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Next Step Connections is a French and American run company based in Shanghai, China. Our company is led by an energetic team of dedicated professionals who all share the same work ethics and passion for international education. We make a point of meeting every single one of you personally so you are ready to make the most of your internship in Asia and maximize its impact on your career. We are also on immediate hand should there be any problems during your stay with us – a service none of our competitors can or do offer.
"I would like to thank Next Step very much and everyone involved, as everyone is always friendly and open to talk. I had a great time here and I was initially a little but nervous of coming to China without knowing any mandarin, but with Next Step's help I felt as though I was at home. It has been an unforgettable experience." Gavin. B, Summer 2011, China.
A native of France, Jerome completed a combined major in political sciences and journalism at Utah State University. Based in Shanghai since 2005, Jerome has worked as an assistant editor for Shanghai Talk magazine and has helped creating the "Foreign Culture Club". Jerome founded Next Step Connections in October 2007, with the goal to create an international education organization focusing on programs that you do not learn at school. Jerome brings an extensive professional network to NSC, as well as a wide-ranging portfolio of skills. He is fluent in French, English, and Mandarin.
Born in Los Angeles, of Japanese and Chinese descent, Len graduated from the University of California, San Diego. Len has lived in Shanghai since 1997 and joined NSC in April 2008 as a partner. Len brings a wealth of operational and managerial experience to the fast-growing organization. As the international internship director, he oversees all day-to-day operations, and directs the workforce. He is fluent in Mandarin, Japanese, and English.
A Native of Paris, France, Mr. Liot holds a Master’s degree in biomedical science in pharmacology from ESCP-EAP European School of Management. Francois Liot worked at Merck Serono France as a Junior Product Manager from March 2004 to May 2005. He then went on to join Shanghai Ethypharm in July 2005 as the Asia/Pacific Business Development Manager. Mr. Liot joined NSC's international team as a partner at the end of 2007.
Having grown up as a third culture kid, Virginia has lived in Indonesia, Singapore, China, and the UK. Virginia has been in China since 1997 and spent time in Shanghai, Qingdao, and Xiamen as a student and working professional. A postgraduate student of Sport Management from Loughborough University, UK, Virginia spends her leisure time playing sports, traveling, and trying different cuisines. Virginia joined NSC in March 2011 as the Program Manager managing the different programs and teams in NSC Shanghai. She is fluent in English, Mandarin, Indonesian, and intermediate in French. Prior to NSC, Virginia has worked in trading, real estate consulting, and sports.
Jennifer Kwong is the Program Advisor at NSC, advising students in their pre-arrival process of joining the internship program. Born and raised in the United States, she moved to Shanghai after graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies from University of Washington (Seattle) in 2010. She is fluent in Chinese having studied three years of Mandarin. With a passion for world cultures, Jennifer always enjoys traveling to new places and has a strong interest in global development and international relations.
Sunny Chen is from Hunan, China and is a Program Coordinator at NSC. She has been with NSC since 2009, making sure our interns have a good experience during their time in Shanghai. She is in charge of arranging Mandarin lessons and logistics for our interns, as well as training and managing NSC's in-house interns.
She always uses this motto at work: “look before you leap“.
Sabrina is a Program Coordinator at NSC. Her main responsibility is to support our interns during their stay in Shanghai and assist them with their visa, insurance, housing, and other components of the program. She has been in Shanghai for three years and used to work as a Mandarin teacher and Production Assistant. Sabrina is from Henan province and likes to try different restaurants in Shanghai.
Maxime joined Next Step Connections in 2010 and has been in charge of the company’s IT management, softwares and information systems ever since. He works with our team to create and improve tools to manage our programs and yes, this includes the application system that you may (or will) know of! Max grew up in France and studied Software Engineering and Information System in EPITA for 5 years before coming to China. He practices climbing from time to time.
Born and raised in New York City, Olivia graduated from Pennsylvania State University. Olivia has been living in Hong Kong on and off since she was three years old. She is fluent in English and Cantonese. Olivia has a passion for working with people and introducing all of Hong Kong's culture and diversity. In 2009, she returned to Hong Kong to join the MBA program at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology focusing in Marketing. Olivia joined NSC in 2011, managing the day-to-day operations in Hong Kong and helping to grow NSC's brand in Hong Kong.
A native of Mexico and passionate about greater China, Lorena came to Hong Kong to study her MBA in 2009. She has lived in Mexico, Spain, USA, Malaysia, India and Hong Kong as a student and working professional. Lorena worked as a consultant and has been promoting business relations between Asia and Latin America. She enjoys going to the movies, traveling and studying intercultural relations. She has been active in several organizations in Hong Kong since 2009, and has organized the 2nd Mexican Film Festival in Hong Kong in May 2011.
Irene is the director of Partnership Development of Next Step Connections since the Fall of 2011. Her focus is new business development for the organization with colleges and universities in the United States. Prior to her post she was the manager of Partnership development of GlobaLinks Learning Abroad. She is a former Director of Interstudy, a small education abroad provider and focused on business development, institutional/external relations, enrollment management and marketing and recruitment since 1997 with program centers in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Botswana and South Africa.
Irene holds a Master’s Degree in Intercultural Relations from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in History and Human Geography from the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont. During her junior year she studied abroad at the University of Limerick in Ireland and has traveled extensively in South Africa, Ireland, and the United Kingdom and throughout the United States.
Irene is an active member of NAFSA and the Forum on Education Abroad. She is currently the Co-Chair of the Forum Committee on Institutional Relations, Chair of the School of Record Working Group, member of the Forum Standards Committee and appointed to the Forum Denver Conference Committee for 2012. She hails from the East coast, lived in Boston for over 12 years and now resides in Denver, Colorado.
