About
Assess. Align. Fit.
Educational and career guidance that prioritizes aptitudes leads to improved performance in education and the workplace. AAF exists to assess students’ and professionals’ aptitudes – along with secondary drivers and personal traits – so that they can align their educational and career paths accordingly, to find the best educational and professional fit. Assess, align, fit – that’s the AAF in AAF Advising.
AAF Advising is led by Phil Belin. Phil started AAF as an outgrowth of aptitude-based testing’s positive impact on his family and friends. Assessments have regularly (1) confirmed people’s “gut feeling” regarding certain abilities, giving them confidence to utilize those and (2) revealed surprises and “no ways!” that may never have been discovered, enabling people to change course, pivot, accommodate, and undertake whatever adjustment is needed.
Phil has extensive experience with both the “educational” (student clients) and “career” sides (adults, organizations) of the business. On the “educational” side, Phil began his journey at Princeton and continued it with a law degree and later a master’s degree in classical education. He co-founded Trinity Classical Academy in 2014, where he teaches (math, physics, humanities), organizes the high school guidance program and serves on the board of directors. Phil, alongside his wife, has homeschooled his four children.
On the “career” side, Phil practiced law for nearly two decades, where his specialty was employment law. In that capacity, he helped candidates negotiate job opportunities and find good fits, and he helped organizations manage employees good and bad. He left the practice of law to help a client in the optometry industry create a nationwide, online job-match platform.
Phil is certified to administer the Highlands Ability Battery, which comprises the aptitude, interests, and personal style portions of the assessment process. Phil’s approach is based in large part upon Highlands’ Whole Person Model, which ensures that you take your “whole self” into account when making decisions at any turning point throughout your life.
AAF Serves Students
Phil is comfortable working with students in any context – public-school, private-school, homeschool, high-school, college, law, medical – who have any educational aim – Ph.D or advanced degree, or vocational schooling. His extensive experience within the “alternative” contexts of homeschooling and hybrid schools have helped him develop creative and “outside the box” educational solutions.
AAF Serves Adults
In high school, Phil was awarded the “Chameleon” Award by a local newspaper for his ability to fit in anywhere and relate to anyone. For sure, Phil is able to relate with any adult and his/her career endeavors. Phil himself has undertaken several careers and projects. He practiced law for nearly two decades. He served as a county chairman for a U.S. Senate campaign. He co-founded a youth sports business. He co-founded a school. He worked as chief strategy officer of a small business. He now works as a teacher (teaching math, physics and humanities) and leading the school’s high school guidance program. Some of these roles aligned well with Phil’s strengths and others didn’t! Phil knows misalignment and alignment, and he will relate to his adult clients wherever they are on that spectrum.
AAF Serves Organizations
The Highlands Whole Person Model emphasizes that several factors should be weighed for effective life and career decisions. These include aptitudes (abilities), skills, personal style, interests, family background and status, values, goals, and career development stage. Together, these eight elements create a holistic view of the individual, helping people make decisions that align not only with what they do naturally well, but also with who they are, what motivates them, and where they are in life.
