We’ve got three fantastic new counselors starting at Collegewise this week whom I’m excited to introduce:
First, meet Emily Hayden, Collegewise counselor in New York City.
While earning a masters in school counseling from Columbia University, Emily spent a year in the college counseling office at The Beacon School in Manhattan where she not only advised students through the college search and application process, but also conquered that persnickety copy machine that had bested many a formidable counseling colleague before her (why does it say “paper jam” when there is no paper jam?!). That kind of efficiency and mental fortitude was not surprising from Emily—she also earned a B.A in psychology from NYU in just three years. And back in high school, Emily won the Principal’s Award given to the student the principal felt was an all-around good kid who really contributed to the community. Whether you need to get into college or just print 10 sets of double-sided stapled copies, Emily will be there to expertly and patiently guide you. In spite of her near untarnished track record of success and impact with whatever she tries, Emily does admit to being an absolutely atrocious singer. Let’s just say that if she were to audition for American Idol, she’d be discarded like a bad copy machine. When she’s not counseling, conquering, or otherwise achieving, Emily enjoys exploring New York City on foot, avidly following celebrity gossip websites and magazines, and attending New Jersey Devils hockey games with her dad, a season ticket holder.
Now, meet Katie Sprague, who’s joining Emily in the New York City office:
After graduating Magna Cum Laude (that’s Latin for “No B’s on this transcript”) from Penn State University where she studied psychology and worked as a teaching assistant for the course, “Psychology of Adolescence,” Katie earned a 4.0 GPA while completing two masters degrees at Columbia University in psychological counseling and school counseling. During her time in graduate school, Katie spent a year in the counseling office at the High School for Math, Science and Engineering in New York City, where she guided a caseload of students through the college application process and ran a regular stress management support group for seniors. It’s almost hard to believe that such a driven, over-achieving success story also revels in Googling (and goggling) pictures of puppies, babies, and as she puts it, “anything mushy.” A true renaissance woman who helped pay for college and graduate school with side gigs as a bartender, Katie still holds the district and high school records for pole-vaulting back in her hometown. Yes, if pressed, Katie could calmly guide a group of stressed teenagers through the college application process while simultaneously sprinting down a runway and launching herself 11 feet in the air using a very long pole. She is also a former competitive gymnast who can walk on her hands and do a backflip. The secret to her boundless energy and vast array of both physical and psychological skills? Carbohydrates—Katie has also been known to eat an entire loaf of garlic bread for dinner.
And switching coasts, Orange County native Lauren Clifford is joining our Irvine, California office.
Lauren graduated from UCLA—go Bruins!—where she studied English and developed a healthy appreciation for Victorian literature (she maintains that Wuthering Heights is the greatest novel of all time). It was during those formative college years that Lauren began working first as an essay editor for a local private college counselor, later completing a stint as a private SAT tutor. After earning a masters in English at NYU where she attended on an academic scholarship, Lauren left New York City behind to return home to Orange County where she was warmly welcomed by family, old friends, and her new co-workers at Collegewise. Lauren’s enthusiasm for all things academic and college-related was evident back in her high school days at Mater Dei—go Monarchs!—when she would eagerly anticipate that wonderful day in the fall when she could, once again, go to Staples to buy pens, notebooks, and printer paper for the upcoming school year. A dedicated counselor who can advise, edit, and guide with the best of them, Lauren does admit to having absolutely terrible hand-eye coordination. In fact, Lauren was likely the first youth soccer player in history to win the “Best Smile” award at the team banquet, presumably because her coach could not identify a single athletic contribution for which Lauren deserved recognition. Sure, she may not be our first pick for the office softball team. But she is absolutely a first-team, all-state starter for the office book club.
Welcome, Emily, Katie, and Lauren!