Advisors

Hi all! I am a first-generation college graduate from Columbia University. I studied English and Psychology during my time there with a brief stint on a pre-medical track. Upon my graduation from Columbia, I served as a College Advisor with New York University's chapter of College Advising Corps. During this time, I served as a College Advisor to students in New York City; students that came from all walks of life. Many of my students have gone on to colleges and universities such as Columbia, Cornell, Boston University, New York University, Princeton - the list goes on and on. My goal is to ensure that students find their right fit and have the support along the way to express their own dreams and anxieties. I have my MA in Counseling and Guidance from NYU and continue to support students as a School Counselor. My background in counseling allows me to help students identify the best parts of themselves to highlight on their applications. I ground my work in narratives and helping students find their own.

I have extensive experience with students from a wide variety of backgrounds. My main priority is for students to feel confident and proud of themselves and their abilities, and for the college application process to be an affirming experience. I especially love helping students with their supplements and essays, researching universities, and exploring their academic interests. I encourage a collaborative and empowering environment.

I am a proud admission professional who enjoys helping students make their dreams a reality. As a former women’s basketball player at The George Washington University (GW) where I majored in Organizational Science, I knew early on that I was passionate about helping students achieve their goals as I worked with them to help discover their passions. Following my time at GW, I spent five years working at The University of Southern California (USC) where I served as an Associate Director of Admission for four years and as an Academic Advisor for students in the Iovine and Young Academy. After graduating from USC with my Masters of Education in Counseling, I returned to the DC Metro Area and now serve as a College Counselor to high school students where I specialize in the athletic recruitment process. One of my strong suites is interview preparation, where I take students through a mock interview with the goal of building confidence. My favorite part of the college process is getting to know my students while pushing them to their highest potential. I enjoy watching almost any sport, traveling with my partner, and trying new foods. I look forward to working with you!

I have more than 30 years of experience in academia, including 16 years at Stanford University, where I supported research faculty and authored the University's 200-page research grant Proposal Preparation Manual (legacy), which emphasized legal and ethical research policies. I've interacted with world-recognized authors and scientists, envious of and learning from their brilliance! Prior to Stanford, I was an assistant editor for a peer-reviewed academic research journal and earned certificates as a professional editor in Stanford's intensive summer Publishing Courses. I have expertise in all phases of academic publishing and style guides, as well as creative writing programs and publishing venues for high schoolers, particularly literary magazines. I am well versed in Academic Authorship as it pertains to research papers. I earned an M.A. in Education with Distinguished Achievement. After graduate school, I supported community service-learning faculty, students, and community organizations at San Francisco State's Institute for Civic and Community Engagement. I was lead author and editor for a variety of brochures, grant proposals, and national monographs. I am especially proud of the work I did to support formerly incarcerated students, and the English tutoring I did at San Quentin. For the past decade, I have served as a college admissions advisor, coaching diverse high school and undergraduate students through the application process, which includes obtaining persuasive letters of recommendation, and completing various application forms. I have deep institutional knowledge about the cultures, curricula, and admission requirements of a plethora of colleges and universities nationwide. My magic is helping students brainstorm, develop, and edit their personal stories, essays, and graduate personal statements. I love helping students discover and critically reflect on who they are and how they can contribute to the world (meta cognition), so I ask LOTS of questions! Your success is my success! I have helped students complete the Common App, Coalition App (ugh!), MIT, Georgetown Apps, UC App, and Cal Apply. My interdisciplinary academic discoveries began in Creative Writing (poetry) and English literature at San Francisco State University, which was recognized as a top English department nationwide. My professors earned their doctorates from Harvard, Yale, Duke, Columbia, Oxford, and more. Because I loved the learning journey, I also took classes in Classics, World & Comparative Literature, religious studies, and political science. Alas, too many ideas and not enough time!

My name is Bintou Sankareh. I graduated from Hunter College. During my time at Hunter, I majored in Psychology and Sociology. Currently, I am pursuing my MPA at the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs in Baruch College. The key to life is to have an excellent education, and I hope to help students achieve their full potential by guiding them. I have five years of advising experience, and I hope to make the college process fun and flexible. I love to travel, and I hope to travel worldwide to learn new ideas.

Hello! My name is Bailey (she/her) and I have over 7 years of experience in both undergraduate and graduate level admissions. I have worked in admissions offices at schools within Claremont Colleges, the University of Washington and the University of Southern California. I have served as an admissions interviewer and on the admissions committee for undergraduate, law and health professions programs. I received a BA in both Business and Visual and Media Studies at the University of Redlands. I have had the opportunity to work with numerous high school students in their college search and application process.

I earned bachelor's degrees in both Political Science and African American Studies from the University of Florida in 2016. I later earned a master's degree in management from the University of Florida's Hough Graduate School of Business in 2022. I started my career in Admissions in 2018 with the University of Florida's Office of Admissions as an Admissions Officer II. In this capacity I served as a recruiter and evaluator of both Freshman/First-time in College (FTIC) students, as well as prospective transfer students. Though I served and worked on behalf of the University of Florida, I interacted with students as a proponent and advocate of Higher Education. This means that I put a heavy emphasis on college readiness and preparedness for students so that they holistically understand what the college/university experience would entail. Topics I homed in on, separate from admissions information specific to UF, included, but were not limited to financial aid and scholarship information, credit evaluation and transferability (dual enrollment and college-equivalent exams like AP/IB/AICE/etc.), and adjusting to life away from home, as UF's campus was located several hours away from the territories I recruited in. Ultimately, my primary goal was to ensure that students were ready for all the things that came with pursuing a higher education, beyond just the application itself. As a first-generation college graduate myself, I spent a lot of time having to figure things out on my own. I made preventable mistakes along the way, so I wish I had the help of someone to correct me at that time. It is my goal in this role to be the best resource that I can be to ensure that you understand exactly what you are doing through the college admissions process, and how to best maximize and leverage your academic and life experiences to be the best applicant that you can be to the schools that you would like to apply to. This can be an extremely overwhelming process when done alone, and my personal goal is to ensure that you never believe that you are walking alone on this college admissions journey!

Hello everyone! My name is Ardyel, and I am a cum laude graduate of Legal Studies at UC Berkeley with a Minor in Education. Born and raised in Metro Manila, Philippines, my family and I moved to Los Angeles, CA in 2015 where I graduated as my high school's Class Valedictorian. My background as a first-generation, low-income, and immigrant college student helped me see the value of mentorship in all aspects of my life. During my college application journey, I worked intensively under the guidance and mentorship of Thrive Scholars who helped me become a Finalist for QuestBridge and gain admissions to 8 universities in California. As a way of giving back, I worked at UC Berkeley's Nav2Cal App Support Program and Matriculate Fellowship which allowed me to mentor 5 hardworking high school students from California and New York in their college applications. They currently attend great institutions such as Tufts University, Wesleyan University, and my alma mater, UC Berkeley! I can help students who have academic interests in STEM, Law, and the Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. In my spare time, I like to listen to K-Pop and P-Pop (Pinoy Pop), play volleyball and mobile games with my younger brother, collect Funko Pops, and watch Marvel movies. I cannot wait to take part in your college application journey! Rest assured that I will be fully supporting you in your goals and helping you navigate this process with care and intent.

I came to the US as an international student from Germany and fell in love with international education. I completed a BA in Foreign Languages at Louisiana State University and continued my education at Xavier University in the MBA program. My final degree is a doctorate in Globalization in Education from USC. I have worked in international education for over 20 years as an admission director, director of residential life, and director for international student services. I am currently the Senior Assistant Director for International Admission at Fordham University as well as an immigration advisor. In this position I review high achieving student application as well as awarding merit and financial need-based scholarships. As an academic and college advisor I have worked with students domestically as well as internationally in majors such as engineering, business, law, international relations, physics, e-game design, art, and many more. With over 20 years of higher ed experience I am aware and prepared to assist students through the often-complicated college application process. I will assist them in positioning their application in the best light for the most competitive universities. I have a great passion for working with students and find joy in the successes. As a previous international student myself, I understand the anxiety and worries that are involved when families consider sending their children abroad as well as confusion about the student visa process. I have worked with families abroad as well as domestic and am happy to build lasting relationships to assist students not just in the application process but also in the academic advising and first year adjustment period.

Hello! I’m Angelique Figueroa, most people call me Angie. I was the first in my family to attend college. I went to Syracuse University and graduated with a degree in Human Development and Family Science. I then earned a master's in social work from the Silberman School of Social Work. As a first-generation college student, I love being able to serve as a resource to students and families, because I know first-hand that the college application process can be overwhelming. I’ve been an educator for 14+ years but college access is by far my favorite; it’s my true passion. Being able to help a student with their higher educational goals by working together to apply, be accepted, attend, and graduate from college to pursue a fulfilling career, is truly a privilege. I cannot wait to work together!

Hello! My name is Andrew, and I am currently a medical student at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. I graduated from high school in 2019 and went to the University of Pennsylvania as a pre-med. At Penn, I majored in biochemistry and biology. I was accepted into the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, a top 10/15 medical school with no gap years. Currently, 80% of matriculants into medical school take at least a single gap year before applying to and matriculating into medical school. Therefore, I have full and complete knowledge of how a student can get accepted into medical school from day 1 of undergrad. In addition, my brother applied to college this past year. Through my guidance, he was accepted into several T20 universities and is currently attending Duke, a top 10 university. Through my experiences, I feel as if I have a personal and unique insight into the application process, not only as a student but as a mentor.

I was born in Chile and grew up in Santiago and in Caracas, Venezuela, until the age of 12, when my family moved to the United States. As a high school student in Texas, I knew that my parents' financial situation meant that I would need to limit my college search to universities in Texas to be able to pay in-state tuition. I received scholarship offers from the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A & M, and Southern Methodist University. Ultimately, I chose UT-Austin because I liked everything the city had to offer as the "live music capital of the world," the easy access to the gentle beauty of the Hill Country, and the university's reputation and wonderful campus. Although I had originally intended to pursue a dual degree involving civil engineering, at UT-Austin I obtained a Bachelor of Arts in the Plan II Honors Program. Plan II has multi-disciplinary course requirements and strong emphasis on problem solving, critical and analytical skills, and writing. To pay for the expenses not covered by my scholarship, I worked as a news and entertainment writer at the university's highly regarded newspaper, The Daily Texan, as well as serving as the Music Director for KTSB (now KVRX) student radio. Rather than pursuing a career in journalism or broadcasting, however, I worked for two years at a low-income housing corporation in Alexandria, Virginia, before pursuing certification to become a teacher in Texas. My career in education includes 22 years teaching overseas, including in China, the U.A.E., Vietnam, Tanzania, Malaysia, Albania, and Japan before returning to the U.S. in 2019. Along the way I obtained a Master of Education in TESOL from Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. I was an IELTS examiner for twelve years and an SAT Center Director for two. Since 2005 I have worked at International Baccalaureate World Schools teaching IB Diploma History, Global Politics, Theory of Knowledge, and MYP Individuals & Societies, as well as IGCSE History and various other courses within the social studies umbrella, while also getting involved with college counseling on a part-time basis beginning in 2012. As a part-time college counselor at my schools in Malaysia and Japan between 2012 and 2019, I helped students to navigate the application process for universities in the UK (UCAS), USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Malaysia, and Japan. My former students have gone on to pursue degrees and careers in economics, business, law, medicine, public health, urban planning, nature conservation, psychology, graphic arts, music, and education. Thanks to social media, I have stayed in touch with many of them and have conducted extensive post-college interviews with some to find out more about their experiences in higher education and their subsequent careers. In my current role as Residential Faculty at a private IB World School in Tacoma, Washington, I continue to support students as they navigate the demanding curriculum of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program while living away from home. We currently have students from the USA, China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan, Ukraine, Brazil, and Moldova, and I endeavor to apply my many years working internationally and knowledge of various higher education systems around the world to help them reach their dreams.

Meet Alexandra Martinez, a dedicated and passionate Senior Advisor and graduate of Vanderbilt University. Alexandra is not just a professional in her field; she is also a supportive and caring guide who has made a significant impact on the lives of countless students during her time in the advising space. With a degree in Counseling Psychology, Alexandra is well-equipped to provide invaluable guidance to students as they navigate the complex and often daunting college application process. Her strengths include admissions expertise, diverse student support, academic and career guidance. In summary, Alexandra's unique blend of experience in admissions and advising undergraduate international students has provided her with a well-rounded perspective and a rich skill set. Her roles in these areas have made her not only a knowledgeable and effective college advisor but also a bridge for students from diverse backgrounds to access higher education opportunities. Her commitment to their success, combined with her institutional knowledge, is an asset that continues to enrich the university community.

For two years I've worked as an Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA. I am passionate about serving students who have been historically underrepresented in higher education due to their race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, gender identity, socio-economic status, etc. My own college application and exploration process was incredibly impactful for me, and I hope to replicate that positive experience with the students I work with now. I want students to understand how their identities and values can inform their college application process, so they can make the best decisions for their collegiate career.

I earned my Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Computer Science with a specialization in Information at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) in 2021 where I graduated cum laude (top 10% of graduating class). In addition to my current professional work experience as a Data Engineer, I have an extensive background in academic advising through my position as a UCI Peer Academic Advisor to computer science college students for 1.5 years and as a mentor to young students in the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) program for 4 years. For the past 2.5 years, I have been working as a Data Engineer in the wearable fitness device space, automotive software space, and the utilities industry. As a data engineer, I write code for the collection, validation, and transportation of data from one system to another to enable data scientists, business intelligence engineers, data analysts, software engineers, and other stakeholders to work efficiently. My technical stack consists primarily of Python (coding), SQL (database query language), and Amazon Web Services (AWS, cloud computing platform). Prior to my current role, I completed an internship at the U.S. Department of State (DOS) during which I wrote code for the purpose of extracting massive amounts of data from the web for a large machine learning project. I also interned at a Bay Area healthcare startup where I was heavily involved with the data processing of medical notes in a machine learning natural language processing data pipeline. As a UCI Peer Academic Advisor, I advised students who majored in computer science, data science, informatics, software engineering, and computer game science in their undergraduate degree and post-grad careers. I am knowledgeable in the overall tech industry and what it takes to apply and interview at big tech companies (e.g. Google, TikTok, Meta, etc.), smaller-sized tech companies, and non-tech companies. I am passionate about working with self-motivated students who are interested in the tech industry, and I offer expert counsel on the courses, extracurricular activities, and projects they can pursue to cultivate their passions and ultimately stand out in their college applications.

I have over four years of experience in direct college access work, helping students gain acceptance into selective colleges and universities. I also have more than four years of experience developing community education programs and building sustainable community partnerships for underserved populations.

Hello! My name is Afi, and I am passionate about helping students get into their dream schools. This is my third year as a College Advisor; After graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2019, I worked in the National College Advising Corps as a College Advisor. I have worked with students and families throughout the entire college application process, from start to finish, applications to enrollment, before, and during the Covid-19 Pandemic. I specialize in helping students and families of ALL backgrounds, including (but not limited to): first generation, low-income, high-achieving, student-athletes, rural, students of color, immigrants, international students, and students with learning differences etc., get into all types of schools (public/private, Ivy, in-state/out of state, HBCU, international, community colleges, etc.). I've helped students construct excellent admissions essays, win full rides to their dream schools, complete the FAFSA/Financial Aid, CSS Profile, Common App, the FAFSA, and the CSS profile. Let's work together to make those college dreams come true!

Hello! My name is Adriana, and I graduated from Pitzer College in 2018. I'm currently a PhD student in Sociology at Yale University, where I study topics relating to immigration, race, and inequality. Prior to Yale, I worked as an Admission Offer and have also served as a mentor for various college access programs that serve underrepresented populations. I'm a strong believer in the power of mentorship, and my goal is to give my students the tools, knowledge, and confidence that they need to pursue their educational aspirations.

I was a first-generation college student. I hold a B.A. in Public Relations with a minor in Psychology from Susquehanna University and an M.S. in Leadership from Northeastern University. My work experience in college admissions and college counseling spans over 15 years. I have worked at various colleges and universities including Simmons University and Dartmouth College. Also, I have been a college counselor at independent schools and non-profit organizations. I managed scholarships, visitation, and access programs. I've been an engaged member of regional and national admissions organizations, including presenting at conferences. My approach is student-centered with self-exploration and self-discovery. The college admissions process can and should be fun. It is about finding a college/university that will foster your curiosity and growth while providing you with opportunities and support. I am here to guide and support you through the process.

I graduated with a B.A. with majors in Political Science and Psychology and a minor in Spanish from Northwestern University. During my time at Northwestern, I was an orientation leader for incoming Freshmen each year in a Peer Adviser position. This meant assisting groups of 12-16 students in their transition from high school academics, activities and goals to their college level counterparts. I was also heavily involved in Northwestern's Undergraduate Mock Trial team - a program that has placed top 10 at the Nationals competition the last three years. Moreover, I held several jobs while in school spanning from research positions to local nonprofit work to work study and part-time positions on and off campus. As someone who attended Northwestern with a low-income background, I am passionate about working with students who are navigating financial accessibility in their college decisions or who are seeking advice on how to budget and balance a job while in school. Additionally, as someone intending on attending law school in the next two years, I am happy and eager to assist any students who have questions about the pre-law track or legal based clubs and activities offered at the collegiate level. I believe that authenticity, optimism and individual focus are my strengths when working with students. I wish to help students by truly understanding who they are, what they wish to do and their underlying motivations. I always seek to be honest in my advice and experiences and will happily share the most rewarding parts of the the college admissions process I underwent and the lessons I carried coming out of the challenges.