Kelly

Description

Kelly specializes in helping international students; students applying to highly selective schools; undecided students; and students interested in studying business, languages, liberal arts or social studies, political science or international relations, and visual or performing arts.  

As an IvyWise counselor, Kelly prides herself on devising innovative ways to make her students shine and communicate their ‘specialness,’ demystifying the admissions process to make it more of a creative journey together, no matter which major or path.  

Kelly’s approach is focused on helping her students engage in the self-discovery process, to go beyond what is expected of them, and get passionate about their roles in shaping their future. Kelly has found a particular interest in guiding students who struggle to find their path, encouraging them to understand and reveal what makes them distinct, adding color, curiosity, and creativity to their applications so they can connect with admissions officers. Kelly also brings hands-on experience in gap year and study abroad advising.   

She also has niche expertise in developing and reviewing visual art portfolios, not only for arts-focused students but also for those submitting optional portfolios to enhance their applications to other programs. Kelly has participated in multiple National Portfolio Day events as an admissions rep and portfolio reviewer. 

Kelly is a former admissions officer at Stanford University’s Office of Undergraduate Admission and Graduate School of Education. She previously served as an enrollment manager at California College of the Arts, a college counselor at an independent college preparatory high school, an academic advisor at the University of San Francisco, and an independent college counselor.   

During Kelly’s career in admissions, she reviewed thousands of applications from around the world as well as the U.S., in all majors, including BFA, MFA, and joint degree programs in education and law, and business and public policy.  Kelly has also read and evaluated thousands of graduate applications as well as served as an academic advisor.  

At the Stanford Graduate School of Education, Kelly was a one-woman operation, overseeing all aspects of graduate admissions operations, application reviews, and academic advising for prospective students. Kelly reviewed 3,400+ graduate applications annually and uses that experience when guiding students in developing their graduate school narratives, research plans, strategic school lists, and crafting their personal statements to fit their specific schools of interest. 

Kelly earned her BA in art history and fine art at UC Davis and an MA in Museum Studies, Italian Studies, and Photography in Florence, Italy.   

Having lived in Italy for a decade and visited six out of seven continents, Kelly jumps at the chance to travel whenever and wherever she can. When she’s not flying around the globe, you can find Kelly teaching Italian and volunteering with refugees transitioning to the U.S. She is still an active writer and artist, working mostly in photography and poetry, and is currently teaching herself to play ukulele and lei-making as she spends half the year living in Hawaii.