I see you.

You want to do best by your teen. You are trying to enjoy their last years with you, but it all feels so complicated, so frenetic, and a little raw. You knew parenting teenagers wouldn’t be easy, but you wish someone would hand over the manual already.

I also know that between school, sports, arts, clubs, part-time jobs, and college admission on the horizon, our teens are stressed. In turn, you are stressed trying to manage calendars, help them when they need help, make sure they sleep sometimes (gosh darn it), all while balancing your own life, job, and maybe some other kids. And you keep thinking: am I doing what I should be doing to make sure my kid gets into a good college? Phew. That’s a lot.

You are doing great. It’s supposed to be messy and imperfect, because that’s how we raise adults.

Long before college admission is a set of to-do items for research, applications, and essays, it’s a looming and ever-present goal—an important one. But there are ways we can make the experience less stressful, more joyful and centered around students getting to know their true selves, so they can use college as a runway to create a meaningful life.

As a college counselor at a leading independent school in the Rocky Mountain West, I’m passionate about destressing and simplifying the college admission process for students and parents. When I’m not working at my dream job (and dreaming up resources to bring thoughtfulness and growth to the college process for you), I’m doing my best to raise three kind kids with my husband, and spending as much time as we can enjoying the Colorado outdoors.

I’ve worked with high school and college students for eighteen years, on both sides of the desk (excuse the industry lingo here). After getting a master’s degree in higher education and college student development, I was an admission officer at Colorado College (my alma mater), traveling the East and West coasts interviewing students in hotel conference rooms, getting lost in Boston and L.A. traffic while visiting high schools, and then hunkering down for long winters reading thousands of applications in my yoga pants, reheated coffee in hand.

I founded Mindset College Collective to provide resources for students and parents on the college admission journey who want more than just a means to an end. The college admission process can be joyful, self-reflective, empowering, and even (dare I say) fun.

So here we are, helping you build a mindful, empowered college process for your teen, one self-reflection question at a time.

I’m glad you’re here.

Our Core Values

1. We believe everyone deserves access to excellent resources to make the college admission process more joyful, self-reflective, mindful, and empowering.

2. We are committed to providing resources for first-generation college students and students of color. We donate a portion of our proceeds to organizations creating real change for students who are first in their families to attend college, because a college degree can change the trajectory of a family for generations to come.

3. We acknowledge that student mental health is a current epidemic, with selective college admissions as a significant stressor in teens’ (and parents’) lives. We believe there are tangible ways to foster less stress, more meaning, growth, personal development, and mindfulness through the college admission process.