None of the independent educational consultants I know went into college thinking they wanted to be an IEC. Most of us came to the IEC world from other careers or life experiences.
I share a pathway with other English teachers. Because I had taught English, journalism, and newspaper production in high school, students naturally approached me for help with their college essays. When I retired from teaching, I took up essay coaching in earnest, but it left me with a desire to help students think more broadly and deeply about the entire process. That led me to IECA and the Independent Educational Consultant Certificate Program at the University of California, Irvine.
I’ve been curious about the letters behind members’ names, so I set out to learn how some of our members got from there to here.
JD
Hanna Stotland’s life story is “proof of concept to parents that the transformation they hoped for is possible,” she said. After failing out of high school, she got her GED, went to Bryn Mawr, and transferred to Harvard, where she was a tour guide. Someone would always ask her to help someone they knew when she told the tour group about her unusual path to Harvard.
Harvard represented a complete renovation, a 100 percent reversal of whatever “mess” she had made. After undergrad, Stotland considered getting a doctorate in psychology, but she had always loved reading Supreme Court rulings and was interested in her sister’s law school studies. So she went to Harvard Law and came out with a juris doctor. At a law firm, she found that she most enjoyed working with the summer associates, students still in law school. From there, she worked at Northwestern Law as a career counselor for law students and realized that her side gig as an IEC could be her full-time career.
Stotland specializes in students who have some blemish on their school record, helping them find the right college. Most of her clients are transfer students, and she asks them to ask themselves: “How do I fix my record? How do I tell my story?” She also asks, “What can we do here and now to make you a stronger candidate?” Special circumstances must be explained, and it may take going to community college to improve your record, but Stotland gives these students hope that they can indeed attain a college education.
Her advice? “Listen to your heart and to the market,” said Stotland. She “loves talking to young people,” and the market demanded what she offers.
Kate Sonnenberg has a bachelor’s degree from Princeton, where she studied history and politics. She went into law to “be doing things related to justice,” which she says she found as a law clerk to a federal judge and later as a law professor. In “big law,” however, she didn’t find that satisfaction.
Between practicing law and going into college admissions, Sonnenberg took a 17-year hiatus to be an at-home mom. When her youngest went to college, she no longer wanted to be a lawyer. One of her volunteer roles was running the alumni interviews for Princeton, “and that segued into working in the admissions office as a reader.” That led naturally to working on the other side of the desk in college admissions.
Sonnenberg is a generalist, but due to her experience with Princeton, she tends to work with top-tier students. From her legal background, she developed strong skills in research, writing, and attention to detail.
Her advice to those entering the profession? “Don’t discount the skills” that you’ve developed in your previous careers. Take advantage of the IECA Summer Training Institute, the UC certificate programs, and membership in IECA. “And visit colleges, all the time.”
PhD in Psychology
Eric Endlich attended UC Berkeley as an English major, and writing has been “a part-time gig” throughout his life. He thought that psychology would give him lots of options, so he earned a master’s and doctorate in clinical psychology, and had stints in hospitals, employee assistance programs, and private practice.
He found in his private practice that he really enjoyed talking to teens. He started into college consulting gradually, attending the UC Irvine certificate program and the Summer Training Institute. However, Endlich said, “Having run a thriving therapy practice as a solopreneur, I thought I knew how to start and build a business—but I underestimated how much work it would be to start fresh in a new field! I didn’t shut down my therapy practice until my new company, Top College Consultants, was reasonably profitable.”
Endlich specializes in neurodiverse students: “As a neurodivergent adult, parent of neurodivergent children and coauthor of a book about autistic adults, I was already active in this area before I became an IEC—so it was a natural transition.”
His advice? “IECA has an amazing wealth of information on the website and amongst the membership.” Finally, Endlich said, “I’m thrilled to have made this career change and to be an IECA member. I knew I’d love working with students, but I didn’t anticipate how fulfilling it would be to belong to this extraordinary professional community!”
Art History to MBA
Marisa Gonzales Silverstein earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale in art history, but she discovered her love of working with kids when she co-founded a literary magazine in New Haven schools while still an undergrad. That love became even more apparent when she taught sixth grade in New Jersey. She found that she loved her kids, but teaching in a classroom not so much.
In Chicago, Silverstein managed Gallery 37, an apprenticeship program for teens. But she saw the need for good management to make a program successful, so she decided to get her MBA at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. Silverstein has an impressive résumé of creating, managing, and developing programs like the citywide After School Matters in Chicago, starting with a budget of $2.5 million and growing it to $20 million.
When her husband’s career moved them to New York City, Silverstein stayed home with her three children, volunteering and always “doing art.” She was “itching to do something” more, and she found the Yonkers Partners in Education (YPIE) nonprofit helping first-generation students, assisting with essays, and working as a graduation coach to help them finish high school. She discovered the Summer Training Institute reading the biographies of YPIE staffers.
On her first day of STI, Silverstein realized that this was what she wanted to do. STI got her started, and from there she enrolled in the certificate program at UC Irvine. She recently earned the Certified Educational Planner designation.
From her education and experiences, Silverstein has honed organization and management skills, and years of doing program development have made it easier for her to get her own programs going. She’s very process-oriented and loves running her own business.
Her advice to others? “Be very clear on who you’re trying to reach,” and know who you want to work with.
Special Educator to School Counselor
When Dianne Keilholtz struggled with Algebra I, her teacher told her she’d never be able to make it in college, so she went to work for the government right out of high school. She complained to a friend that it was boring, and her friend told her to take a college class. From that first accounting class, Keilholtz earned her associate’s degree and finished her bachelor’s in K-12 special education at Hood College. Though she herself doesn’t have a learning difference, she wanted to help kids who had trouble learning.
After years of working as a special educator, Keilholtz wanted more of a chance to work one-to-one with students, so she earned her master’s degree in school counseling and began working as a school counselor. She retired from a public school system in Maryland after 30 years of service and went to the NACAC conference in 2013 specifically to learn how to transition from school counseling to private practice. There she met Dr. Charlotte Klaar, who became her mentor and good friend.
At first, Keilholtz didn’t think she could earn a living as an IEC. “My initial motivation was just to help kids, and if I could make a little money, that was even better,” she said. “Charlotte said I was worth more than I was charging, and lo and behold, I could make a living at this.”
Keilholtz is a generalist, but she also works with students who have learning differences and those in the arts. Her advice? If you’re considering moving into the IEC world, “check what your motivation is. You have to really love teenagers.”
Journalist, Teacher, Librarian
I interviewed Jennifer Stanton and Jennifer Jamison while they were on the Wisconsin tour bus headed to Ripon College.
Jennifer Stanton worked as a journalist for 20 years, most recently as deputy food editor at the Los Angeles Times. She specialized in feature writing, with her stories running in newspapers across the country. She has a journalism degree from Ohio University and a master’s degree in teaching writing from Johns Hopkins University. After her son was born, she transitioned from reporter to librarian at his school to work his hours, and she held the job for 10 years.
She began essay coaching 10 years ago, which led to her providing comprehensive college consulting four years ago. She’s an “enthusiastic supporter” who wants to help students. Stanton said, “Whatever I do, it’s helping them realize what their future can be.”
Jennifer Jamison also worked as both an elementary teacher and a librarian. With encouragement from her elementary principal, who recognized her ability with technology, she pursued a master’s of library science (MLS). When she began her first stint as a librarian at an Atlantic City elementary school, she found the library to be in shambles. She successfully redesigned the library, then sought to continue her work districtwide, and she became known for rehabilitating libraries. Her last project redesign was at Atlantic City High School.
She observed that counselors were overloaded in Atlantic City, so while at the high school, Jamison ran college workshops on the Common App and essay writing to help students.
Jamison retired from New Jersey public schools in 2022, and a counselor friend suggested she consider becoming an independent educational consultant. She took a class through NACAC, then went to the Summer Training Institute and UC Irvine for the IEC certificate program.
Her daughter is a nurse, and many of her family members are in the medical field, so a specialty in nursing came naturally. She also helps students find and apply to MLS programs. Her previous careers taught her research skills and how to deal with high school kids, especially those facing anxiety.
Jamison’s advice? “Continue to educate yourself with organizations like IECA and NACAC.” Finally, Jamison said, “To make this business successful, you have to have a passion for the job.”
Division I Athlete
Debbie Luckett was a recruited athlete who swam for the University of Pennsylvania. She got a psychology degree from Penn and then a master’s in education and counseling.
Her daughter played DI soccer. But her daughter also has dyslexia. Being the mom of a daughter who was both a recruited athlete and dyslexic meant that Luckett has been steeped in the worlds of recruiting and learning differences. It led her to a position on the board of the International Dyslexia Association of North Carolina, and eventually to a selective high school for athletes.
Luckett worked for Montverde Academy in Orlando, Florida, as a counselor for highly accomplished athletes. Montverde is known for its top-notch basketball and soccer programs. She learned not only about the high-end recruiting for phenoms like her student Cooper Flagg, who played one year for Duke and went pro, but also how kids who aren’t part of the top one percent can market themselves and get placed.
However, she had a large caseload and yearned to work more closely and in depth with her students. So she struck out on her own. This is Luckett’s first season as an IEC, and she’s giving herself two years to make a go of it. Her background in counseling allows her to make students feel more comfortable and to “ask the right questions to help them self-reflect,” she said.
Her advice? “Be patient. Reach out and find others for support because being an IEC can be very isolating.” And remember that in owning your own business, “it’s not failing—it’s learning.”
Reid Meyer, a recruited DI baseball player, attended four schools in three-and-a-half years and earned a BS in kinesiology. From the University of Texas, Austin, he received an MEd in sport management, with a concentration in sport public policy and youth sport development. But when he graduated with his BS, he moved back in with his parents and worked as a private pitching instructor while helping kids on the side pro bono. At that point, he didn’t know what an IEC was.
“I always knew I wanted to be involved with student-athletes, and once I found this intersection of college consulting and student-athlete ‘coaching’ of sorts, I never looked back,” said Meyer. He had a passion for student-athletes and didn’t want them to experience the same divide that he had experienced. He’d thought he had to choose between a great college experience or “greatness” in his sport, so he focused on baseball to the exclusion of college fit. Meyer said, “Since then, I’ve wanted to find ways to help families realize that you do not have to sacrifice a great fit school for a college sport experience, and it’s actually more hurtful to try and split those elements up when making that choice.”
Meyer’s personal experience in a competitive sports environment allows him to empathize with both the parents and the student, making it easier to connect with families.
His advice? “You need to love it if you want to do it,” said Meyer. You need to self-impose structure and be willing to put the students first. “This is a career born from people who want to help others, and those are the people who I find get rewarded the most.”
Takeaways
- Love working with teens. This has to be the foundation of an IEC practice.
- Continually educate yourself. Think Summer Training Institute and UC certificate programs, but also webinars and college visits.
- Create community. Belong to professional organizations like IECA and NACAC.
- Embrace running your own business. It takes patience and discipline, but all agree that it’s worth it and very satisfying to be helping students.
By Karen Hott, MA, IECA (MD)