One of GESS’ priorities is to prepare and future-proof our graduating students, starting from as early as Grade 10. In addition to BeyondClassrooms, and class and grade-level activities that provide exposure for our students, there is a dedicated team of Career Counsellors who help guide our graduating students on their desired path. We find out more from Mariola Meyer and Tom Walton what they do in this team.
A cross-cultural kid herself, Mariola studied in Münster, Cologne and Warsaw and has been teaching for 12 years, with a prior stint as University Counsellor at the University of Münster. Coming to Singapore in 2018 and joining the GESS family with her husband (currently Head of German Language) and two children (who are also schooling at GESS), she has been supporting our students with university guidance counselling as well as teaching Economics and Ethics.
A UK-trained teacher who has taught in the UK, Switzerland and Malaysia as well as taking on university guidance counselling roles in both the UK and Singapore, Tom is now in his 10th year at GESS (and still counting!). His son is a GESS graduate (Class of 2018) and his wife is currently the Head of Science.
What is your role as Career Counsellors and what do you see as your mission in this role?
Our primary role is to support students in their exploration of future pathways, giving them tools to conduct informed research into both university programmes and career opportunities. Encouraging students to make choices leading to a ‘good fit’ in their studies and career plans is a key function in our work. This naturally involves us supporting our students’ applications as they prepare personal statements and letters of motivation, and request school-based documents such as transcripts. Other aspects of our pathways-related work include organising university visits and fairs as well as offering career-based activities such as the Careers Information Exchange and mock interviews.
Careers Information Exchange 
Careers Information Exchange
Apart from the practical university application and careers-related help we offer students, another vital part of our role is to guide them towards an understanding of the transition cycle and the significance of the move from high school to university, a gap year or into national service. Awareness of the social and emotional aspects of the transition from high school will help our students to acquire a better understanding of what to expect and to consider ways to deal with the challenges that are part of moving to a new environment.
We see our mission as giving our students the tools to make informed, considered decisions about their future, developing their confidence to thrive in a post-secondary environment.
What are some of the activities/initiatives we have been doing, and how do you see these value adding to our students planning their future?
We have our regular counselling commitments, which include meeting students individually, weekly university guidance classes and welcoming university and college representatives to GESS for information visits (in-person and virtual). In addition, we provide information for students regarding university-related fairs and events in Singapore via our dedicated Teams channel. Other activities we have arranged for students as part of the programme include mock interview experiences and job application simulations, designed to give students relevant life skills as they move towards graduation from GESS.
Larger-scale events we host annually include the Lion City Tour University Fair, with the post-Covid September 2022 edition attracting 75 universities from around the world to our campus for a lively morning of interaction with students and parents. With over 400 students and many parents visiting the fair, our visiting university and college representatives were delighted with the turnout. Still to come this year is the Grade 11 Careers Information Exchange in June, and we are looking forward to welcoming to the campus the parents and friends of GESS who will present a range of career pathways to our students.
GESS Lion City Tour University Fair 
GESS Lion City Tour University Fair
What are some of the challenges your team faces in putting together purposeful activities for our students?
The biggest challenge we had to face was imaginably the global pandemic and restrictions that came with it. Arranging university access to campus and the provision of university fairs in Singapore are only two of the major components of our University Counselling Programme that were impossible to execute as had been done before. We had to adapt to virtual events for any activity that included visitors from outside of school. Even in this situation we were fortunate that the school and all our students are so well equipped in terms of IT resources. Indeed, the students are so tech savvy that we were still able, effectively and without major problems, to transfer the channel of communication from personal to virtual — even for events like the Careers Information Exchange that is organised in small groups.
Mock Interviews 
Mock Interviews 
Mock Interviews
Back when some activities had to be done virtually, such as mock interviews. We thank our industry partners like BMW Group Asia for agreeing to support us, even in an alternative mode.
Looking back, we are glad that we can now have visitors back on campus — but we also see a benefit in the students’ acquisition of organisational skills honed during lockdown, such as writing formal emails to interviewers and presenters, and setting up virtual meetings. These are all skills that the students will need for their future careers.
Sidetracking here to name some positive traits we see of our students – being open-minded, accepting diverse perspectives and identities, plus being passionate about making a positive impact on the world through activism and community service. We are very proud of our many students who are multilingual, great communicators and show a caring attitude towards their peers. They are also tech-savvy and adaptable to change, showing a greater resilience due to navigating restrictions during the pandemic. Additionally, they are highly educated and motivated to succeed in their chosen careers.
Back to challenges – the nature of international school parents and the likelihood of their moving on is another common one, as we rely on the parent body to support our programme. On the other hand, new parents come to Singapore and bring new expertise and skills to share within our activities, so there is a bright side to the frequent movement of parents within the world of international education!
What do you feel are some common problems or challenges faced by our students and young individuals nowadays, as they approach graduation? Do you observe any trends?
A major challenge that all students face nowadays as they approach graduation is to choose from what seems to be an overwhelming range of possibilities for their future pathway. Our University Guidance curriculum and the individual counselling sessions we offer are aimed at supporting the students as they research post-GESS options that excite them and for which they appear to be well suited.
Facing the transition to living independently (without parents and siblings) is both a scary and exciting thought for many of our graduating students. It is not only moving out from their parents’ home, but also the fact that they have to leave the island and move overseas. They are likely to need to settle into a new country and a whole new environment that many might not have lived in before. Adapting to a new environment that is ‘home’ to many of their new friends and colleagues – but not necessarily quickly and easily for themselves – can be very challenging, especially at the beginning of the so-called transition cycle. This experience is a reverse culture shock and is common to international students who grow up as Third Culture Kids.
A new trend is the rising concern around finding appropriate housing in the city in which a university is located. This is an especially challenging situation in Europe now, since apartments are scarce. Due to the very high demand but slow growth of supply, prices are rising. Competition among tenants is fierce. Dealing with this kind of practical matter is a significant part of our students’ transition to independence.
The GESS Alumni Programme has our alumni offering advice and insights to current students. What is your take on this offering, do you think it’s beneficial for students?
The GESS Alumni Programme is an exciting development and offers our current students several ways to engage with former students. For example, an attractive aspect for students is the possibility of securing an internship through a contact made via the GESS Alumni Portal. The University Mentorship Programme is a new initiative, with great potential for our students to benefit from the expertise offered by former GESS students who have relevant university-related knowledge and experience.
All Grade 11 and Grade 12 students have been introduced to the GESS Alumni Programme (and have had the opportunity to register), and we are confident that the programme will continue to develop as our graduates realise the opportunities that staying connected to GESS presents. Not least of these benefits is the chance to stay in touch with their classmates and share news of their lives post-GESS!
Any upcoming plans?
With campus visitor restrictions having eased after Covid, we have resumed university and college representatives visiting us in person. These visits are usually at lunchtime and students are notified in advance through our GESS University Guidance Teams pages. We hope that we will be welcoming more visitors to campus as the year unfolds.
This time of the year is always exciting for us as many of our Grade 12 students have submitted university applications and are now beginning to receive admissions decisions from universities all over the world. It’s wonderful to share the joy of our students receiving positive responses in the form of acceptances or conditional offers from universities.
A major event for the University Guidance team in the second half of the year is the annual Careers Information Exchange (next one is in June 2023). This is an opportunity for our Grade 11 students to meet parents and Friends of GESS who volunteer to spend a morning with us sharing information about their career pathways and the experiences (both academic and in the workplace) leading them to their current position.
What would be your one advice to our students who are starting to think of what’s next, after GESS?
One piece of advice we would give to graduating students is to take risks and not be afraid to fail. Failure is a natural part of the learning process, and it can often lead to growth and success. Graduating students should also be open to new opportunities and be willing to try new things, even if they are outside of their comfort zone. Furthermore, networking is also important to build relationships and to make connections in the industry or field they want to pursue. They should take advantage of opportunities to meet and learn from experienced professionals in their field, such as those they meet at the Careers Information Exchange.
