Letters to OPF
Career Counselor's Message
I am pleased to introduce you to the Career Guidance Office at LGS OPF Girls, where I work with students to find the right university fit for them.
I, as the Guidance Counselor, initiate the process of advising students from Grade IX till A Level to advise them in their subject selection, career and university choices, university requirements, scholarship, financial aid criteria, student profile and much more.
Several sessions are held on campus to familiarize the students with different subject choices and career paths. Throughout the student’s course of study, I am there to guide the students in drawing up action plans, not just in terms of academics , but also support students in their profile building by helping them in getting enrolled in different summer internship programs (both local and abroad).
Apart from this I also register student for on-campus SAT classes, where students have the luxury to attend these classes with comfort in a secure environment.
Being an on-campus Guidance counselor, I am also responsible for minimizing the gap that is there in the market between the hearsay and the factual and actual university information. For the said purpose, representatives from local, national and international universities are invited at the campus so our students get first-hand knowledge and can ask relevant questions from the university representative’s directly.
There is an open door policy to welcome students and parents for one- on- one counseling sessions so that students can fulfill their dreams and find the perfect university fit. We at LGS OPF take our students’ goal very seriously and also take pride in their accomplishments as their goals become our goals.
I being the Head of Academic Guidance Counseling Department have partnered with external organizations such as USEFP, AUSAID and British Council to help facilitate the application process. My job is not only to guide students and parents but to provide a world class experience by translating their dreams and aspirations into reality.
Ms. Sehrish Tahir
Dear OPF,
Back in my day, when yours truly pranced around adorned in a too-big-for-her sash and her crisp, white LGS uniform, the notion of ‘Letters to JT’ not OPF yet, back then, was first introduced to her, and she thought to herself- ah, university. When yours truly decided, she didn’t get enough of the magazine, and staked her claim as the Chief, she thought- ah university, closer now. Let’s be real, you can never know what the esteemed ‘university life’ has to offer till you’re waking up at 4AM, trying to sneak in as much revision time as you possibly can before you’re supposed to be catching the bus at 7AM to drop you to said university before your first 8AM lecture.
However, irrespective of that unnerving start- you never know how thoroughly you are enjoying that exhausting routine, or the level of contentment you feel until it is taken away from you.
My life at my university can be summed up in one sentence: lasted too little. After the exhausting and arduous process of going through the MDCAT, the admission procedure and everything the University of Health Sciences (the mother of all medical schools) puts you through, I found myself in the auditorium of my dream dental college. The initial few weeks were strange. It was an entirely new chapter in my life, and I had nearly forgotten how to make friends. However, time flew (quite rapidly) and I found myself the people I wanted to surround myself with. The people that made dental college easier, the people that made me want to get up and get ready every day at unholy hours after the all-nighters before major tests. The same people that made university so completely worth it. This chapter of your life, it’s scary. It’s new, and it’s unfamiliar.
You find yourself overthinking the details, of not wanting to make the same mistakes. To start fresh and anew, there I was. After admissions were nearly cancelled two months into university, the universe decided to allow the pandemic to quite literally, take over the world. There I found myself, under lockdown; and it is during the same lockdown, that I am writing my letter to JT. It was during this lockdown that the terrible plight of May occurred and my friend’s father lost his life flying the airplane from Lahore to Karachi which crashed sixty seconds prior to the scheduled landing. When I said life was unpredictable, it truly is.
Here is my letter, dear JT/OPF. My letter is not to tell you how my life at university has been, but it is to tell you about a little lesson you learn as you continue growing. No moment is ever the same, no moment can be anticipated. The most that one can do is force oneself to take everything as it comes- in waves mostly.
Now that ‘Waves by Dean Lewis’ is playing in my head, I just want to say this one last thing: No matter how many curveballs are thrown your way, and no matter the amount that knock the wind out of you, the road of life must continue. You just have to keep trudging and pulling through. The ‘university’ step of your life is a big one, and by the time it rolls around you’ll be ready for it. Just take care of yourself, stay safe and enjoy things while they last.
The rollercoaster is almost always worth the scare.
Take care,
Amna Ahmad Aziz, Class of 2019
