University of California – Santa Cruz

As a first-generation college graduate, I know the importance of how crucial it is to obtain help, especially throughout the college admissions process. In 2017, I graduated cum laude from UC Irvine with a double major in Psychology and Social Behavior and Education Sciences. During my time at UC Irvine, I worked as a Student Coordinator for UCI's Early Academic Outreach Program where I helped prepare students in underserved communities for admission to the University of California. After graduating, I completed my Master's in Educational Counseling with a School and Family Based Counseling concentration in 2019. During my time as a graduate student, I was also an Educational Consultant for a private college counseling firm where I worked with students at all academic levels ranging from community colleges to the most competitive universities. Concurrently, I also worked as a Career Coach for Santiago Canyon College advising students on career paths and dual enrollment. Since 2019, I have worked at one of the top STEM charter schools in Los Angeles as a school counselor. My background consists of working with low-income, minority students, and students with disabilities in the Los Angeles and Orange County regions. For the past 2 years, I have also worked for UC San Diego as an external admissions reader where I gained further insight into the realm of college admissions.

The college admission process is hard and overwhelming. And this hasn’t changed from when I was a high school student applying to colleges 20 years ago to being a college counselor for over 15 years. The truth is that students and their families need as much support to successfully navigate through the system to make the process easier and less stressful. My experience in high school was what drew me into college advising. I graduated from UCLA with my B.A. in Psychology. As a new college graduate, I knew I wanted to help students transition to college more smoothly than I did after I graduated as salutatorian of my high school class. Although I had migrated to the U.S. in the 5th grade, I was clueless about the college admission process in high school. My parents as immigrants spoke highly of education being the pathway to freedom but were also unfamiliar with the college process in the U.S. It wasn’t until the 11th grade when I overheard my classmates talking about applying to their ideal colleges and taking the SAT and ACT exams that I found out that you had to apply to college before you could be accepted. This led to visiting my college counselor for the first time and spending sleepless nights studying for the SAT, writing personal statements and essays for scholarships like the Gates Millennium Scholarship. I ended up applying to UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, UC Irvine, Cal State Northridge, and Cal State Los Angeles and got accepted to all of them to my surprise. I also got the Gates Millennium Scholarship! I have worked with students who have received admissions to the UCs, USC, LMU, Boston University, Stanford, Chapman University, American University, Pomona College majoring in the Arts and Humanities, Business, Finance, Public Health, Biology, Chemistry, Pre-Med, Computer Science, and Engineering, to name a few. I am passionate about supporting students through the college admission process and helping them to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Besides having academic rigor, I love helping students identify their strengths and illuminate the uniqueness of who they are and their story.

I have more than 18 years of experience working in higher education, from scholarships administration, undergraduate teaching and advising, curriculum development, academic research, leadership development and training to program management. My work as an administrator, scholar, mentor, and teacher is grounded on my commitment to justice, diversity, and serving underrepresented communities in education. Currently, I oversee a student success programming at UC Berkeley supporting about 200 scholars each year. I focus on removing barriers in higher education to make education accessible and on creating programming that fosters our scholars' personal, academic, and professional growth. I hold an undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley in English and Political Science as well as a doctoral degree in Literature from UC Santa Cruz with an emphasis on Asian American Studies, Critical Theory, Postcolonial Studies, Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, and Cultural Studies. I mentor many students and have helped them get accepted to top colleges, both public and private universities such as Harvard, Cornell, Brown, UC Berkeley, Georgia Tech, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, UW, University of Virginia, University of Florida, Purdue, UCLA, UCSD, UCI, UC Davis, UCR, UC Santa Cruz, Rutgers, UIUC, Baylor, Spelman, and many more. I love working with students, especially in helping them realize their own potential and guiding them though their academic and personal growth. I cannot wait to meet with you and help you shine in your essays!

I have dedicated 15 years of providing outreach, opportunity, and access to students who find their why during the confusing college application process. I was once an unsure high school student, yet I knew that college was one of my many goals. I attended University of California, Davis, where I earned my Bachelor of Science in Community and Regional Development. During my time at UC Davis, I worked with high schools in Sacramento as a College Advisor for the University of California. Once I matriculated, I continued my work as a College Advisor. After 2 years in outreach, I moved to Miami and taught English for 2 years. I decided to return to my hometown of San Francisco and led a Junior Seminar class, while also serving as the school’s College Counselor. I left the classroom and took the opportunity to work with the University of California San Francisco’s Center for Science, Education & Outreach. I directed internships for high school students in the San Francisco Bay Area to conduct research under the faculty in the fields of Medicine, Physical Therapy, Nursing, and Dentistry. I had the dual role of working with high schools in the San Francisco Bay Area, as the Lead Outreach Coordinator and University of California representative. I earned my Masters of Arts in Organization and Leadership from the University of San Francisco and I am currently the founding Director of San Francisco State’s Latinx Student Center. My passion is to guide students as they find their voice, their why, and their confidence in this process. The students I have worked with have been awarded various scholarships, fellowships, and admissions to prestigious Universities. However, what makes me most proud is knowing that students remember that they have a guide through this process.

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 my B.A. in Psychology from Stanford University, where I also studied computer science, engineering, and Chinese. It was at Stanford that I had my first teaching experience, working with international graduate students to help them communicate most effectively on their published articles and dissertations. I also spent a summer teaching beginning and intermediate English at the Guilin Engineering University in Guilin, China. These experiences sparked my passion for working with students to help them envision the future they wish to live, set incremental goals, and chart an academic path to success. Following my undergraduate years, I had a two-year stint as a project manager with a company that was automating the semiconductor manufacturing process before returning to Stanford University as a staff member in Student Housing. It fascinated me to be on the inside of such a dedicated student service operation, and I rose quickly to the position of Director of Marketing and Business Support, managing six employees and providing marketing and communication services and strategies for the award-winning $450M/year auxiliary operation that included Student Housing, Stanford Dining, and Stanford Conferences. This background in marketing, project management, and communications turned out to be the ideal preparation for guiding students through the college admissions process and preparing them for college. After eight years as a Stanford staffer, I left to pursue an MS in Computer Science and Information Technology at the California University of Management and Technology (CALMAT) and serve as their Director of Marketing and Strategic Communication. During this same time, I began a business working with students and their families to provide teaching, tutoring, college application coaching, and editing services. In the past eleven years, I have worked with hundreds of students from fourth grade through graduate school to help them create a personalized academic plan that reflects the future they want for themselves and incremental, achievable goals to move them along the path to success. In addition, I’ve had the privilege of helping many students navigate the college admissions process through school targeting, developing stories that reveal not only a student’s unique identity but also his or her academic and career aspirations. Though I enjoy working with students from all backgrounds, I am particularly experienced with high-achieving students who are targeting selective campuses or programs and students from immigrant families who need assistance navigating the American college system. I have worked with many students who plan to study arts, humanities, psychology, computer science, engineering, biology, chemistry, physics, math, and other STEM majors; pre-professional programs like pre-Med, business, and law; and nationally-ranked athletes and international students applying to US schools. I understand how to make students targeting these disciplines stand out from the competition. I strive to make every session fun and productive. Whenever possible, I use my time with students to coach them toward greater responsibility and independence–two of the most important skills for adapting to college life.