Manuel Verdin

Manuel Verdin is a counselor for the Promise Scholars Program and TRIO at Skyline College in San Bruno, California, where he has worked since June 2024 and transitioned to a full-time role in July 2025. Born and raised in South San Francisco, he serves his community by providing academic and career counseling, program coordination and student leadership development with a focus on first-generation students, men of color and those navigating systemic barriers. He began his journey at Skyline College as a counseling intern for the Promise Scholars Program from August 2023 to May 2024, building his expertise in culturally relevant support and relationship building before advancing to his current position.?

Before his work at Skyline College, Manuel served as a college and career counseling intern with the Project Rebound Program at San Francisco State University from August 2022 to May 2023, where he provided comprehensive academic, career and personal counseling services to justice-involved and formerly incarcerated students. He assisted students in developing educational plans aligned with their intended majors and career goals while participating in outreach events that promoted higher education as a transformative path for reintegration and success. From 2021 to 2022, he worked as an academic coach at College Track, where he created and facilitated critical thinking workshops for high school students, engaged with 56 students through one-on-one meetings addressing grades, college preparation and mental health, and supported students facing academic barriers to stay on track with school and college applications.?

Manuel holds a Master of Science in Counseling with a specialization in College Counseling from San Francisco State University, where he also completed coursework in Criminal Justice Studies. He earned an Associate of Science in Administration of Justice from Skyline College and completed training as a Quality Assurance Trainee through Year Up United, which led to work as a Business Quality Analyst and testing intern at Salesforce. His diverse background in technology, service industry work at Olive Garden and deep commitment to equity inform his approach to counseling, which centers on storytelling, cultural wealth and empowering students to define success on their own terms.