Students crowd around Lowell’s counseling department during passing period. While a select few may have a question about their class, most students visit Lowell counselor Abdul Latif to enjoy some free candy and exchange remarks before taking off to their next class.
Latif has been a school counselor for thirty years, and has been at Lowell for five. Almost everyone around Lowell knows him for his famous candy stash. However, very few Lowellites know the story of their favorite candy supplier and trusted counselor. While Latif’s own education journey was not linear, he utilizes his past experiences to ensure that future students will have an easier path than he did.
Latif grew up in Georgia, and attended Waycross High School and later moved to Prosper High School in New York. His father was in the military, and lived in Maine, so Latif later transferred to Brunswick High School there. However, due to tensions in his relationship with his father, he transferred back to Waycross High, but his high school experience did not last long. “I eventually got kicked out of school at Waycross High, so I went to three different high schools,” he said. After this his mother encouraged him to get a GED. As he felt like he wasn’t doing anything in Georgia, Latif decided to move to California. “My brother was in the Navy, he got out of the Navy in California, so he invited me to come out here and live with him in California to try to get my life, you know, back together, so I moved here.”
Soon, Latif found himself moving to San Diego to help care for his great aunts. While living there, he worked a job at the San Diego International Airport. One day, he was on his way to work when the trolley broke down. Latif saw San Diego City College across the street and decided to go and explore. “I was just looking at some brochures and a lady came, she’s like, ‘oh, are you interested in attending college?’ I’m like, ‘heck no, I’ve never been to college, I don’t know anything about college,’” he recounts. While he was hesitant at first, he decided to apply. After seeing a financial aid opportunity, he filled out his application and got into the school, doing very well academically.
San Diego City College was only the start of a soon-to-be prosperous and life-changing college journey for Latif. As he moved back to Oakland with his brother, he attended the College of Alameda. There, he met the individual who would inspire his future career. “I had a wonderful counselor, Ms. Anderson, who convinced me to try to enroll at San Francisco State, which I was like, ‘there ain’t no way in the world I’m gonna get in no state college’. But she did all the paperwork and I got into SF State–I couldn’t believe it,” he said.
At SF State, Latif challenged himself, taking six classes and four units. He got his Bachelor’s degree within two years. Encouraged by his academic success, he applied to law schools but was rejected. “All my rejection letters said that I should look at it for a career in the social social field, so I applied to the counseling department at SF State and got into the counseling department,” he said. At first, he was a fill-in counselor at Lowell, but later was offered the job full time.
Latif’s goal as counselor is to give students the support he was unable to receive during his high school experience. “When I was in high school, I’ve never had a counselor that really did anything for me, so I just wanted to make sure I was totally different from the counselors I had.
I wanted to make sure I’m always available to students, always providing information and just making sure I do all I can do to make a student successful, that’s my goal,” he said. His favorite thing about being a counselor over the years has been being able to support students and families. “I feel so empowered about all the wonderful work I have done over these 30 years … I just feel very good about my job,” he said.
Latif loves connecting with his students, and has been providing them treats since he started counseling. However, candy wasn’t always his go-to. “I was doing the top ramen noodles, but what happened, the kids would get the noodles, having fights with it, so the principal was like, no, you can’t do that,” he said. Determined to provide an unproblematic snack, he switched to Red Vine licorice. “I used to just bring 22 big old things of the red licorice and stuff, and the kids used to be lined up outside,” he said. He hopes to give back to students with his sweet treats. “Adults always treated me with candy, so I just wanted to give back, that’s all,” he said. Latif enjoys his job at Lowell, and is happy to help serve the community. “I just really love working here at Lowell and, some of the best kids in the world, some of the most motivated, and it’s a joy to me to be here at Lowell,” he said.
