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The speaker served as a college advisor at Wilson High School from 2016 to 2018. They joined the USC College Advising Corps after doing college access work in college. They wanted to make an impact on students from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds. They worked with a high volume of students, helping them navigate the college application process and providing information on financial aid, choosing a major, and college life. They also tracked data and organized events like Decision Day to celebrate students' accomplishments. The speaker's sister was also an advisor, and they often discussed their experiences and supported each other. One student story that stuck with the speaker was about a student named Iris, who initially didn't think she could go to college due to financial constraints and lack of knowledge. The speaker helped her realize her potential and guided her through the application process. Iris ended up applying to UCs and CSUs with her good GPA. All right. Okay. We are recording. So I'll ask you my first question, which is just what was the name of the school that you served and what years did you serve? I was serving at Wilson High School in Long Beach, and that was in, okay, I think 2016 to 2018. 2016 to 2018. Okay, awesome. And why did you join the USC College Advising Corps? Yeah. So actually, my trajectory to College Advising Corps is interesting. So I had been doing a lot of college access work while I was an undergrad through different organizations on campus, like our Black Recruitment and Retention Center and such. And so I was also an RA. So I always had this thought that I wanted to go into education in some way, shape, or form, because I minored in education, too. But I didn't know exactly what that would look like. And so when I graduated, I was looking into positions that could allow me to learn and grow and also support students as they're trying to get to a higher education. And so I think I just looked it up online when looking for jobs one day, and I put my application in. And it was actually during a cycle where they were just hiring like a couple advisors, because it was like a mid-cycle hiring where they lost, I think, some advisors and was hiring. And I went through the interview process, and I didn't get the position at that time. But I remember I reached out to Aura, and Aura, after the interview, and I remember he emailed me back, and he said, you know, definitely reapply. So I just like took that. So I actually was working at a non-profit for a little bit, working at the LA Promise Fund. And then once the opportunity came up to apply again when they were doing the math hiring for the new cycle, I applied and I got the position. So, you know, I really wanted to make an impact on the students who are coming from diverse, disadvantaged backgrounds, underrepresented backgrounds. You know, when I was in college, I was, I struggled to just ask for help or just to navigate campus and such. And so it was helpful to have some community. And so I also went to a small high school, charter school. And so we got a college advisor my last year in high school. And she was so pivotal into telling me, like, you should apply here. And she went big. And so I wanted to provide that same impact to students. So yeah, it was a perfect fit. And when you say in high school, you got a college advisor, was that like the USC CAC program? Or was it something different? No, I was a very, very small charter school. And so we got, like, just a college guidance counselor. My high school was a bit under-resourced. There were only 30 students in my graduating class. And so they got a college counselor when I was a senior. And so she kind of helped me through the process. We had USC Educational Talent Search, actually, at our high school. So the TRIO program was a part of that, too. So that also helped, you know, for me to kind of get to college. So I am a product of college access programs coming to high schools. And so it was nice to be able to also do that in my professional work. Abby, what college did you go to? I went to UC Berkeley for undergrad. UC Berkeley. Oh, OK, nice. All right. So thank you for sharing that. My next question is going to be, describe the experience of being an advisor. Well, I'll start off with the very, like, nice answer. It's very rewarding to be able to work with students and offer them options that they didn't feel like they might have. And so a lot of what I was doing as an advisor was really changing students' perspective on what's possible for them. A lot of them came from first gen, low income backgrounds. And so, you know, a lot of times they didn't see past their current circumstances or situations or feel like college was something for them. And a lot of what I was doing was educating students, educating even their parents on what college can afford them, what opportunities they can have by pursuing a higher education. And so a lot of that work came out of one-on-one meetings with students to really ensure that they knew what options were available to them, and then also then helping them apply. And so it was a lot of collaboration with the school counselors and teachers to really ensure that we can get the information to students, whether it's going to their classroom or creating workshops on campus to really inform students on the different aspects of the college application, whether that be applying, personal statements, financial aid, information about choosing a major, college life, all those different things, our access to the job that we did. Yeah, I would say it was very high-paced, like fast-paced. And, you know, it was a high volume of students that we were working with. So I think at Wilson, it was about 1,000 seniors there. And we had two advisors, so it was myself and another advisor, which was actually really nice to have a co-advisor there with me because we tag-teamed and, you know, all of those things to split the caseload. So that was actually very nice to have. But we were meeting with students every day, calling them out of class, talking them through their application. And yeah, so I would say it was a very high-paced job. It was also, we had to do a lot of data tracking. So every engagement or interaction we had with a student, we had to track it. Every application we submitted, we had to track it. So, you know, a lot of administrative work as well that we had to do to also ensure that we can just essentially, like, show the impact that we had at the school through our engagement and touch points. We also had, like, a big event at the end of each year, which was Decision Day. So that was a really fun program planning experience because we get to celebrate all the students and the accomplishments that they have by applying and getting admitted to the different colleges and then making that decision on where they wanted to go. So we would have a huge celebration, you know, balloons and food and games and activities and just celebrating the students on that day for their accomplishments. So that was always a highlight every year is to do that for the students. Yeah, I know Decision Day is actually coming up around the corner this year. So I've seen, like, a lot of the advisors kind of talk about that and go through, like, what their theme is going to be. And it's really cool and heartwarming to see that. So I also wanted to ask, I think Ben had mentioned that your sister, I don't know if she was an advisor or if she works with you, or he had just briefly mentioned her. Yeah, so my sister was an advisor with me as well. She was at San Pedro High School. So she came a year after me, I believe, to do the job. And so, yeah, it was nice to be able to work with her. We actually did our master's program together, too, at USC Educational Counseling. So we did that program together. She's not here at UC Irvine anymore. She's working elsewhere. But yeah, she also was an advisor. What was her name? Asani. A-S-A-N-I. Asani. Okay. And did that impact, like, your experience at all? Just, I mean, I know you guys didn't work at the same school, but I mean, did that kind of help you guys? Like, did you guys always, like, talk about, you know, like, your experiences and kind of feedback off of that? Or how was that? Yeah. Oh, for sure. We were talking about our experiences all the time, like, dealing with the administration and maybe, like, challenges that might be happening on our school sites, and how are we navigating those challenges to kind of help each other out? Because we were in two different school districts, but it was still helpful to know, like, okay, what are you, what's going on with your students over there? Like, what strategies are you using? We would bounce ideas off of each other a lot, and also vent to each other a lot around what's going on. But yeah, we, it was nice to be able to do that with her, because we had different schools and could offer different perspectives on how to kind of do our jobs better. So we definitely helped each other out a lot. And was she older or younger than you? She's my younger sister. Yeah, she's only a year and a half younger than me. So, yeah, we're pretty close age. And you guys went to USC to complete your master's degree together and graduated together? Yes. That's so cool. Yeah, that's awesome. So my next question is going to be, can you share a student story that still sticks with you? Like so many pop into my head, but one specifically. Should I say names or? Yeah. Her name was Iris. And I remember working with her, even starting as a junior, she would come in. And she was super smart, as was indicated through her grades, because she basically had like almost all A's in all of her classes. She was just super quiet. She would just come in, very like kind of shy almost, and just come in, ask one question, and she'll just like go off. And I'm like, okay. And so I remember her because, I don't know, she just stuck out to me because I don't think that she really thought that she had the potential to go to college. And I was like, you literally have straight A's. Like, why would you think you can't go to college? And then you start to dig deeper with students and understand their story. So like, you know, the background she comes from, I believe she was like a single mom, household and first gen, and then like finance, low income. So she didn't think that she could afford college. And, you know, all of these misconceptions that students have, because they just don't have the knowledge or education around it. And so she was one of those students where I just sat and kind of talked to her about those things. And then she actually opened up to even applying. And so she applied to a few different UCs, CSUs. And I remember I was telling her, you should apply to UCs because, you know, you have like very, very good GPA. And so she applied to UCs. She applied to some CSUs. She ended up getting into, I believe, like, I know she got into UC Irvine, because I remember I was trying to convince her to go here for some reason. And then she got into Cal State Long Beach, because a lot of our students have that. A lot of our students got into Cal State Long Beach because of it being in a bicycle district. And she ended up going there and majoring in business. And then I remember, like, I think not too long ago, she, like, emailed me or messaged me on LinkedIn. And she was doing all these great things on campus, like she was a part of, like, the Business Association, and she was about to graduate, and she was doing so well. So yeah, I don't know, she sticks out to me because I remember she was like a skate, she did skateboarding, too. And so she would do a lot of competitions for skateboarding. And, like, talking about that in terms of, like, her getting sponsorships and stuff. I'm like, girl, you're, like, getting all this, doing all these great things, even outside of school. And I remember we were highlighting a lot of that on her essays and such. So yeah, I'll say she sticks out to me. There's a bunch of other stories I feel like I can tell, but that one sticks out the most. And so what is she doing now currently, like, in her role? I'm actually not sure. I'm not sure, too, what she's doing now. But I know she's doing something in business. Oh, okay. That's cool. Yeah, so nice. It's nice, too, that she reached out and kind of, like, remembered and, you know, you and how you were pivotal to her college career journey. So definitely. Okay, so my next question is going to be how has advising impacted you personally and professionally? I would say, personally, it's, I don't know, it just is very fulfilling to be able to impact someone else's journey just by encouraging them or providing them hope or just giving them options. I think I've always wanted to use my story and background as, like, inspiration for others. And, you know, I've been able to use what I've learned. I always had, like, this quote that I kind of live by, like, build as you climb. And so there were people that sewed into me or, like, watered me or provided me with resources and support to get me to where I am. And so, you know, being an advisor, I saw me doing that to my students. So, you know, the knowledge that I gained from my experiences and having similar experiences with some of them, being able to, like, pour into them, let them know, hey, like, you can do this. Like, you can get to where you're supposed to go. You belong here. I think that that was really impactful for me to be able to give back in that way. And so, you know, one of my core values is, like, service. And so and all that I do, I want to give back and be of service to others. And so being a college advisor really spoke to the core of that in terms of my values. So I'll say that's something, personally, and I'll say professionally, it was, it was very pivotal in my professional journey. I feel like if I had, by doing this, that position allowed me to gain a lot of transferable skills to move on into the education field. You know, we got to do advising. So one-on-one, like, levels of advising, counseling, guidance were skills that I developed just working one-on-one with students, especially those that come from, like, more complex diverse backgrounds where they might be dealing with a lot of, like, maybe trauma or things of that nature that they might disclose to you. And being able to kind of navigate those conversations, I think, was a skill set that I gained in that space. And then in general, just being in a professional space where you're an off-campus sort of partner on campus. And so you're not, I guess, employed by the school district with a collaboration and partnership. And so being able to collaborate with the teachers and counselors and administrative staff on campus to really provide a service there on that campus. And yeah, to be a cross collaborator, I think, is something that professionally was very important for me and a great transferable skill that I've used to this day. I would also say the program planning piece, so developing workshops for students and parents was something that also helped me develop professionally. Even, like, I found out about Canva while working for College Advisor. And, like, creating flyers, you know, simple things like that, I also developed there. And then I would say one of the other impactful things that helped me professionally develop was just the data tracking and support. So just being able to, number one, just track all of my engagement with students. We had to do other reports too, like how many classes did we complete? How many applications did you submit with students? Those types of things helped me develop in terms of, I guess, like, showing what your impact was like when working with an EROD. So, yeah, I would say I got a lot out of the experience of being a College Advisor and honestly got me to, I attribute what I learned in that job to where I am today. Mm-hmm. Yeah, because it helped you just, like, creatively and learn how to be more personable with people. And I can totally see how that's, like, very transferable for sure. You know, I've dealt with a lot of personalities on that campus, you know, from students to staff. And, you know, you learn how to navigate people in that professional way. And so I definitely gained that from that position as well. So how did you say that you changed the college culture at the high school that you served? That's a good question. Mm-hmm. So I would say, so they had a college and career person there. But I think me and the Co-Advisor coming in and actually, like, going to the students to support them, offering workshops and such, and creating those relationships with the teachers, I think allowed them to see what options were available to students for college and things of that nature. Yeah, I think we brought more visibility to the amount of students that were getting into college and promoting that, especially through Decision Day. So, and we would also share our data and information with the counselors and administrators too. So that allowed them to really be able to take that information and understand, like, where are they at with where students are applying and getting in. So I think that also helped them to inform them about, like, how can they further, like, basically see the importance of our position there on the campus. Yeah, I think that's kind of what I would say. We would have, like, college, I think we had a day where they all wore, like, the college t-shirts and such. So that could help to promote it to the younger classes as well. Yeah, I think we tried to make college, going to college, look cool for students so that they could aspire to it. So we tried to just make it, like, a welcoming space in the college and career center too for students so that people feel comfortable to come and ask their questions. Yeah. Yeah, I feel like you made it very interactive. Yeah. Yeah, I feel like you made it very interactive too, you know, because a lot of the times they just hear about it, but you actually help them to interact with that. And I think that's kind of, like, what is the most effective for sure. So, you know, I think going to the students, like, we were really adamant about that because we were calling students out one by one. That was impactful too because a lot of times it would be trying to, like, review their transcripts to see, like, if they're eligible for what schools and such. And so that was really impactful for that. But, like, going to the classrooms and creating partnerships with the teachers was really important to let them know, like, hey, this is important for us to come in and talk about these things. It allows us to really reach more students. So I think that was really pivotal in us creating a college going culture because they could visibly see us coming to the classroom and working with them. And it was, like, a collaboration, not just with us doing the work, but with the teachers and the counselors and everyone involved. Right. So tell me more about you. Like, what are you up to right now? What is your position like? So right now I am the program director for the Transfer Student Center at UC Irvine. And so my work is essentially to support all transfers on campus and through our center. And we provide resources and services to make sure that transfer students can navigate and transition to campus successfully. So we have counselors and coordinators and staff in the office that help to do that. And I oversee all of the staff. So we have a lot of programs and initiatives that we work with. So we work with diverse student populations within the transfer population that we do targeted interventions with and cohort programs. So we work with formerly incarcerated system and adopted students. And so we partner with our Underground Scholars Program. And then we also have a lifted program, which is essentially a program where. UC Irvine has students that are currently incarcerated and that faculty go to the prison and actually teach the classes. And then we have a counselor from our office that goes and offers them the same support that they might get if they were on campus in terms of like navigating academic life, resources for support, mental health support and things like that. And so she goes to the prison like once a month to do that. So we work with that population really intentionally. We also have a program and services for former current and former officers. And so that program, we're able to provide students with financial emergency scholarships, guaranteed housing, just so many sources to get through college. So and then we also have peer mentors, transfers program. We also have our Umoja program that works with all students through a pedagogy that's responsive of African-American legacy. And then, yeah, so we have those specific programs. Oh, also we support parenting students. So students who are parents, we provide services to support them. So we do CalWORKs verification workshops, referrals, things of that nature. So in general, we're like a hub of support for students. So we help them navigate different campus resources. We do advocacy for them when it comes to their academic progress. And so there might be students that might not do so well academically. And we work with them on academic study skills, on resources they can access for support. And, you know, also just advocacy in that, like, sometimes it's hard to navigate different offices on campus. And so we help to navigate, we help as advocates for financial aid or to their academic unit. And so we really just pride ourselves on being that hub of support for students that might need support as they're going through their college journey. So I really love the work that I do. I was previously, I got into this role two years ago. So I was previously a counselor in our Student Success Initiative, like over our team department. And so I worked one-on-one with students and did, like, case management in that way. A lot of what I was doing at college advising. So I got the job right after I was done with college advising. And I believe, like, that job got me this job. And so I was doing a lot of what I was doing there, but on a, obviously, university level. So, yeah, I worked with all the similar populations I was working with in college advisor too. So first in low income, students with disabilities, pretty much any population you could think of, I really worked with them. Wow, that's amazing. I mean, the work that you do is phenomenal, especially, like, what really caught my attention was the fact that you guys have a program to assist people that are incarcerated right now. Can I ask, like, which prison you go to or, like, which the faculty go to? Like, how does that work? Yeah, so it's essentially a partnership with one of the academic schools that we have here. So it's the School of Social Ecology. So all of them essentially have the same major, because they have to go through all of the same courses. And so there's faculty that are, you know, they sign up to do the program. So they go down to teach in the facility, you know, once a week or whatever it is, how often they need to do the class. And then, yeah, and they're working towards their degree, just like any other UCI student. So they're doing the same work, you know, it's just brought to them. And so, yeah. That's amazing. Now, what about your future? What are you aiming to do? So that's a good question, because I am still thinking about what is going to be next for me. In some ways, I just know that in whatever I do, it's going to be of service in some way to provide resources, support to students, whether that's on a macro level, kind of what I'm doing now, or even more macro level in the future. I think that's what I want to continue doing. I don't have plans right now for like a PhD or EDD or anything like that. But, you know, that could be something in the future that I, you know, add on to my list. But right now, I think I'm just enjoying the work that I'm doing in this role. Yeah, definitely. I know it's kind of hard to like, you know, think in the future of like, what you want to do. I know I'm still like, I don't know what I want to do. So I know it can be kind of hard to really know, because yeah, who knows, you know? Yeah, I've been thinking about entrepreneurship a lot lately, too. So, you know, I might have like some projects of my own that I'm working on to put out there as well. Yeah, for sure. That's awesome. All right. So these have... Are you still okay on time? I know that it's already 2.30. Yeah, I'm good. Okay, perfect. I just have like last couple of questions. So sorry, let me see my screen is like all over the place. Okay, so what would you say to someone who's thinking about donating to the College Advising Corps program? I will say that donating to the College Advising Corps would be a dollar well spent. You know, the work that the advisors are doing in each of these schools, honestly, sometimes you can't even put a number on it, because it's really transformative work that the College Advising Corps is doing when it comes to like transforming like young minds into thinking bigger and to... and thinking bigger and fulfilling a higher education. They're contributing to our society and our world and our environment, because they're going on to be doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, you know, all these things are aspirations that these students have. And by us being able to provide this resource to just get them past that step, because really, the college application process is difficult. Like if you don't have someone to support you through it, or just explain in layman terms, you know, what that process looks like, you know, they could lose out on that opportunity. And so, you know, if we want to contribute to our society, just being better, I think that going to the College Advising Corps is something that we should, you should do. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And my last question, I guess it's kind of, maybe you sort of answered this already, but it was just going to be why do you think this program is necessary? Yeah, I mean, again, you know, students don't know what they don't know. And with us going in as advisors, and really walking them through the process, providing them and educating them with the information for them to go on and thrive within higher education, I think it's invaluable. You know, it's something you know, students can can easily maybe go look up something on the internet, but to have someone to guide them through the process, I think is so important. Again, it's not just transactional either. It's not just, okay, this is the application, this is what you need to do. You know, some of it's some of that, but it's also being able to relate to the students to be a mentor to the students, you know, to build rapport and trust with them, so they can feel like they can do this. Those are the things that make the experience worthwhile. And so, you know, that this work is so necessary, because nobody gets to where they want to go by themselves. Everyone needs a little bit of support. And so this program is really doing that on a grand scale when it comes to supporting our students in the high schools. So yeah, this work is really important. And it's more important now than ever, when our, you know, political climate is really just defunding education or, you know, just like all the things. We need our students to be educated and to have these opportunities so they can grow. So, yeah. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for answering all of my questions and for giving me really in-depth answers. I really appreciate it. I have two quick things before we wrap up. So the first thing is going to be, could you send me a headshot of you that I can use in the report? Okay, awesome. And then the second thing is I wanted to invite you, because essentially what we're going to do is we're going to present this impact report at a celebration. So it's going to be held at Dodger Stadium, which is pretty cool. It's going to be on June 10. And essentially, we're going to invite a bunch of like donors and funders, superintendents of the districts that we serve. We also want to invite like people that work at USC too, like leadership and stuff, board of counselors. And essentially what we want to do is kind of throw like a little celebration because it's the 10th year anniversary. But we also want to have like a little presentation of the impact report. But I want to just formally invite you too, and I'll send you an invite through email if you'd like to attend. We would love to have you there. You don't have to present or anything like that. It's just to go and like, you know, see the team. And you might see like other advisors that in the past that you know. So I'll send you that free parking and stuff. And I'll send you like the logistics and everything, but it's going to be on June 10. Okay, yeah, that's a Tuesday. Yeah, so I'll make sure to send that to you. Oh, sorry, it's like cutting up a little bit. Sorry, what'd you say? Oh, sorry, I'll just wait for the formal email. I'm sure there's an RCP or something with that as well. Yeah, there's like a registration link. So you can just go ahead and fill that out. I'll send it to you after this. But yeah, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. This is a really great interview. And I have so much really great content to use from this. So I'm really excited. I'm excited to share that with you. And I'll make sure to show you as well, like the impact report. Once it's all finished, I'm aiming to have that done by like, the end of May to have it ready for the celebration. So definitely make sure to share that with you. Yeah, sometimes I feel like I'm talking all over the place. So if you need clarity on anything that I said today, feel free to email me. I'll probably still email you things I'm thinking Is that okay? Of course. Yeah, please. Anything that you, because I totally get it. Sometimes it's like on the spot, you're like, I don't know. And then it's like, afterwards, you're like, wait, I should have said this or like, you know, you think of something else. So totally, like you have my email. So feel free to email me whatever you'd like, like any other tidbits that you have. Because I'm still going to be working on this for the next few weeks. So I can always like pop those into. But yeah, so and if you have any other questions, like on the events or anything at all, just feel free to reach out. How many people did interviews? Did you do? I hope I'm not like one of the only ones. No. So for alumni, you're the first that I've done. I'm still waiting for a few other people. But like for current advisors, I've interviewed three. And I've also interviewed some students as well, like current students and past students, because I feel like it's important to hear from them, like how did we impact you? But I wanted to do more interviews. But I guess the team is kind of like, we want the report to be sort of like short and sweet and not super long, you know, because you're going to look at it. And, you know, it's kind of overwhelming. If you look at something that's like super long. Yeah, we want to keep it like, you know, to a minimum. So yeah, so you're the first alumni that I've interviewed, and hoping to get at least one more person. So I'm just kind of waiting. It's just a little hard, because obviously, like, you know, it's been a couple years. So we're trying to track people down and stuff. So yeah, so that's thank you for also like, responding to me really quickly, because I was like, Oh, my God, what if nobody responds? Like, what am I going to do? Oh, yeah, no worries. Luckily, yeah, next week is not good for me. So that's all like, today will probably be the best. And I'll put my the info, that's the link to the center that I work, I oversee. So you can kind of see more details about it, if you wanted to, like to have details about the work that I do. And yeah, a lot of it is similar to the work I did with College Advising Corps, just at a higher level, higher education level. So yeah. Perfect. Yeah, thanks for sending this is super helpful, because I really want to write about like, how CAC kind of helped bridge where you're at now. So this is super helpful. So I can refer back to this too. Okay, awesome. Thank you so much, Adiba. I really appreciate it. I hope you have a great rest of your Friday and a great weekend. And we'll keep in touch. I'll make sure to send you that invite. Right. No worries. Have a good one. Thanks. You too. Bye.
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