacting with students. In 2007, Cozzella moved to California, and shortly after, she began working at Los Gatos. Her first position at the school was working in the library, where she remained for ten years. Following COVID and the pandemic, her focus at Los Gatos shifted. She explained, “Others and I came up with the concept for the Wellness Center. At first, we didn’t really know what we were doing, so we visited other Wellness Centers and fabricated our own vision.” Cozzella helped lead the making of the Wellness Center by establishing protocols, acquiring the space from leadership, and creating a plan for the area. When referring to the process involved with making the Wellness Center, Cozzzella explained that the school completely supported it: “The idea was very accepted, especially by [Heath Rocha], our superintendent. He gave us free rein about what we wanted to do.” Since the Wellness Center’s creation, students at Los Gatos have enjoyed and popularized it. Additionally, other schools hoping to create their own wellness areas have visited LG’s Wellness Center seeking inspiration

As a staff member at the Wellness Center, Cozzella meets and connects with students of all ages. She remarked, “I really treasure the relationships that I formed with the students. I’m going to take that with me forever. I keep in touch with ones who graduated, like seven, eight years ago, and it’s super cool to see where life takes them. I thought I was privileged to just see where life takes my daughters, but now there are so many more students that I also get to follow where they’re going.”

On top of working as the Wellness Center coordinator, Cozzella is also the peer-to-peer education advisor. Groups she oversees include Reality Check, AdvoCATS, Sources of Strength, and more. Cozzella expressed, “In the groups, we have all become close, and seeing the students achieving something is really nice.” After having advised these groups for the past 14 years, the absence of Cozzella next year will be an adjustment manageable only with the help of Liz Olson, the new advisor for Reality Check, and Debbie Olson, the new coordinator of the Wellness Center. 

In retirement, Cozzella is thrilled to travel more, sharing, “My husband and I are going to spend a few months in Italy and explore because that has already been a dream of mine. After that, we will see where it takes us.” 

Reflecting on her time at Los Gatos, she stated, “I think that things fell into place, and things fell where they were supposed to be. I feel like I belong here, and I really trusted in that momentum.” As this chapter of Cozzella’s life comes to a close, students and staff bittersweetly wish her luck on her next journey. Cozzella concluded, “I don’t believe in leaving a mark, and I don’t want things to stay the same. I’m a firm believer in kindness and treating others well. So if that’s the mark I leave, then I’m happy.”