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ARCADIA SHOWCASE
105
November14
academically, socially and emotionally when placed in the
most appropriate school environment. I grew up with this motto.
Working with her on and off for years in New York and London, I
saw many of the lives she helped transform for the better.
So in 2008, on the back of her 40-year-old business in New
York, I opened Virginia J. Bush & Associates Asia Pacific to
service this region, with the head office in Singapore. It happened
in a whirlwind; we took it from a two-person office to an eight-
person office in a matter of three years.
What does your business entail?
I work with Asian-based families – both local Asians and expats,
throughout the region – to place their children (from the age of
five and up) into US boarding schools, New York day schools
and universities.
To assess the child’s needs, I interview both the child and the
parents and review their transcripts and any tests they’ve had
done – I might recommend further testing, if I think it necessary.
On the basis of that assessment, we put together a list of
schools that best fit the student’s profile and needs, and get the
family out on the road to visit and be interviewed at the schools,
having made sure the schools know they’re coming. Then we
work through the application process with them, including
critiquing their application essays, and we assist parents with
their parent statements to ensure the student is reflected in the
best way.
All this takes a lot of time and effort. It’s process-driven and
it’s intense, but the beauty of it is that you get to know the child
and his or her family very well, and it’s so rewarding to get the fit
right. We have a great success rate that we work very hard for.
Above and
left:
Like the
other rooms,
the master
bedroom is
full of light
and colour;
the armoire
is just one
of a number
collected
during Jen’s
Paris years.
Right:
Jen
herself created
the batik wall
art for the
children’s
colourful
bedrooms:
seahorses for
Lily, turtles for
Sam.