Back in
February, I posted that we were looking to hire Collegewise counselors to open
new offices across the country. Eight
months and several hundred applicants later, I’m happy to announce that we've found our tenth and final counselor for 2013.
He’s Vince Valenzuela, director of our soon-to-be open office in
Princeton, New Jersey.
Since
graduating from Monmouth University (go Hawks) 23 years ago, Vince has spent
nearly every day of his professional life in an admissions office. He got his
admissions start at his alma mater before going on
to spend three years as an admissions officer at Villanova. Vince then moved to the admissions office on
the high school side, serving as the director of admissions at Rutgers Prep (New Jersey), Chestnut Hill Academy
(Pennsylvania) and finally Sierra Canyon (Los Angeles).
Why did we
pick Vince?
Vince
understands admissions and the pressures families feel. He knows how to win over students and
parents, and how to help them find the right college fit. But just as importantly, Vince knows
Princeton. We’ve learned that a real
familiarity and connection with an office’s location serves a counselor
well. Vince grew up in the Princeton
area. He went to college and worked at a
high school in the Princeton area. He
estimates that in his lifetime he has eaten approximately 437 bacon
cheesesteaks from Princeton’s famous Hoagie Haven. That kind of familiarity bodes well for our
office, for families who will work with Vince, and for the owners of Hoagie
Haven.
Let’s get
started
Vince set a
record yesterday, as he began his work at Collegewise less than 24 hours after
officially accepting the job. He’s
starting his search for office space, visiting college fairs, and dusting off
his public speaking chops until I can get out to Jersey the week of October 21 to
train him in the Collegewise ways. We
love his enthusiasm and can’t wait to get started in Princeton.
So
everyone, welcome Vince to Collegewise!
I’m hanging up my hiring hat for the next few months, but we’ll be
starting our search in January for more members of our Collegewise family.