I have spent twenty years thinking about how young people become themselves.
College is the part of that work most families come to me for. It is rarely what we actually talk about.
I grew up in Ukraine, was educated in the United States, and have lived and worked between the two ever since. I founded TeenSHARP in 2009 to help high-achieving, low-income students reach selective colleges. Over the years we sent hundreds of them to places like Stanford, Princeton, UVA, Georgetown, and Howard, often on full scholarships.
What I learned in that work is what shapes this practice. The students who did best were rarely the ones with the most polished applications. They were the ones who understood themselves.
I moved to a private advisory model to give a smaller number of families that same depth of thinking. My clients now come from many backgrounds. What they share is a wish to prepare for college without letting the preparation become the years themselves.
How I work
I take a small number of families each year. We meet consistently across whatever period we agree on. Between meetings I am reachable, I read what your student writes, and I stay close to how the year is going. Nothing is outsourced. Every conversation is with me.
My own three
My husband Atnre and I have three children. They are the reason I think about this work the way I do. I want the same seriousness and same care for your student that I want for mine.
