Elli Chew, CFNN Reporter

Please welcome the newest addition to our Colt Family, Alison Boyle! Mrs. Boyle is the new counselor for 10th-12th grade students here at Cape Fear High School. 

Mrs. Boyle was a social worker for 8 years before deciding to be a stay at home mom for a little while. When asked why she chose to do social work, Mrs. Boyle says, “School was not my thing, I was not very good at anything, I was just mediocre. When I was in my second year of college, my dad said, ‘What’s your major?’ When she responded with nothing, her father told her that she had until Christmas of that year to find out what her major was. 

So, with having to find her major quickly, she took classes that seemed interesting to her. She took a teaching course, a social work course, a business course, and a computer course. “The social work course came really easy to me! It was the first time ever that something just came easy to me,” says Boyle. 

She decided that social work would be her major, and just like that, she had chosen her career field. 

Eventually deciding to take a break from social work, Mrs. Boyle became a stay at home mom for eight years. During that time off, she took care of her three children and enrolled in an online college, Capelli University. She studied to get her master’s degree in social work and worked on becoming a school guidance counselor.

“My main reason for becoming a counselor was to be that person for kids who didn’t have that or anyone that would help them when they needed it. I know when I was in high school, I wasn’t helped by the people put in place there to help students. I don’t want anyone to have to go through that if when they really need somebody,” said Boyle. 

She has been a school guidance counselor for six years. Before coming to Cape Fear, she worked at Gallberry Farm Elementary School.

Other than her career, Mrs. Boyle prides herself on being a mother of three children. Her oldest son is in college, her second oldest is a sophomore at Gray’s Creek High School, and her daughter, the youngest, is in sixth grade. Her husband works at the Cape Fear Cancer Center here in Fayetteville. 

Her ultimate goal at Cape Fear High School is to truly know her students and to help them become successful. 

“I want to know my students, and I want to see their successes. I don’t care if they are big or small, I want to see them,” says Mrs. Boyle. “When I worked at elementary, I wanted kids to see me in the hall and say, ‘Oh, that’s my counselor!’, not “Who is this lady and what is she doing here?” 

We hope she is successful in getting to know as many of her students as she possibly can. We’re so glad to have you, Mrs. Boyle!