I'm especially excited to welcome Meredith Graham to Collegewise today, and it's not just because she was a Fighting Scot. As we chose where to open our new offices for 2013, we decided to put a trio of them in the Boston area. Meredith completes that trio, joining Tim and Sara as each opens an office for us to help Boston families put some sanity and perspective back into the college process.
Who is Meredith?
What can you do with a degree in chemistry from the College of Wooster, other than be a chemist? Well, as Meredith proves, yes, you could work in a lab after college. But you could also work as an admissions officer at Cornell in the college of engineering. You could work as an associate director of the University Service Center at Boston University, guiding students who need an expert to help them navigate multiple departments at the university to make good choices. And you could even open an office at Collegewise where you help students find and get accepted to the right colleges for them.
Why did we choose this Fighting Scot?
We haven't picked an easy battle to fight at Collegewise–to show families that there are plenty of great colleges out there beyond the forty that everybody seems to want to attend (the very same schools that reject almost everybody who applies). But it's something we all believe in, even those of us who went to some of those highly-selective colleges. We all believe that what you do in college matters much more than where you do it. Meredith believes it, too. And while we had great conversations about helping students find the right fit, I knew after reading this paragraph of her cover letter that she was one of us.
I love working with students and families. I'm a cheerleader and a coach, a counselor and an advocate by
nature. My seven years in highly-selective admissions saying "no" to so many amazing applicants was a
grind on my soul even though it was an excellent learning experience. My natural tendency is to say
"Yes!" or "Let's see how we can make this work!" instead. I like exploring options and possibilities with
students and families, and building the one-on-one relationships that make it possible to recognize the
spark of excitement in someone’s eye when I suggest an idea or an option that appeals to him or her.
Bottom line: I was born to be a college counselor who advocates for students to make college choices
based on sustainable fit.
While at Wooster, Meredith also learned to play the bagpipes. It's not the (only) reason we picked her, but there are some personal factoids that you've just got to wedge into an announcement like this.
Joining the Fighting Collegewise-ers
Meredith is wrapping up her work at Boston University and will be joining us right after the 4th of July. Until then, she's diving into the pre-reading for our training (none of which involves the periodic table), and–we can only hope–brushing up on her bagpipe chops.
Meredith, welcome to Collegewise. We're glad you're joining us to fight the good fight.