LEARNING LEARNING
PREPARING FOR SUCCESS AFTER BANGKOK PATANA By Kevin Keller, Head of Careers and University Counselling
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hen students think about university counsellors and the work that we do, their minds immediately jump to scouring university websites, attending endless virtual sessions with university representatives, picking apart personal statements and submitting important documents. While this is the case for much of our work with students in Year 13, I’m often careful to remind them that our role is much more than that. From the early years of Secondary School, all the way through to graduation day, our Careers and Universities Counselling faculty is actively engaged with students to holistically prepare them for success and meet their goals in higher education. Beginning in Year 7 and throughout their time in Secondary School, students hear from university counsellors on topics stemming from personal values, life as an adult, career choices and, of course, university selection. It is important for students to understand that there is a distinct link between their selfawareness, personally and academically, and their future happiness and success. We encourage students to start thinking about what makes them happy, what skills help them achieve success and in which types of environments do they thrive. Choosing a career is a daunting process. Many of our students are challenged by the idea of choosing something to do for the rest of their lives. At many points during their time at Bangkok Patana, we invite guest speakers and others to discuss the non-linear paths to career success, reinforcing the idea
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• Bangkok Patana School
that life is not linear; there are twists and turns along the way that make the journey more interesting and help us learn more about ourselves. As we know, life after school, or as it is more commonly known “adulting,” can be equally challenging and rewarding. Building critical thinking skills that guide a thoughtful decision-making process is an important part navigating this exciting journey. Work with Key Stage 3 students centres on preparing them for a life of work by linking goal setting, priorities and personal finance skills. Of course, all of this leads to our work supporting university applications in later years. We are so lucky to be a part of a community that nurtures our students
personally and academically. Of course, university environments can be drastically different and serve as real challenges for our students as they transition into adulthood. As university counsellors, we help our students through what sometimes is the first realisation of the wider world and the trials and tribulations that may appear on their road to success. While most of our students achieve fantastic university admission results, many are faced with life’s first denials. Applying to the most selective global universities in competition with the world’s ablest students can be a thrilling but sometimes disappointing process and I am acutely aware of the word “counsellor” in my title during
