PAUL NALO
NAIROBI
Summary
Accredited Career Counselor at Light Academy, with a track record of securing over $13 million in financial aid for students. I relish leveraging relationships and diverse partners to create meaningful opportunities and experiences to foster student success and readiness for access to global higher education opportunities.
Overview
6
6
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Career Counselor
Light Academy
Nairobi
01.2022 - Current
- Provided career counseling and college readiness guidance to 600 K9-12 students.
- Tracked student placements and international university applications via CommonApp, Concourse, Meto, Applyboard, OUAC, and UCAS.
- Facilitated average scholarships of USD $373,000 per applicant for admissions at Q.S Top 100 universities, culminating to 156 admission offers in the past 3 years totaling to USD$13,120,944
- Onboard students to school career management platforms mainly Unifrog & BridgeU
- Supported SAT, IELTS, and Pearson test preparations through College Board and British Council.
- Conducted annual psychometric assessments for 150 candidates using MAPP assessment toolkit.
- Engaged alumni and industry partners to create internship opportunities and job-shadow programs.
- Hosted biannual career fairs with 130 visits from universities and admission officers in three years.
- Oversaw registration in 62 prestigious global competitions and exchange programs, for instance, Yale Young Global/African Scholars, London International Youth Science Forum, Non-Trivial Fellowship, Subject Olympiads, Rise Awards, Pioneer GPSI, and Baret Scholars.
- Liaison with parents, school senior leadership, ministry of education attaches, and students.
- Administering subject selection guidance, and pathway selection linking career tracks.
Columnist
Nation Media Group PLC
Nairobi
05.2023 - 05.2025
- Authored Career Guide segment to enlighten high school students on essential contemporary skills.
- Delivered engaging stories weekly in 'Daily Nation', East Africa's leading newspaper.
- Topics I covered included but were not limited to networking, passion projects, holiday plans/activities, writing personal statements & leveraging A.I for career search needs
Youth Advisor
Foreign & Commonwealth Development Office
Nairobi
08.2019 - 07.2022
- Champion integration of youth interests on FCDO country programs worth USD $143,545,200. Particularly on seminal issues such as reproductive health, unemployment, waste management & food security.
Education
Bachelor of Arts - Political Science & Psychology
MULTIMEDIA UNIVERSITY OF KENYA
NAIROBI, KENYA12.2020
Skills
Technical Skills
- Common App
- Microsoft 365
- UCAS and OUAC
- Psychometric analysis (MAPP Toolkit)
- Standardized test preparation
Interpersonal skills
- Public speaking
- Parent liaison
- Stakeholder management
- Alumni relations
- Industry engagement
Conceptual skills
- Agile and design thinking
References
- Tom Olang, Programme Delivery Manager (Middle East & Africa), International University Pathways College (IUPC), tolang@iupceducation.com, +254 720 439 203
- Said Bashir Mohamed, Projects Coordinator, Light Academy, s.bashir@lightacademy.ac.ke, +254 702998979
Membership Honors
- International Association For College Admission Counseling (IACAC), Member, 2025
- 2026 International ACAC Global Conference, Scholarship Recipient, Pittsburgh USA
- IC3 ANNUAL CONFERENCE, Scholar | IC3 Advocate
Certification
Times Higher Education Counsellor Accreditation Program (The CAP), July 2024
Accomplishments
- International Association for College Admission Counseling (IACAC) member
- 2025 IC3 Annual Conference Scholar|IC3 advocate
- 2026 International ACAC Global Conference scholarship recipient, Pittsburgh, USA
Languages
English
First Language
Swahili
Advanced (C1)
C1
References
References available upon request.
Timeline
Columnist
Nation Media Group PLC
05.2023 - 05.2025
Career Counselor
Light Academy
01.2022 - Current
Youth Advisor
Foreign & Commonwealth Development Office
08.2019 - 07.2022
Bachelor of Arts - Political Science & Psychology
MULTIMEDIA UNIVERSITY OF KENYA