When Mr. Chu entered as a new counselor at Galileo in the fall of 2024, there was a sense of familiarity. It was 7 years prior when he interned at Galileo, getting a taste of becoming the anchor for students to rely on to guide them through high school. Now, as a counselor himself, he has come full circle–starting his 1st year at Galileo.
Born in San Francisco, Mr. Chu has deep roots within the city. He attended Lowell High School, where he was shaped by the academic rigor and the community surrounding it. However, despite his success at Lowell, it wasn’t a straight path for Mr. Chu when he began his career.
After Mr. Chu graduated from UC Santa Cruz, he interned at Galileo Counseling during the 2017-18 school year where he had his own group of students to counsel and transcripts to upload. He also met memorable people like Ms. Schkoll, and overall enjoyed the environment at Galileo.
However, after his internship was over, Galileo was not hiring at the time, so Mr. Chu began his counseling career at El Cerrito High School in the East Bay. But in a stroke of luck, in the spring of 2023, while still working at El Cerrito High School, Mr. Chu was presented with the option to go back to Galileo or stay at his current school. Despite loving his students and the memories he had made in the East Bay, Mr. Chu ultimately made the hard decision to move back.
“I didn’t know if I wanted to apply yet because I was considering taking a third year in the East Bay, but I figured going back to Galileo made sense. I knew the people I’d be working with, and that comfort was a big factor in my decision,” Mr. Chu says. Though he also applied to other schools, including Lowell, it was Galileo’s close-knit community and the warm experiences of his time there as an intern that convinced him to make the move back to San Francisco.
For Mr. Chu, being a counselor is not just helping students with their academics and schedules, but also helping them sort out the issues going on in their life as well as creating relationships. He always has his door open to any student–his or not–to come in and always promotes his space as a safe space. He enjoys knowing his students on a one-on-one level, taking time to understand their problems, and offering advice on how to overcome the challenges that they face.
Sometimes, the most important moments come outside of the classroom—during casual conversations in the hallway or a quick five-minute break where a student just needs someone to listen. This is exactly what Mr. Chu thought of when deciding to pursue counseling rather than a traditional teacher career. “I’m not just here to be a counselor for their grades,” Mr. Chu explains. “I’m here to be someone they can talk to. And that’s something I really enjoy—being there for them in ways that go beyond the academic.”
It’s a role that he doesn’t just take seriously, but is passionate about. Even if he does feel sad about leaving his school in the East Bay, Mr. Chu has no regrets about leaving for Galileo. “The students I’ve worked with here, I wouldn’t trade them for anything,” he says. “They’re irreplaceable. So while it was bittersweet to leave, I’m so glad I came back here.”
As he looks forward to the future, Mr. Chu confirms that he does plan on staying at Galileo for the next year saying, “I enjoy Galileo. I enjoy being here. And I enjoy seeing the students succeed, whether it’s in the classroom or beyond.”
