Virginia Tech

Hello! My name is Kaitlyn, and I graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Science in Education – Youth and Social Innovation, and a minor in Anthropology. My journey through college allowed me to gain valuable experience in the areas of student development, mentorship, career advising, and coaching through leadership positions across various student affairs departments. Through my roles as Orientation Leader for Orientation and Transition Programs, and Resident Advisor at the International Residential College, I led small and large group presentations on navigating college including attaining academic excellence, extracurricular experience, and maintaining a balance for freshmen, upperclassmen, and international student populations. As Career Peer Educator in the Exploration and Education, Counseling, and Youth Development Communities, I served as an ambassador of the Career Center to the student body. I led outreach presentations elaborating on career development topics such as networking, attending a career/job fair, interview preparation, salary negotiation, and navigating the job/internship search process. During weekly office hours, I supported undergraduate and graduate students on their resumes and cover letters while providing individualized feedback. Through these leadership roles, I aimed to create an inclusive and safe environment, while encouraging students to achieve personal and professional development. I worked as Program Coordinator for the Earl Woods Scholar Program, which is a comprehensive scholarship program that provides ongoing support for students from under-represented communities to thrive in school and life. I supported high school and college students in the Los Angeles, CA; Anaheim, CA; Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia regions, to achieve their post-secondary dreams. I empowered students to succeed in college through ongoing financial aid, mentorship, specialized internship opportunities, skills development, career readiness resources and annual enrichment workshops. Providing undergraduate students and youth with the necessary educational tools and career development resources is an essential part of preparing career-ready graduates. In addition to guiding students through the college application process to gain admittance to their top choice schools, former students I have worked with have also gained national, institutional, and local scholarships including QuestBridge, Posse, Gates Millenium, College Board - BigFuture, the DC-CAP Scholarship, and more. Over the past six years, I have been actively involved in the education and non-profit sectors, where my primary focus and involvement has been supporting students in realizing their aspirations for post-secondary education. Currently, I am supporting high school and university scholars in pursuing careers of excellence and leadership in the non-profit/higher education field, and I aspire to attend a business graduate school in the future. Outside of advising you can find me spending time with family and friends, running,

My journey to where I stand today, ready to mentor and inspire as an advisor at CollegeAdvisor.com, has been as unique as the students I aim to guide. Bringing my love for technology and a bit of entrepreneurial flair into the mix, I believe I can leverage my diverse background and perspective to help students navigate the challenging college application process. I, too, have once struggled with finding my true voice in essays, deciding on majors, and choosing the right school. Therefore, I am eager to lead the next generation of innovators to their perfect match school with empathy and insight.

Hello! I'm so excited to start this journey with you! I have been in the college world for over 20 years. I started running specialty summer classes, in 2002, centered around the Common Application and the personal essay. I built my own curriculum and worked with rising seniors to help them navigate the college process. Later, I partnered with a counseling colleague to establish a business around standardized test preparation and admission applications. We worked one-on-one with college-bound students in all facets of college admissions. With a degree in English from William and Mary, a master's in teaching from American University, a college counseling certificate from the University of San Diego, and over 20 years of teaching experience in secondary English, including AP and pre-IB English, I know how to guide students through the college admission process and help them establish a voice in their applications. Currently, I work full time at an independent school as a college counselor. My goal as an advisor is to help demystify the college process and allow students to tell their story through their activities, personal essays, and supplemental materials.

After completing an undergraduate degree and graduate degree in business and working in industry for several years, I began my career in higher education as a faculty member at Mary Baldwin College. I served as an Assistant Professor of Business at Mary Baldwin College as well as St. Andrews Presbyterian College, both are small church related liberal arts schools, and I fully enjoyed and value the residential liberal arts experience. I joined the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce as an Assistant Dean of Students in 1990. McIntire has consistently been rated as one of the top undergraduate business schools globally while UVA has consistently been rated as a top public research institution. During my time at UVA, I served in a variety of roles related to student development, student services and admission and founded the first Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the McIntire School of Commerce, serving as the first Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at McIntire. I served for over twenty years as the Director of Undergraduate Admission, advising and counseling students as well as reading, reviewing and making decisions on admission applications. I was a member of the University Undergraduate Admission Committee for over a decade and love working with prospective college students to help them find the right program, school and location for their higher education journey. I developed and taught a very popular University Seminar for first year students on Managing Diversity and was instrumental in the founding of the McIntire Commerce Cohort program which supports and guides first and second year students interested in pursuing a degree and career in business. I have extensive knowledge, experience and a passion for working with students from diverse backgrounds including first generation, low income and under-represented. As the parent of three young adults all with college degrees, I understand the challenges, anxiety and joy of parenting through the college search and application process. Finding the best college should be viewed as an individual process of self-reflection, learning and exploration not a contest or competition. I'm excited to support students through this journey!