As part of the work at Uptown School, Colleen works with the Diploma Team to ensure that students make educated and informed decisions regarding their academics to allow a seamless transition to university. Her career in the UAE has been in every sector, from working in government schools with ADEK, to the university system with Higher Colleges of Technology, and now as a University and Careers Counsellor at Uptown School. Since joining Uptown School in 2020, she has worked alongside the Diploma Coordinator and the Head of Year faculty to create an academic advising program that starts in Grade 10, where students engage in sessions to inform about the IBDP program and the options available to them for their DP journey. Parents are invited into the conversation via coffee mornings and evening sessions, where the IBDP is explained, and questions are invited to help ensure that all stakeholders are making decisions that they are comfortable and confident with. This often looks like after school hours meetings, zoom calls and many emails to ensure that parents and students are equipped with the information that they need for such important decisions. All Grade 10 students meet one-on-one with a member of the DP team, to review the options selections and to lay the groundwork for their future. Parents are invited into the conversation, and this open-door policy exists throughout the years in the DP program at Uptown.