My career spans nearly two decades in admissions and financial aid at institutions including Stanford University, Vanderbilt University, The College Preparatory School, Woodside Priory, and Bentley School. Across these roles, I worked inside both highly selective university environments and Bay Area independent schools, sitting on the decision-making side of the process that families are trying to navigate. At Stanford and Vanderbilt, I worked within admissions environments where institutional priorities, class composition, and applicant evaluation operate at a level of complexity most families never see. At Stanford, my work included overseeing STEM recruitment in close partnership with faculty, as well as international admissions with a focus on Europe and China. At Vanderbilt, my international focus extended across East and Southeast Asia. At College Prep, Woodside Priory, and Bentley School, I learned how Bay Area independent school communities build their classes and what they are actually looking for in students and families. I also served as a faculty member for the Enrollment Management Association (now E3n), working with admissions professionals across the country. What this career produced is not a set of contacts or insider shortcuts. It is a precise understanding of how institutions think, what signals they read, and where families consistently misread the process. I hold a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Education from Vanderbilt University.