Yuba City High School - Meet Your YCHS Counselors

Welcome YCHS Students

The YCHS Counselors are here for to support and provide guidance for your Academics, Career goals, and Social-Emotional needs. You may reach out to them by scheduling an appointment in the Counseling Office, filling out the YCHS Request for Counselor Appointment, email, or phone call.

Mrs. Abril

Hola, my name is Victoria Abril and I am one of the six awesome counselors at YCHS. I am excited to be starting my 7th year on campus and my 28th year in education. I have worked with elementary, middle and high school students as a teacher or counselor. One of the reasons that I love being at YCHS is that I grew up in Yuba City and graduated from here 34 years ago! After high school, I went to Yuba College and then transferred to California State University, Chico, where I received my teaching credential. While teaching I worked with some amazing school counselors that made me want to use my skills to reach students in a more holistic way. While teaching in Yuba City, I went back to school at CSU Sacramento to become a School Counselor. I'm blessed to have very close family and loving circle of friends. I live in Antelope with my hubby and two fur babies, Lily and Harry. I enjoy swimming, reading, and watching movies with my husband. I love my job! Being a counselor allows me to support students and families during their high school journey. My goal is to provide knowledge and supports to my students throughout their high school years. My hope is that with these supports they will be able to make healthy choices that will allow them to be successful now and after high school. I want all Honkers and their families to know that I am here for them!

Ms. Gates

Hello! My name is Patty Gates, and I am the newest addition to an already awesome counseling team! I am starting my 3rd year as a school counselor but my 24th year in education. I have worked at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels. Throughout those years I have served as a school counselor, administrative assistant, basketball, softball, and volleyball coach, student support specialist, counseling technician, and even campus security in my early years! I absolutely have a passion for serving students and I am excited to have the opportunity to serve our students and families here at Yuba City High School. I grew up in the Yuba-Sutter area and attended Yuba College and Chico State after high school. I have four children that took priority in my early career and finished my bachelor's degree in psychology and master's degree in educational counseling much later in life. When I am not at work you will find me on a sporting field or court somewhere as I spend a large part of my time training and coaching athletes. I love to travel, coach, and exploring new places. I am extremely happy to be here and look forward to working with you and your students through this stage of life.

Mr. G (Grimaldi)

Greetings! I’m Mr. Grimaldi, but to make things easier I also go by Mr. G – and I am one of the counselors at here at YCHS. While I am new to YCHS, I have been a counselor for over 25 years, and involved in education for most of that time. I have worked as a Middle School teacher, a Social Worker, a Career Counselor, and a School Counselor with both Elementary and Middle School students. I grew up in the Bay Area, and graduated with my Bachelors in Psychology from San Jose State University. After relocating to the Sacramento area, I received my Masters Degree in Education (with specializations in School and Career) from CSU Sacramento. Anyone who visits my office will realize I am a happy “nerd” with superheroes, Pokémon, and Star Wars decorations everywhere. I’m also a fan of theater arts, band, football, soccer, cross country, and track & field. Becoming a counselor at YCHS is an exciting opportunity as I’ve wanted to return to working with High School students to support their “launching” into the next stage of their lives. While this is my second year working within the Yuba City School District, I have come to truly love the Yuba City community, and I look forward to supporting and contributing to our students, families, and communities’ future success.

Mrs. O (Olchefske)

Hi there! My name is Amy Olchefske but please feel free to call me Mrs. O. I have been a school counselor for five years at the elementary and middle school level, and this is my second year at Yuba City High School. I am so excited to be a member of the Honker family! After graduating high school, I attended the University of Nevada, Reno where I received my Bachelor's Degree in Human Development and Family Studies. After working with families at Early Head Start for a few years I decided to go back to school and pursue my Master's Degree in School Counseling. When I am out of the office you can find me spending time with my husband and son, watching The Office, coaching softball, and attending any sporting event/concert I can get to. I tend to find humor in the most ordinary things, but I also value hard work when it needs to be done. I look forward to supporting you all as you navigate where your future may take you!

Ms. Vang

Hello! I am Daisy Vang, and I am a counselor at YCHS. This is my second year as a high school counselor. I began my counseling career two years ago at Riverbend Elementary. I have had to make plenty of adjustments, and I am proud to call myself a Honker. Let's rewind a little more. I completed my bachelor's degree in Family Science and my Masters in School Counseling at Fresno State. While in grad school, I worked for Fresno State's Admissions and Recruitment. My ethnicity is Hmong. Coming from Fresno, I am used to a larger Hmong community. There is still a small population of Hmong counselors, and I am proud to be one of them! I currently live in Sacramento with my soon to be fiance, who is a hardcore fisherman. If you ask what I did over the weekend, the answer will most likely be "Fishing!" My goal for the year is to support students throughout high school and prepare them for their post high school plans all while learning to enjoy the little things in life.