Jerry Thao

Jerry Thao
Position
Counseling Instructor

"Without struggle there is no progress."  Frederick Douglass

Tell us about your educational and professional path.
In 1978, my parents immigrated to the United States as Hmong refugees from war-torn Laos.  My family resettled in Stockton, CA where I was born and raised.  I consider myself a product of the public education system because I attended Lodi/Stockton Unified from grades K-12, completed an associate degree from San Joaquin Delta College in Humanities, obtained a bachelor's degree from UC Davis in United States History, and received my graduate degree from San Francisco State.  Previously I have worked at Lassen Community College, Sonoma State University, Stanford University, and the University of San Francisco.  I have experience working with Southeast Asian refugees at Lao Khmu Association and incarcerated students at San Quentin State Prison.  As a graduate internship, I volunteered in Bangkok, Thailand where I provided career and vocational counseling to disadvantaged Thai women.  

What are you most passionate about professionally?
I love working with community college students!  I worked in a variety of college settings and decided my heart belonged at the community college.  I enjoy my individual counseling work and feel truly blessed to work for an amazing student population and educational institution overall.  I am also very passionate about multicultural counseling and career development.  I am blessed to teach each course per semester and look forward to teaching COUN 62 (Career Development) as part of the APASS learning community.  

What most excites you about your work with and contribution to APASS?
Being a student can be very challenging and I am confident APASS as a whole will be a safe and nurturing place for students to learn, develop, and achieve.  I am excited at the opportunity to link my course material to outside classroom activities.  I strongly believe the self-actualization and leadership skills developed in the counseling courses I teach will help students throughout their lives.  

Weight
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