About the 20 Stories Series
To celebrate 20 years of impact, we're sharing 20 stories from the people who’ve made our journey possible. From past participants to longtime partners, these voices reflect the heart of our program. Each story highlights the voices, experiences, and milestones that shaped our community. This is one of them.
How did you decide to join AdviseVA?
When I was graduating college, I wanted nothing more than to leave Virginia. As a Manassas native, I felt it was time to explore somewhere new. But the pandemic forced me to reconsider—and I’m so glad that I did. I had already met Alex and Joy through my time as a fellow for an undergrad program. Alex was my supervisor, and Joy was my assigned mentor. I specifically remember learning more about AdviseVA over lunch at Lemongrass with Joy, where she was explaining advisers’ work—an explanation I had to interrupt for a bathroom break because I had added too much red pepper to my pad Thai and needed a quick cry in the bathroom—but started seriously considering AdviseVA after that. After hearing about the inspiring work advisers were doing in their communities across the Commonwealth, I decided to apply and landed at my dream site, Charlottesville High School. My service at CHS was genuinely life-changing: what I thought was going to be a brief professional interlude because of the pandemic turned into a career of supporting first-generation and limited-income students.
What memories from your time as an adviser have stayed with you?
My time as an adviser was special because I was able to advise students who were children of leaders at UVA who supported me as an FGLI undergraduate. Chris Doran, who works in Student Financial Services, helped me when I hadn’t filed my CSS Profile as a fourth-year and secure additional funding so that I could stay on Grounds. He was also incredibly encouraging when I founded the first student-run organization for FGLI students on Grounds. Two years after that, his daughter sat across from me in my office while I edited her Common App essay to Kenyon College, where she’s graduating from next weekend. It’s so rare that you actually get to pay forward your development as a person in such a full circle way, and I wouldn’t have had that chance had I not been an adviser.
I remember working with one of my seniors, Ryan, who was really bright and determined to attend a great school. He knew that he deserved a full ride—it was just a matter of how and where. He applied to the University of Richmond and ended up receiving their Richmond Scholars Award, which is equal to full tuition, housing, and food, and he was so excited. I remember that later, when he committed to UofR, he came into my office wearing a Spiders t-shirt hidden by a button down. He flung open the button down like he was spiderman, and it was just so awesome. This past January, I received an email from him. He wrote, “I wanted to let you know that I found out a couple of days ago that I was accepted to Harvard Law School. I thought of how you were one of the first people to truly believe in me and encourage me during the college application process, and I just wanted to extend my deepest gratitude to you again.” It’s hard to write this without tearing up. Sometimes our work as advisers can feel inconsequential, but the impact is real and long-lasting.
What are you up to now, and how did your time as an adviser prepare you for life after your service? (Both personally and professionally)
I currently work as a Coordinator as part of Commonwealth Partnerships, a new branch of Enrollment at UVA that engages with K-12 schools, community colleges, and community organizations to enhance student success and strengthen service to all regions of Virginia. I support AdviseVA, All Virginia, and Community College Partnerships in their work to create more intentional engagements with prospective high school and community college students. Having worked in a high school provides a whole new perspective to college access work at a higher ed institution—I understand the hoops school staff must jump through to bring a handful of students to a college campus for the day or even arrange for a rep visit. As an adviser I learned how to think on my feet, stay flexible, program plan, relationship-build; I didn’t realize how much I learned until I was in my next role. Everything I learned as an adviser has been an asset to the roles I’ve held since, and overall my service made me a stronger and more confident professional.
What is something you were proud to have accomplished during your time as an adviser? Reflecting on your legacy at the school you served at, what are you proud of now?
I’m really proud of all the moments I helped students and their parents complete the FAFSA. When I first completed the FAFSA as a senior, I remember my mom and I had no idea what we were doing. It was rewarding to help families feel more assured during FAFSA Nights and 1:1 meetings. I even went on a local radio show to encourage FAFSA completions during the pandemic, despite how nerve-wrecking it felt to do at the time. During my second year I was awarded $800 by the State Council for Higher Education for helping CHS achieve the highest FAFSA completion rate across the Commonwealth of high schools with over 200+ seniors. We put the money towards celebrating students’ post-grad decisions during Decision Day. Advisers work on a tight budget, so it was gratifying to know that the impact I made during my last year would carry forward as dollars to make an even more memorable Decision Day for the next adviser.
I was an adviser during the height of the pandemic from 2020-2022. While my first year was completely virtual, Charlottesville High School was intentional in how it tried to bring resources to families. Administrators traveled to limited-income neighborhoods and hand-delivered laptops to students while also registering them for PowerSchool. I decided to join and go door-to-door to engage with senior families about their students’ post-grad plans, providing them with a packet of college knowledge resources. It was meaningful to offer those resources to communities where there was a real need, and even more meaningful was the opportunity to create connections during a time when we all needed it.