New Educational Consultants

I just spent a week teaching for the IECA Summer Institute. I have volunteered to do this for the last 12 years and continue to find it one of the most gratifying weeks of the year. Not only does IECA provide a comprehensive and informative curriculum to the new or soon-to-be educational consultants who come each year, but my colleagues on the faculty bring consistently new perspectives from which I continue to learn even after having spent 15 years in this business.

The one thing that I come away with each year is the knowledge that this profession is going to be in good hands when those of us who have practiced for a long time are gone. Those seeking to follow in our footsteps are ethical, eager to learn professionals who understand that what we do is about the best we can provide to the students we serve. For college consultants, like me, that is all about fit and match and not at all about trophy hunting. At times, it is educating parents about how to subjugate their own needs and desires to what is best for their child. It is always about helping students develop self-awareness and self-advocacy skills which they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.  As my own practice has grown and changed over the years, those two facets of my work remain unchanged.

After all these years of working only with students and their families, I now have branched out to providing consulting support to other educational consultants. I have garnered great satisfaction teaching new consultants through my work with IECA, UCLA Extension, and UC-Irvine Extension and am now responding to the requests of many over the years to give more hands-on assistance for a fee to those newly in practice. Will I ever stop my volunteer efforts to educate those new to the profession? Not as long as I am given the opportunity to do so. This newer venture will allow me to give more time to those who feel that they need more.

I am confident about the future of our profession and am thrilled to be able to help shape this future by working with those who will follow me when I am no longer practicing.