Serene Wang’s Mission to Transform Education and Career Paths

Navigating the maze of selecting a major, college, and career path can feel overwhelming, particularly during youth. Studies reveal that numerous students confront significant confusion while making these vital choices, underlining the essential requirement for well-informed guidance and assistance.

For instance, a 2023 report discovered that approximately 30% of undergraduates in the United States change their major at least once within three years of enrollment. Similarly, a 2019 survey indicated that 61% of college graduates would alter their majors if given the chance, citing insufficient information and guidance during their initial decision-making process as a primary reason.

With these challenges in mind and driven by a passion for education, Serene Wang, the founder and CEO of EliteLink Education, has made it her mission to guide students toward their dream schools and careers. With a passion for education and a wealth of experience in teaching, instructional design, and entrepreneurship, Serene has created a unique approach that combines school counseling, career coaching, and life coaching to provide a holistic roadmap for her mentees.

Empowering Through Personal Experience

Serene’s struggles in choosing a major and career path inspired her to become an entrepreneur. As a high school student, she found the process overwhelming and confusing, with limited guidance from her parents, who could only offer advice based on their own experiences. Serene eventually chose to study English literature and translation, but her first experience working as an interpreter made her realize that it was not the right career for her.

Driven by her personal experience, Serene founded EliteLink Education, a company that provides the guidance and support she wished she had received. “I wish someone in high school or college could have provided holistic guidance for me to understand the college application process, how to apply for scholarships, how to make decisions, when and how to apply for internships, and how to navigate the academic and career path, how to find a career that not only brings a decent paycheck but also joy,” Serene explains.

Serene’s experience resonated with many others. At an international learning conference where she was a speaker, Serene asked the 3,000 attendees, “How many of you are not satisfied with your first major choice in college?” More than 65 percent of the audience responded “yes” in the live poll. This realization that her personal struggle was shared by many others further fueled her determination to create a solution.

A Holistic Approach to Planning

EliteLink Education’s approach is centered around a backward design coaching and guidance system that sheds light on the maze of academic and career paths. By combining school counseling and career coaching, which are typically separated, Serene and her team help students explore college and career planning with the knowledge, support, and a holistic view that optimizes the decision-making process.

“Our backward design thinking method and long-term planning provide students with the opportunity to experience the industry they’re interested in, creating a unique school and career planning process,” Serene says. “We lead our mentees to set goals and understand themselves, and once the goal has been set, we backward design how to reach the goal, using different hands-on practices as a trial to see if the plan really works.” While school counseling and career coaching are often separated, Serene recognizes that major and college choices have a direct connection with career development.

EliteLink Education caters to two distinct groups through its separate websites. The EliteLink admission website focuses on helping students with college admission consulting, while the EliteLink coaching website serves corporate clients. EliteLink Education offers gamification team management training, leadership training, public speaking training, and learning curriculum design for companies.

Serene has designed numerous curriculums for Fortune 500 companies. Her approach to developing effective training programs involves research and assessment of the target learners, understanding the goals for the training, and working with content experts to ensure the quality of the training material. “Based on the assessment, learner preferences, and work schedules, we will develop customized curriculum on different technology platforms,” Serene explains.

The corporate training arm of EliteLink Education, known as EliteLinks Coaching and Corporate Training, creates top customized training for global managers and professionals.

The company understands the importance of constant skill development and training for modern professionals and their diverse backgrounds. EliteLinks’ courses provide actionable skills-based training that increases productivity among individuals and teams. The training and coaching experiences are based on advanced gamification theory, which engages learners’ minds and sustains their motivation. This approach allows teams to be more productive and better prepared to help their organization reach its goals.

Wisdom for Career Fulfillment

Drawing from her experiences and achievements, Serene advises educators, entrepreneurs, and instructional designers to embrace interdisciplinary knowledge and expertise. “The intersection and interdisciplinary work that I do fulfill all my inspiration, and that’s why every day I wake up and go to work, I feel happy and motivated,” she shares.

Serene encourages individuals to find their passion, explore different interests, and identify the intersection that optimizes their skills and interest in learning and career. Take out a piece of paper, write down all your areas of interest, and then perform a quick self-assessment of the skills you’re good at or want to improve,” she suggests.  

“Most of us need to work for more than 30 years and even longer in our life. If our work means more than a paycheck for us, but a passion and a mission, our work life will bring us much more joy.” Serene’s passion and commitment reflect EliteLink’s core values—providing guidance and empowerment to individuals navigating the complexities of education and career development.