Development in Deutschland

In her eight years at Cal State Long Beach, Robin Lee has specialized in furthering the development of students’ goals and plans for the future. Recently honored as a Fulbright scholar, she’ll have a chance to hone her own abilities when she travels to Germany for three and a half weeks this October to study the country’s education system.

In particular, Lee, associate director of the Career Development Center at the university, will be studying how the German education system develops its first-year students. She was first inspired by the German system after attending an international conference in Canada.

“I met a few individuals there from German universities,” she said. “They had been having programs in Germany, which helped acclimate first-year students. It was really interesting to hear about those programs. ... That’s when I got more interested in looking at freshmen students on a global level.”

Lee was surprised by the hands-on approach the Germans had with their first-year college students and looks to apply what she learns in the program.

“I think I had an expectation that in Germany education would be hands-off in terms of thinking about student acclimation and integration to the college system,” Lee said. “I didn’t understand the German system would be as touchy-feely as it is.”

Lee is also a member of the International Education Committee. She focuses her efforts on developing the writing and study skills of freshmen students, while also helping them decide on the major that is right for them.

A resident of Fountain Valley, Lee said her acceptance to the Fulbright program is undoubtedly one of the greatest moments in her academic career, falling just behind the completion of her doctorate in higher education administration at UCLA.

“I think this is the second proudest moment I’ve had in my academic career, in terms of accomplishing something phenomenal,” Lee said. “You do become a member of an elite class. To be within this population of great individuals is a great honor personally, but also a great honor academically.”

“I’m certain that her dedication to improving the programs for all of our students along with her determination to succeed will really help,” Doug Robinson, the school’s vice president of student services, said.

“This is really a distinction for the university, as well as Robin. We’re really proud of her.”

According to Terri Armstrong, employer development coordinator at the Career Development Center, Lee is an effective administrator who is always willing to talk to her supervisors.

“She’s just good at making sure everything runs smoothly and that we all have a good rapport with each other,” Armstrong said. “[She’s] very easy to talk to. She does her part as the associate director.”

Lee hopes to take what she will learn in October and apply it not only to Cal State Long Beach but also to universities as far and wide as possible.

“When I come back to the United States I’m going to be writing several journal articles,” she said. “Hopefully it’ll influence others and maybe influence policy in terms of how we work with our students here in California and even across the country.”

Though she has never been to Germany before, Lee eagerly anticipates the experience and what she will learn after meeting fellow Fulbright scholars.

“I’m super excited,” she said. “I wish I could leave today.”

 Born and raised in Detroit.

 Received undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Michigan.

 Will participate in the Fulbright International Exchange Program.

 Enjoys cooking, traveling and writing fiction in her spare time.