Program Director at Pioneer Academics (PA) University/College
NACAC Member Since 2014
How did you find yourself in this profession?
I worked overseas in the education space among those representing colleges abroad. I collaborated with different administrators and faculty members to develop Pioneer Academics. The research program, founded in 2012, is the only fully college-accredited virtual research institute for high school students. As a public benefit corporation committed to transcending geographic and socioeconomic boundaries to engagement, Pioneer meets 100 percent of demonstrated financial need for domestic and international admitted scholars, where need can be assessed.
What was your first experience with NACAC?
In 2014, I went to the national conference in Indianapolis. It was an exciting conglomeration of different parties coming together with similar interests, helping students think through the college admission process. The conference is about helping students and each other.
How long have you been a member of NACAC?
8 years (since 2014)
What has been your best experience at your current organization so far?
Watching students pursue undergraduate research work when they initially didn’t know what direction they wanted to go in. The research gives them a transformative opportunity to discover what learning could be like and become excited about college.
Who inspires you?
Neil deGrasse Tyson, who wrote Astrophysics for People in a Hurry. Tyson shows how exciting learning should be. He teaches people to develop their own ideas and pursue those ideas rigorously and academically.
What advice would you give yourself at the age of 15?
Keep more of an open mind to different pursuits and let yourself go. I never thought I would live abroad.
How do you approach tough decisions at work?
Very carefully. A diverse team allows a diverse set of ideas. It is important to explain the why and the end goal of a decision. This allows people to come up with interesting and alternative ideas.
What do you do to relax?
My favorite thing to do is spend time with my 12-year-old daughter. I choose a place to go with her, like an amusement park or a campground, and I let her have fun with her friends.
What is your favorite quote?
“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost.”
– J.R.R. Tolkien
Where would you want to travel if you could go anywhere?
Iceland. I took a geology course in college because I needed a science elective, and it made me see the world differently. So many examples from that course were from Iceland.
What are you currently watching or reading?
I’m listening to the audiobook, Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. It is a fascinating book about sleep and dreams and the importance of sleep for emotional, physical, and mental health.
What kind of coffee shop drink would you be and why?
A dark chocolate caffè mocha because I am a chocolate lover with a sweet personality.
Describe yourself in three words.
Inspired. Driven. Philosophical.
College Counselor
TIDE Academy
NACAC Member Since 2021
My on-campus job in college was in the admission office at Rice University (TX). I am grateful for the opportunity to have dabbled in so many projects there, everything from opening mail (with typed applications inside!) to giving tours and reading apps while serving as the student representative on the admission committee.
As I graduated, I was deciding between staying in the admission office or joining Teach for America. I chose the latter and returned to California where I taught high school social studies for several years before earning my master’s and credential in counseling from San Jose State University (CA). While I enjoyed teaching, my heart is really in counseling, and specifically postsecondary transition planning. I was excited to kick off my 25th year in the profession surrounded by so many Rice friends at NACAC Conference 2022 in Houston!
I was lucky enough to participate in the first-ever District Directions program in Western ACAC in 2012. That experience connected me to WACAC and to the idea of NACAC.
I have been a member of NACAC since 2021. As a public school counselor, I have not had as much time or resources to engage with NACAC as I think folks do in other sectors of our profession.
What has been your best experience at your current institution so far?
I just completed my first year at TIDE Academy, our district’s brand-new dual enrollment high school. I am the school’s first college counselor, so it’s been great being able to be creative. There are no decades-old rules or outdated procedures. I have also spent this year working with WACAC to launch CCEP, the College Counseling Education Program. Our goal is to provide standards-based skills and knowledge to public school counselors, and anyone else, looking to support students in the college search and application process.
My sons. My younger son has autism and is non-verbal. Much of our life revolves around helping to build shortand long-term pathways for him to a more independent future. His older brother has grown up to be a kind and considerate young man, never envious of the attention and focus that his brother has demanded for so long.
The same advice I give my students and my 16-year-old son: “There is more than one right answer.” I think there can be a sense that there is THE college, THE major, THE career pathway, but in reality there are many, many possibilities for each student.
I am a list maker, so I make a list of pros and cons, and then usually consult with a trusted colleague. Then, acknowledging that there is no perfect decision, I strive for the best possible one for a given time and place.
I love to cook, read, and travel. I’m grateful that the first two were easy to keep doing throughout the pandemic, and that we are returning to a time when travel is safer and more accessible.
“Education is education. We should learn everything and then choose which path to follow. Education is neither Eastern nor Western, it is human.”
– Malala Yousafzai
With my family, our home away from home is Kailua Kona, Hawaii, one of the few places my son with autism is truly at peace (and therefore, so are the rest of us!). I would love to visit Tahiti or Fiji someday.
I actually don’t watch a lot of television, but I just finished the last season of “Top Chef.” I read a lot―a few recent titles I enjoyed: The Boys and the Boat, Peak Mind, and Lessons in Chemistry. I also love anything by Kristin Hannah.
An oat milk latte, it’s what I drink most often. Not too sweet, not too bitter, and a calming way to start the day.
Balanced. Connected. Efficient.