I first met Dr. Poll in the summer of 2010 when we were in the 21st International Association of Historians of Asia (IAHA) Conference in Singapore. I was then a PhD candidate in Xiamen University and he was teaching in the University of Western Sydney. Though it was our first meeting, we felt like friends. We had a wonderful talk and our friendship started since then. Though we have never met in person since then, we have kept in touch through Skype for the past three years.
Dr. Poll is such a nice, optimistic, eloquent, knowledgeable, humorous, helpful and considerate person that you will feel lucky to be friends with him. In the past three years, he provided many good suggestions for me and helped me a lot with my academic research.
Recently, I was in low spirit and not satisfied with my current life and state. He learned that and told me he was studying coaching and he was willing to coach me. During the short session, he revived me and helped me to let go of my dissatisfaction and made a decision to take action to change what I did not want. At the same time, he provided a lot of valuable information about academic opportunities I can try. After his coaching, I become more energetic and become more optimistic and faithful in my future.
I think Dr. Poll is a born coach. He will provide you with professional guidance and will make you more confident, energetic and hopeful. He will help you to draw a clear plan for your future and make you more oriented towards your dream!
Zhang Wenxue, Ph.D.
Research Fellow
Guizhou Academy of Social Sciences
Xiamen University, China
Chinese Version:
2010年夏天，当我在厦门大学读博士的时候，于新加坡IAHA国际会议上与在澳大利亚西悉尼大学任教的Dr. Poll一见如故，他积极乐观，十分健谈，语言丰富幽默，谈吐间充满知性和关怀，直到如今，与他第一次见面的印象仍然深刻，我们在新加坡展开了十分愉快的对话和交谈，我们的友谊也从此开始，会议结束后，我们各自回国，用Skype进行联系，这不仅是锻炼了我英语口语的方式，也让彼此在学术上分享各自的观点，在交谈中他向我展示了许多澳洲美丽风景的图片，对于博士学习期间的困惑和困难给予了答疑和鼓励，并对我将来的学术生涯规划提供了好的建议，使人颇受启发。当我想要了解国际研究资讯和学术动态时，他给我提供了丰富详实的信息，他不仅专业知识丰富，对学术圈的信息了解准确透彻，而且十分有耐心，考虑周到，设身处地为别人着想。近两年间，通过我们的多次交谈，他让我认识到信心和勇气是在一个人成长的过程中是多么重要，在追求理想过程中，持之以恒、从不放弃的态度是走出困境的法宝，现在的我已经变得更加有活力有信心，并且无论在学习、工作和生活上都有很大的提升。总体而言，作为一个优秀的咨询者，他不仅能给人以专业的指导，更似一位很好的朋友，为你打气，给人信心，让人对未来有希望，并且他可以帮助你绘制具体而详尽的路线图，让你更加有效地向着梦想靠近，直至成功。