New to an institution? Give yourself a year to get your bearings, says Kacie Leviton, marketing and communications manager at Nishimachi International School in Tokyo, Japan.

Get to know your community, she says: "If you can gain perspective on their experiences it will help you to connect to them and learn how to communicate with them more effectively." 

Leviton was recently awarded a CASE Virginia Carter Smith scholarship, which gives professionals new to advancement the opportunity to learn at a CASE conference. Here, Leviton shares insights about her work and what she loves about her school.

How did you find your way to advancement and your current role at Nishimachi International School?

The advancement office at our school is made of up three staff members: a director of development, a development and alumni relations assistant, and myself. 

I am actually interested in learning about how my work in marketing and communications at Nishimachi can contribute to the advancement of our school. I believe that in today's digital world everything is connected: all aspects of our school get intertwined in marketing and advancement.  We are all here to do our part to support the amazing learning that takes place every day and to ensue that our students advance into the world in a positive way after they leave our school.

What do you love about your job there?

I love being connected to so many areas and aspects of our school, everything from the academic and learning side to after-school activities to working with our parent association on school events. I love walking out into the courtyard and being able to assist our community in so many different ways. I am still working on remembering everyone's name though! 

What’s one professional achievement that you’re particularly proud of?

We are particularly proud of our new website and the launch of our social media channels over the past two years. We spent a great deal of time thinking about what each user might need and how to help them find what they are looking for. I love helping to connect our alumni all over the world to what is going on at the school today, through our social media channels

What’s a professional lesson you’d pass along to someone just starting out in advancement or working at a school?

Allow your first year to be a year of learning. Speak to everyone in your school, get to know the teachers, students, parents, and the entire alumni community (former students and parents & former faculty, if possible).  If you can gain perspective on their experiences it will help you to connect to them and learn how to communicate with them more effectively.

What’s the most interesting book you’ve read lately?

My daughter is in fifth grade and I have be reading the books with her. Many of the books I read myself when I was her age! We recently read From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler and Island of the Blue Dolphins. I love that reading these books with her brings me back to when I was a student at Nishimachi. It helps me reconnect to the wonderful memories I made at this school, which helped me discover a love of reading.