College of Education (COE) alumna Loveen Bains is a senior manager at the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Prior to joining the Board, Bains was coordinator for Secretary of State-level international government initiatives on higher education and also worked extensively on the domestic K-12 agenda of the President.

Bains is proud of her University of Houston roots, and credits COE with helping her build a strong foundation that allowed her to reach for the stars. “The four years I studied at the UH College of Education strengthened my executive abilities in extraordinary ways by gifting me with skills in analysis, critical thinking and problem solving”, says Bains reflecting on her time spent at the university.

While the college encourages individuality in its students, it also promotes teamwork, allowing many of its alumni to collaborate with new colleagues to create new and unique ideas in the workplace. The COE encourages a sense of individuality, and for this reason many alumni are able to use teamwork to create new and unique ideas.  “The Individual Differences program really allowed me to pursue independent research while immersing myself wholly in a robust community of students and professors” says Bains.

Bains’ work ethic and ideas have not gone unnoticed. Former colleague Cheryl Gibbs, director of the Advanced Training and Research Division at the U.S. Department of Education, says "Loveen was an exemplary program administrator--her expertise and public service commitment impacted K-12 teachers, faculty, and institutions of higher education both nationally and internationally.  The international education community greatly benefited from her contributions." Additionally, current chair of the Department of Psychological, Health, and Learning Services (PHLS), Ezemenari Obasi, says, “Dr. Bains represents the student success that we strive to attract to our Tier 1 programs."

When asked if she had any advice for students who might want to follow in her footsteps, Bains said, “Take the time to engage in thoughtful discussions, debate controversial issues, befriend your colleagues and professors, and most importantly, challenge yourself with every opportunity.” We couldn’t agree more.