Brooke is a proud native of the Pacific Northwest, a rising senior at Harvard and a graduate of Claudia Taylor Johnson High School in San Antonio, Texas. Before coming to college, she was a student of eclectic tastes and varied passions, which made college admissions quite the adventure. Some of her fondest high school memories included foreign exchange in Japan, road-tripping around the South, and public speaking on behalf of our venerable school football team. She also enjoyed four years of varsity athletics and three as editor-in-chief of her school newspaper while serving as president of both her class and the National Honor Society. These roles instilled in her a passion for goal-setting, as well as an editorial sensibility that she often relies upon when advising college-bound students. Brooke employs a holistic admissions strategy that utilizes every component of the application to tell applicants’ stories, allowing students to reflect, brainstorm and construct compelling personal narratives. Through this introspective and multilayered approach, she aims to provide guidance for students seeking to maximize their institutional options and to set the stage for an exciting and fulfilling undergraduate experience.   

Alex is from Tacoma, Washington and went to a small private high school named Charles Wright Academy. While there, he played football becoming captain during his senior year. He also ran track, focusing on the 100-400, also becoming captain my senior year. He was the Student Body Vice President during his junior year and the Student Body President during his senior year. Alex graduated Cum Laude winning a graduation award. In college, he is a member of the track and field team, he participates in the Harvard Black Mens Forum, Harvard Model United Nations, Harvard National Model United Nations, and is also a member of the Crimson Key Society. He truly enjoyed the college application process, despite that he too received some help along the way.

As a native of Portland, Hanaa went to Tualatin High School in Oregon. During high school, Hanaa served as a co-founder of Daughters of Eve, an organization that provides Muslim girls with wholesome activities, taught a college prep workshop on the SAT, ACT, and college admissions, and cultivated her passion for languages, becoming fluent in Arabic, Spanish, and French, and conversational in German.

For Hanaa, college consulting is all about the challenge of finding the perfect school for each student. She says the process is “a bit like the being a matchmaker.” Hanaa’s experience with the college application process has given her a unique insight into the world of college admissions. “Schools admit you as a person, not as a student” she says. “I’m here to help you find the best path for you.”

Jennifer is a rising senior at Harvard College, concentrating in History with a secondary in Psychology, as well as a language citation in Mandarin. A graduate of Freehold Township High School, she was a National Merit Finalist and an AP Scholar with Distinction, receiving all 5's on her AP exams. In high school, she was involved in the National Honors Society, Junior Statesmen of America, competitive speech and debate, and was a varsity tennis player. At Harvard, she is part of the Social Innovation Collaborative, Women in Business, and the Phillips Brooks House Association. In her free time, she loves urban biking, traveling, and sketching portraits. She is passionate about college access for low income students and believes everyone deserves the chance to attend college. This will be her fifth year tutoring high school students in the SAT and college application process.

Raymond is a rising senior and premedical student at Harvard University, who is an honors degree candidate in Chemistry and Chemical Biology. He graduated in 2012 from Bob Jones High School as an AP Scholar with Distinction, a Hispanic National Merit Scholar, and an elected leader in a wide variety of student organizations. In addition to his volunteering at Crestwood Medical Center and in local disaster relief, in 2010 he was the youngest student in state history to receive a perfect score on his ACT. In college, Raymond was a student athlete on the lightweight crew team, as well as a tutor and Director of Instruction for WBG Internationals specializing in foreign student's acclimating to the culture and language of the United States. Having come from Alabama's public school system, Raymond is intimately familiar with the challenges faced by students from these types of schools in the college application process. He strongly believes that a lack of information and guidance keeps far too many high-achieving, underserved high school students from successfully navigating the process of applying to colleges, and he hopes to use his experience to help open doors for students whom otherwise may not be able to.

Jim Chan is a Junior at Harvard studying Biomedical Engineering and Global Health/ Health Policy. He was born and raised in New York City, where he attended the engineering-focused Brooklyn Technical High School. During his time at there, he was the President of a 600-member international community service organization, Key Club, and was on the board of an education non-profit organization. During the summers, he conducted research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and studied abroad in England and France as a Student Ambassador. At Harvard, Jim worked at the Harvard Admissions Office, giving presentations to over a hundred high school students at 14 different high schools. He also taught liberal arts to 54 high school students in Beijing last Summer. In his free time, he loves biking, exploring, and traveling-- visiting 6 countries during his time at Harvard. Jim’s mantra in life is "pay it forward"-- he has received extensive help and mentorship to get  to where he is today and truly wants to give back.

Shayn went to a suburban public high school in San Diego called Serra High School. While there, he dedicated himself to improving the state of his local school system by creating and administrating tutoring programs that provided underachieving students with the support they needed and involving himself in a council that organized and advocated for all the elementary and middle schools that feed into his high school. He was a varsity athlete and captain in tennis and cross country, and raised $2,000 for a mission trip to Costa Rica as well as participating in various other leadership conferences and short internships.

College applications hold a special place in Shayn's heart. He feels that many talented students are excluded from top colleges not due to a lack of merit, but rather a lack of knowledge of the application process. He hopes that he will be able to help students refine their application so they will be judged solely on their merit as an applicant, and not on whether they have preexisting knowledge of how the college application process works.

Patrick Siaw-Asamoah is a rising junior at Harvard College, concentrating in Economics and Psychology. He intends to proceed to graduate school to pursue a JD/MBA. Born in London, England, Patrick graduated from St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute in Buffalo, NY, having been President of the National Honor Society, and President of his Class while playing varsity soccer and tennis. At Harvard, Patrick is involved with the Financial Analyst Club, PBHA, and Harvard Ventures, fueling his drive for startups, and entrepreneurship. He is also involved with the Mind, Brain, Behavior neurological and psychological initiative on campus. Following in his grandmother’s footsteps, Patrick is significantly invested in the education of children in high school, having spearheaded several initiatives to help students apply to colleges in his hometown. In his spare time, Patrick plays soccer, squash, and guitar.

Amy Zhang and is currently a sophomore at Harvard College. She attended Belmont High School in Belmont, MA where she served in leadership roles for the Community Service Club, National Honor Society, Working to Help the Homeless Club, Student Leadership Team, Peer Tutoring Program, and School Advisory Board. During her time in high school she also enjoyed playing on the Girls' Varsity tennis team, playing violin in the school orchestra, and competing in the Massachusetts Economics Challenge. In addition, she worked at a local elementary school aftercare program for four years, served as a teacher's assistant at a Chinese school, and conducted research at a lab specializing in kidney research. She has worked with high school students on standardized test prep and college essay writing, in addition to tutoring students in a variety of high school subjects. Having gone through the rigors of the college application process, Amy hopes to help current high school students navigate the oftentimes daunting process and alleviate some of the stress associated with it.

Sid Yarlagadda went to the Episcopal School of Jacksonville, a religiously affiliated prep school in Jacksonville, FL. While in high school, he conducted a 3-year computational neuroscience research project, was captain of his varsity tennis team, competed in speech, was part of student government, and was president of two community service oriented societies: National Honor Society (NHS) and Key Club.

Sid was always heavily involved in high school, but did not really enjoy his intellectual pursuits until junior year. He was very fortunate to have mentors who instilled in him a passion for learning before he had left secondary school. For this reason, Sid was heavily engaged in tutoring during during his last two years in high school in order to try to spread interest. He tutored math/science classes as well as standardized testing, and helped create a tutoring program at his school through NHS. He believes that finding curiosity and relying on the individual’s unique, personal manifestation of passion is what the college application process is about. As someone who had much help in recognizing this, he strongly feels that he is able to relay what he has learned and to help with the college application process holistically.

Nabil was born and raised in Syracuse, NY and attended Nottingham High in the city's East Side. He participated in Mock Trial for three years, getting to the Regional Championship once. He also served as Co-President of the National Honor Society and the Senior Class. Last but not least, he was the Team Captain for the National Society of Black Engineers Regional Champion team that completed in the international competition during his senior year. Nabil had not heard about Harvard until his junior spring(!) and, over the years, he has realized that many capable students simply are not aware of opportunities and their potential to take advantage of them. This is why he is passionate about helping students sell themselves as well and as wholly as possible to get into great schools. Nabil derives great satisfaction from helping others actualize their own potential. 

Hannah McLaughlin is a junior at Harvard College, concentrating in Economics. After traveling and living around the world – primarily London, Singapore, and Chicago – she entered and graduated as Valedictorian from the Duxbury, MA education system. In high school, she explored many interests, primarily art and science. Amongst her most significant leadership positions was her role as the President of Key Club, through which she was able to give back to the community. She joined Harvard Square College Consulting because with both of her parents graduating from international universities, she recognizes the difficulties of undergoing the American college application process without proper guidance and mentorship. With a growing emphasis on the significance of a college education, she hopes to utilize her own experiences as well as a collected knowledge from her peers to help the upcoming generation of high school students maximize their opportunities to pursue their passions.

My name is Daniela Veloza and I am a rising sophomore at Harvard University studying Economics with a secondary in Visual and Environmental Studies. Originally from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, I graduated as salutatorian at Nova High School with a 3.9 unweighted GPA and 5.67 weighted GPA. Prior to Harvard, I was the President of Nova’s National Honor Society, founder of my school’s Photography Club, captain of the women’s Varsity swim team and an international swimmer representing the country of Colombia. I obtained a 2310 SAT score and earned 5’s on 14 of my 18 AP examinations. I earned several high school accolades including National AP Scholar, National Merit Scholar, National Hispanic Scholar and Academic All-American recognition. At Harvard, I am a part of the First Year Social Committee, Harvard Yearbook and the Harvard International Review.  Besides being a consultant for HSCC, I have experience working as a Harvard Student Agencies Tutor that specializes in SAT and academic subject tutoring. I hope to help students from all levels realize their college potential and prepare their applications for the competitive college application process.

My name is Farhan Javed. I went to Union High School in Tulsa, OK and graduated in 2014 as valedictorian. I was president of Mu Alpha Theta, the math honor society, and Vice-President of the Young Democrats. I was an active member in the Medical Society, National Honor Society, and Student Council. I was an avid participant in my school’s academic quiz bowl team as well as its debate team, becoming a debate national qualifier in my senior year. In the summer after my junior year I conducted novel research in organic chemistry at the University of Tulsa. I have worked a summer job at Kumon, the tutoring franchise, where I performed tasks such as grading, data entry, and even helping the students with their work. I volunteered at local health facilities and pursued passions such as poetry, having gotten my first poem published in an anthology. 

Having gone through it myself, I understand that the college admissions process is a daunting one. That is why I want to be there for students looking to excel. I want to guide them through this critical time to facilitate the best way of achieving their dreams and realizing their full potential.

My name is Katy Dolan, and I am very excited to serve as a HSCC Consultant this year! I grew up in Spokane, Washington and went to Central Valley High School. My high school experience was defined by band activities – I was in almost every ensemble that we offered as a flute player, and also served as the drum major for our prestigious marching band. My musical passions carried over to another part of my life when my best friend and I founded a non-profit in 2012. Called LETEM Play, our organization works to make music accessible to low-income children. My start-up social entrepreneurship experience led me into the fields of youth service and empowerment; I have served as an Ambassador for Youth Service America, and currently am a member of the Youth Advisory Council for the National Youth Leadership Council. In addition to everything else, I was focused on my studies all through high school and also played club soccer. I am passionate about working for HSCC because I came from an environment that didn’t adequately support those who had big college dreams, and I would be honored to provide that assistance to a new cohort of ambitious students.

A proud New Yorker, Claire attended The Chapin School and is currently a sophomore at Harvard concentrating in English. At Chapin, Claire was as one of twelve peer leaders; the president and founder of the Philosophy Club; and the Managing Editor for Limelight, the official student newspaper. During her junior year, Claire was selected by the Alliance of Young Artists & Writers, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities as one of five National Student Poets, the nation’s highest honor for youth poets presenting original work. Additionally, she has been recognized for her writing and poetry by the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, organized and facilitated poetry workshops with underprivileged youth in East Harlem, and presented her work at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center. Passionate about poetry, feminism, and the humanities, Claire was invited to publish and present her senior year independent study on feminist literature at a national feminism conference. At Harvard, Claire continues to pursue her passion for writing by working as a mentor for the Harvard Writing Program’s College-Bound Mentorship Program and writing for the Crimson. On campus, she is also involved in Smart Woman Securities, the Harvard Korean Association, Harvard IDENTITIES Fashion Show, and Harvard Club Squash.

Claire strongly believes that writing is one of the key components of the college admissions process. At HSCC, she hopes to work with applicants in successfully developing and conveying their personal narratives to the admissions committee.

Kevin is a native of the wonderful city of Boston, Massachusetts and a rising freshman in Harvard College. He is a proud graduate of Boston Latin School, the nation’s oldest school (founded in 1635). There, he has started the Biology Club and created the Speaker Series, which brings world leaders around the Greater Boston Area in biomedical research to speak with students about their work. He was also involved with the school science magazine as an editor. Outside of school, Kevin was previously involved in club swimming and currently in genetics research. He is very interested in the startup and entrepreneurship community of the Boston area as well, especially in medical technology. In his free time, Kevin enjoys longboarding, going for runs, and occasionally snowboarding and skiing when he has the opportunity. 

As a student who just finished the college application process, Kevin understands how stressful the process can be for any student despite how strong their backgrounds may be. The most important thing in the college process that anyone can get is support from friends, family, teachers, and mentors. Kevin hopes that his work with the HSCC will give him the chance to be a tutor and a mentor and to give as much support and encouragement as possible.