University of California – Irvine

Hello, my name is Yesenia. I was the first in my family to attend college. I went to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and graduated with a degree in Psychology with a minor in Labor and Workplace Studies. I then earned a Master's Degree from California State University, Long Beach in Counseling - Option in Student Development in Higher Education. I am passionate about helping students with their higher educational goals to ensure they are able to get accepted, attend, and ultimately graduate from college to obtain a fulfilling career. For the past 10 years, I have been working in college access and success programs and have served hundreds of students with their college-going journey! It would be a pleasure and a privilege to support you in your goals. Let's work together to make that goal a reality!

I am a first-generation Latina college graduate and I hold my B.A. in Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley). I have held positions as a College Advisor, Student Services Advisor and Academic Mentor where I have advised students with the college application process in both 1-1 and group settings (virtual and in-person), organized and coordinated college access and leadership workshops to support students and families from diverse backgrounds, and supported with post-secondary education and career planning. As a first-generation student, I was never exposed to resources to support me with the college access process. This taught me how to seek out resources on my own, which supported me throughout my time at university. After graduating from UC Berkeley, I further developed my passion of helping others because I believe everyone should have equitable access to attain higher education. I believe everyone has a unique story to share and with my passion to support and experience in advising students, I am excited to get to hear our students' stories and continue advocating and ensuring students receive the support needed to attain higher education.

Hi! My name is Tatiana Diaz. I am a first-generation college student and the first in my extended family to graduate college. Navigating the college application process was a bit daunting when I was in high school, but I was able to use the resources around me, including Upward Bound and GEAR Up to successfully achieve the goals I had set for myself. I am looking forward to working with students and their families as they navigate this process and am very hopeful that I will be able to provide assistance through some of the bumps that might come up along the road. I graduated from UC Irvine where I received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Social Behavior and Chicano/Latino Studies with a minor in Education in 2010. In 2014 I graduated from Loyola Marymount University and received my Master’s in Counseling with a Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) credential. I am now in my tenth year as a high school counselor. I have had the pleasure of guiding and educating many students about their college, career, and financial aid options during their high school years. I very much look forward to working with you and continuing to learn with you!

Languages spoken: English and Spanish

Hi! My name is Megan, and I was born and raised in Orange County, California, and currently live there as well! I received my Bachelor of Arts in European Studies from UC Irvine (Go Anteaters!) and my Master of Science in School Counseling from the University of La Verne. During my undergrad experience, I spent a semester living and studying abroad in London, England. I have worked as a high school counselor for the past 5 years, and prior to that worked in higher education for 8 years in both advising and in study abroad roles. I have also been an admissions reader for a UC school in the past. I am extremely passionate about helping students achieve their goal of attending college. As a high school counselor, I am confident in working with any student, no matter your major/interest. In my free time, I like to read, go for walks with friends, play board games and cook. I can't wait to work with you!

Hello! I am a recent graduate from Cal Poly SLO's blended Bachelor's/Master's program in Computer Science and am excited to help guide you through your college application process. I am fluent in French & English and have additionally earned a minor in Spanish during my undergraduate studies as I studied abroad in Valladolid, Spain. Throughout my time in university, I cultivated a background in STEM research including publishing and presenting research at the International Conference for Advanced Learning Technologies, entering a Boeing-sponsored project at the collegiate Team Tech engineering competition, and designing, programming, and defending my master's thesis in natural language processing. I was the first in my family to attend college in the United States and am therefore intimately familiar with the uncertainty that often shrouds the college application process. I have learned that every student has a unique blend of strengths, skills, and interests that set them apart from the rest - I am here to help you identify your brightest qualities and prepare you to put your best foot forward. Let's do this!

Hi! I am Lisa, a First-Generation Columbia University graduate. Originally from Brazil, I've been working as a college advisor for about 4 years. Using the knowledge I gained during my own college application process, I've directly helped more than 23 ambitious and determined students get admitted into the top 20 schools. I was an Advisor Fellow Leader at the non-profit Matriculate for over two years, managing a community group of 15 advisors and a total of 50 students. I have helped students with all steps of the college process, including financial aid and scholarships. Particularly, I have extensive experience with essay writing, college list building, standardized test prep, application questions, mock interviews and career advising! I am passionate about helping students pursue their passions and achieve their higher education goals!

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.

Hello and welcome to my page! I have a BA in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. I hold my MS in Educational Counseling from National University. I have eight years of counselor experience in the academic, college, and career needs of diverse high school student populations:

• Students with Disabilities,
• English Learners,
• Homeless/Foster Youth,
• Low Income and/or First Generation,
• Gifted and Talented Students

My experience in the college application process ranges from college eligibility requirements for various college systems to guiding students to apply to college and financial aid. In between this process, providing guidance to students, but not limited to:

• Developing their college lists and college majors based on their interests and research,
• Step-by-step college application process,
• Essay brainstorming and editing/revisions,
• Applying to scholarship/internship/volunteer opportunities.

What drives me to continue being a counselor/college advisor? It is the students!

This is a major step in their lives that can be filled with a lot of emotions and uncertainty at times. With the student and their family leading the way in the college application journey, I am a resource of support and guidance to make this process as pleasant and exciting as possible.

I look forward to working and guiding your students on their college application journeys.

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.