PROJECT MANAGER
Culturally responsive project manager for first stage of an academic counseling program
Created an international model for school counseling office in Nanjing, China.
The goal of the project that I spearheaded was to lay the foundation (beliefs, philosophy, mission statement, and standards) of an international counseling office as well as develop/obtain the competencies and tools local counselors need to be successful at both the national and international level. It involved liaison with a number of stakeholders with goals often at odds with each other.
Importance
This project connected to the real needs of the students in the Sino-American program, many of whom have been shortchanged by the counseling process. The majority of the students in the program receive academic counseling by expensive third parties who promise entry into top American schools, a promise that they are often unable to keep because of the qualifications of the students. Developing a quality yet affordable academic counseling program housed directly in the school is just short of revolutionary in China, but this project helped start the process. Change didn’t happen overnight, but change happened nonetheless.
Skills Gained
Project management
Building and maintaining relationships
Interdepartmental communication and collaboration
Systems thinker, looks for patterns and makes connections
Cultural responsiveness
Skills evaluating program performance, summarizing findings, communicating results, and forming an action plan
Impact
Stakeholders at all levels were impacted by this project as the project unearthed many deficiencies and redundancies found across the various departments in the school. It also helped illuminate financial waste and oversight. Most importantly, it gave all students in the program an organization to turn to for affordable academic counseling, something that has been missing since the program’s inception. It would be nice to offer free academic counseling, but that simply will not happen in the near future of for-profit education in China. This is at least a step in that direction.
Work Sample
I have included a draft of the foundation I created for this program. It includes the beliefs, philosophy, mission statement, and standards and competencies.
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In addition to the foundation, I have also included two preparatory materials that help explain the international counseling model to the stakeholders of this project.
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