The kids at the Academy at Palumbo loved Ashley Matias Matos, a school counseling intern at the Philadelphia public school.
Many related to her story: a child of North Philadelphia who found champions to help her on her own educational path, a first-generation college student who overcame obstacles to reach the Ivy League.
So when a counseling position came open at Palumbo for the 2025-26 term, it was an easy call for school leaders to hire Matos, who just earned a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania…