CBI Class of 2007 ● Gettysburg College Class of 2011, LIU Brooklyn Class of 2013
Associate Director of College Access at SL Network
As a high school student, I counted myself incredibly lucky to have a director of college counseling (DCC) who was 100% dedicated to my college application process especially since many of my family members and friends did not have that opportunity at their high schools. At the beginning of my senior year, I was terrified of the college process. My family always instilled the importance of education and having a college degree in myself and my siblings but the steps towards making that possible felt daunting.
After my first official check-in with my DCC (now the Senior Managing Director of CBI) Rob Robinson, I knew I was in good hands and trusted him completely to guide me and my family through every aspect of the process. I started to see my DCC as an ally in my dream of going away to college and became excited to research colleges that would best fit me. By the end of my senior year, not only did I find the college that best suited me, but my DCC also helped my parents feel comfortable in my final college decision, thus, allowing me to be the first in my family to go away to college.
Take pride in everything that you do and, despite the outcome, take a moment to reflect on the lessons learned.
Directly after high school, I attended Gettysburg College and graduated with a BA in psychology. I then returned to NY and attended LIU Brooklyn where I obtained my master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling. While in my Master’s program, I was required to complete internship hours in order to graduate. As a result, I interned within the vocational counseling department at a methadone clinic in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. I also simultaneously interned at SL Network within the CollegeBound Initiative (CBI) team to assist with network-wide programming for seniors. Although my schedule looked insane, I wanted to use this dual internship opportunity to finalize if I wanted to work with the youth or adult population. I was, and still am, incredibly thankful for those almost two years’ worth of internship experience since it led me to realize my passion for community programming and client development.
Shortly after completing my degree, the position of Program Associate on the CBI team opened up at SL Network. I eagerly applied since it would allow me to apply my newfound passions to assist students from communities just like mine. My trajectory has definitely come full circle! In addition to the Program Associate position, I have served as the Program Manager and Senior Manager of CBI, and I am now the Associate Director, College Access.
In this role, I support the management of CBI programming at our partner high schools while also providing network-wide college exposure opportunities for our students in hopes of helping them find their best-fit post-secondary plan.
I also have the unique role of hiring other SL Network alumni to give back to their high school community by interning to assist their DCCs as they work with the current senior class. I experienced firsthand the benefits of CBI programming and it brings me great joy to be a part of this team! It is a great feeling to return and grow within an organization that personally impacted me as a student, and now, I can work alongside my past DCC, who serves as the Senior Managing Director of CBI, to impact the next generation of students.
A piece of advice that was shared with me is to take pride in everything that you do and, despite the outcome, take a moment to reflect on the lessons learned. To me, that advice translated to putting my best effort into anything that I committed myself to, so despite the outcome (“good” or “bad”), I can still feel pride in the efforts made and reflect on the lessons learned so I can keep moving forward. Reflection is the most humbling and growth-provoking opportunity that we can give ourselves! It opens the door to being vulnerable enough to ask for help and has the possibility of creating trajectories that we may have never realized on our own!