Christina Kim
CSUF
Fullerton, CA USA
"In the world of higher education, degrees do matter. Graduate degrees and networking from graduate programs can definitely help you get your foot in the door."
Career Roadmap
Christina's work combines: Education, Business, and Accomplishing Goals
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Whitney High School
Bachelor's Degree
History/Art history
University of California, Los Angeles
Graduate Degree
Special Education and Teaching, General
Columbia University
Graduate Degree
Educational Research Methodology
Oxford University
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be an Associate Director, Project Management:
Bachelor's Degree: History/Art history
Graduate Degree: Special Education and Teaching, General
Graduate Degree: Educational Research Methodology
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
Family moved from Korea to U.S.A. when I was six years old.
2.
Upon graduating from undergrad, I continued on to graduate school, partly because I wanted to teach and partly because I didn't know what else to do.
3.
I took a position with the Council for Exceptional Children in DC. This move took me out of NYC and into my first education job that is not teaching.
4.
After moving back to NYC and taking a Director of Preschool position, I got laid off due to budgetary reasons so I decided to go back to grad school-this time at Oxford University and moved to the UK.
5.
After teaching for a year in the UK, I landed a position as Educational Services Coordinator at Hunter College and moved back to NYC. This was my first job in higher education.
6.
I used the opportunities of a new supervisor and strong work reputation to move up the ladder and became the Director of Academic and Student Affairs at Hunter College, School of Education.
7.
After having a baby later in life, my family made the decision to move to California to be closer to family. I took a position as Chief of Operations for the Division of Student Affairs at CSUF.
8.
After a year and half as COO, I needed to adjust my work-life balance and transition into a role in Extension and International Programs at CSUF.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
There's so much burnout in special education teaching.
How I responded:
Knowing I wanted to enter the field of education, I firmly believed I needed experience as a teacher knowing it was not my life-long calling.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
As an English Language Learner and a lunch ticket kid, I learned early on the value of finding alternative solutions and getting answers through a variety of ways.