One of the things that makes SMHS so great is our school’s great core of counselors. Joining this year’s set of counselors was Ms. Fung, who came in to replace Ms. Smith this September. Despite being thrust into a completely new system at its peak business, Ms. Fung has quickly adjusted and is now helping students achieve their dreams.
Ms. Fung has a long history of being in education that has spanned over 15 years, stemming back from her college years. “I’ve been an academic college counselor for now what is my 14th year. I started my background in counseling right after undergrad. I really enjoy working with students and parents so it has been a great experience so far. I spent most of my career as a stem counselor in one of the country’s biggest charter schools, Granada Hills, which had around 5,000 students. There, I was working with a lot of people going into tech as well as people into Dual enrollment so I have a strong background in working with students like those in SMHS,” she explained. While she started her career in a private school, she also has experience being an international counselor and has worked with students from all backgrounds, ranging from Switzerland to China. “I was a part-time international counselor while I was working as an adjunct counselor for Bakersfield College. I also like to travel a lot so being an international counselor allowed me to travel across the world. I’ve made numerous business trips to Asia on school tours and most recently, I traveled to Switzerland.”
One of Ms. Fung’s favorite things about counseling is being able to connect with her students after they’ve already graduated. “I love being able to build strong connections with my students when we get to have one on one experiences. I also love the fact that I can make a positive influence on the lives of people who will impact the future. A few months ago when I was in visiting Nor Cal, I had a nice dinner with one of my former students. I also still keep in touch with some of my other students who are across the country, which makes my work super fulfilling,” she said. “In college, I didn’t really know what to do, but I built a really strong relationship with my Humanities professor who did counseling on the side. Following that, I had an internship working with underprivileged kids and parents which really convinced me to pursue a career in counseling. So far, at San Marino, I’ve had a great time working with the students and staff but it has taken time to adjust to this new system. The students are very driven and competitive for college, which I think is good, and San Marino has a completely different demographic of students compared to the other schools I’ve worked with.”
Outside of school, Ms. Fung enjoys the outdoors and going on road trips. She also has a two year old daughter which she spends most of her time with.
