My professional backstory
I earned my secondary English Language Arts (ELA) teaching certification during my undergraduate studies and went on to teach middle school ELA and humanities. I highly value the time I spent with students and families. Teaching was and still is a calling for me, though it takes a different form now.
As an introvert, I found classroom teaching to be draining, and it took all of the energy I had. Seeking alternative ways to work within the broader education field, I took an administrative assistant position in the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships at Simmons University.
After spending some time doing behind-the-scenes work, I transitioned into the student-facing role of fellowship advisor. In this role, I informed students of scholarship and fellowship opportunities and supported them in their applications for awards such as the Fulbright U.S. Student Program and the Truman Scholarship.
Seeing that families in my community were looking for help navigating the college process, I began to combine my K-12 teaching experience with my higher education experience in order to support them.
I also work with college students and graduates who are applying for postgraduate opportunities.
Pursuing a degree can feel dull and obligatory. I help clients by adding vibrancy to the process. Though it may not feel like it at first, degree seekers have a lot of autonomy. I help them make meaningful and purposeful decisions about their education.
Who I am outside of work
I grew up in central New Jersey and now live in the West Roxbury neighborhood in Boston with my cat Frances. I fostered her for almost a year before adopting her.
In addition to hanging out with my cat, my hobbies include doing improv comedy, appreciating the performing arts, and nerding out about pop culture. My pop culture favorites are vast and diverse, but just to give you an example: Over the pandemic, I became a Survivor superfan. (Yes, that show is still on!)
The meaning behind “Purple Goat”
Back when I took Education 100 during my undergraduate studies, a particular section of an assigned reading stuck with me. I can’t tell you anything else about this reading, but over ten years later, I still remember the part where educator Roland S. Barth contrasted sheep, who follow the crowds without thinking twice, with “bright, discriminating, questioning, willful goats.” This was my first exposure to the sheep/goat dichotomy, and it resonated with me.
Challenging norms and thinking critically are two of my core values. As I have moved through life, some of the best decisions I have made have been ones in which I have deviated from the norm in order to find the path that was right for me.
As an independent college counselor, I want to support you in making purposeful decisions in which you consider many options and feel confident in the path that you choose.