In Search of a Match

Case Study 1
Teamwork in Action
For two years Gloria worked as the College Match adviser in a selective public high
school. Treated as a member of the school’s counseling team, Gloria communicated
daily with her counseling colleagues and twice per week attended the counseling
department’s meetings, where weekly goals, achievements, and plans were
discussed. During each meeting, Gloria reported on her successes assisting juniors
and seniors in the match application process and identified areas in which she
needed the team’s support. For example, when students were unresponsive to
her requests to meet, Gloria shared the list of those students with the high school
counseling staff. Through the counseling team and the principal’s proactive
outreach efforts, the informal “grapevine” led students to her office door. Reflecting
on the power of teamwork, regular communication, and proactive outreach, Gloria
recalls, “[Students would] be here within hours” informing her that “[the principal]
told me you’re looking for me.”
During her second year, Gloria had several opportunities to work closely with
the school’s college counselor. Gloria helped codevelop a college application
curriculum for juniors. She was invited to colead a College Colloquium, where she
demonstrated for seniors how to use net price calculators and a financial aid award
comparison tool that she had developed. Gloria also worked with the school’s
college counselor to codesign a bulletin board display, called “Oh, the Places You
Will Go!” featuring individual photos of members of the senior class and the colleges
where they intended to enroll in the fall. Well received by students and staff alike,
the bulletin board display reinforced the counseling team’s and the high school’s
focus on college-going and celebrated the students’ college decisions, many of
which included intentions to enroll in a match college.
NOTE: A pseudonym is used above to protect the adviser’s identity. See the Epilogue on page 41
to learn about the outcome of this case.
Match, Step by Step | 11