Today we’d like to introduce you to Brigitte Brikho-Alfares.
Hi Brigitte, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Since 2012, I have been serving countless students in their journeys through the complex educational systems across the US and in Canada. Working as a peer advisor for SDSU’s Undergraduate Psychology Department, I have helped students plan out their courses leading not only to graduation but Graduate school, as well. With a wide range of knowledge of career opportunities and paths, I have helped students to think outside of the box and seek experiences in and out of the classroom to prepare them for the various professional degrees and careers that fulfill their interests and lifestyle aspirations. It was through these experiences that I realized my passion for helping students like myself to pursue higher education and decided to pursue a master’s degree in School Counseling.
Throughout my professional career, I have sought opportunities to work in high schools with diverse populations across San Diego as a school counseling graduate student, a college peer advisor for UCSD’s California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP), as well as through my work as a private college admissions counselor.
I decided to open up my private practice, BRIGing The Gaps: College Admissions Counseling in 2019. Since then, I have had the pleasure of working with hundreds of families who have trusted me to help their students pursue their academic and professional goals.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Thanks to social media and a supportive community, I have been able to grow my business through referrals. Like everyone else, the pandemic required us to counsel virtually rather than in person, but the program was designed to be delivered in-person and/or virtually since we have worked with in-state, out-of-state, and international students all along, so I was very thankful to not have to recreate the wheel. With that being said, the pandemic caused a lot of anxiety, uncertainty, and for lack of better words, lack of motivation in many of our students, so we had to work extra hard to meet students where they were and offer guidance for a hopeful and better future.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about BRIGing The Gaps: College Admissions Counseling?
Being a first-generation college graduate myself, I am passionate about helping all students achieve their goals by guiding them to answers rather than just always giving them the answers to their questions. My goal is to not only help them build their profiles and take the right classes to get into the college of their dreams but to teach them lifelong skills that will help them to succeed long after they have graduated from my program.
I specialize in counseling students throughout high school and/or community college in course selection, career exploration, and major exploration. Through our comprehensive packages, I guide students through the college application process as I build a balanced and financially feasible list of colleges for them to apply to base on their academic and extracurricular profiles, as well as support them with filling out applications and outlining/reviewing their admissions essays.
I believe in providing quality service to my families and students, so I limit the number of students I take on for each grade level every year to be able to provide that one-on-one support families are looking for when they sign up to work for me. There is a package for everyone at BRIGing The Gaps: College Admissions Counseling (BTG) and we offer complimentary, first meetings to go over and decide which package is the best fit for said student’s needs.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
I’ve learned that life is unpredictable and we have to be adaptable in our approach to meet families and students where they are in order to reach future goals because there will always be a “tomorrow”. We go through phases in life; some really great and some not so great, but we must remain optimistic and resilient in order to do right by our kids and families.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.brigingthegaps.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brigingthegaps/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BRIGing-The-Gaps-136575703925391
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/briging-the-gaps-college-admissions-counseling-san-diego
