About 412 COllege Counseling

Lauren Lieberman’s Journey

I wasn’t one of those people who always had a vision for my future or career, nor do I believe that most people have a singular calling, but when I look back on my decades of life experience, it seems a natural fit that being a college counselor is a great fit.

I was lucky to benefit from a strong education and a long list of peers and mentors who helped to guide me. That said, when I look back at who I was in high school, I remember my trips to the college counselor and feeling such a lack of confidence. I wondered if I was enough, if what I had done would be enough, and if where I went would determine who I would become. Even then, when admissions were quite different, I was caught in the thinking that this outcome reflected something about me for more than it did.

Through high school and college, I developed a love for learning. My education fundamentally shaped who I am, not because of a name or selectivity of where I went, but because of the people who surrounded me. And for this, I will always be grateful. 

When I graduated from college and was searching for a job, I focused on qualities of the work I wanted - lots of contact with people, interesting challenges to solve, and colleagues who would share a sense of camaraderie and a love for continuing to learn.

I was hired to work at the University of Chicago as an entry-level admissions officer. I was connected with the then Dean of Students, who was legendary in the profession, and for good reason. It turned out that he built a team based on people he found to be interested in learning, interested in experiencing the country and the world, and committed to the lives of young people. Almost immediately, I was hooked. In those early years, I traveled several weeks of the fall meeting with students in high schools in many different states, I presented about the University of Chicago, conducted interviews, read applications, and helped to make admissions decisions. I planned programs on campus, trained tour guides and summer employees, and, more than anything, I became a part of an admissions family and profession. 

The longer I worked in admissions, the more I felt a desire to work even more closely with students. As soon as the students I recruited got to campus, we were on to the next class. I wanted to be more closely connected with students and families as they went through the process, and so after 4 years of full-time admissions, I sought out college counseling jobs. Unfortunately, the stars didn’t quite align at that time, and so I spent 2 years doing admissions at the K-12 level at Sewickley Academy. In addition to my main job, I coached 3 sports, filled in for my colleagues in college counseling as they both began their families at that time, and enjoyed all of the aspects of school life. I also worked on my masters degree at that time, going to school at night in Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz School. 

From there, I finished my Master’s degree and moved back to Chicago, landing my first college counseling job at the Latin School of Chicago. I learned the ropes, broadened my perspective, and started visiting colleges regularly to learn about the broad range of schools that exist. After 4 years at Latin, I moved back to my hometown of Pittsburgh, to become the Director of College Counseling at The Ellis School, and three years later become the Director of College counseling at Shady Side Academy, where I then spent 8 years working with approximately 125 families each year while fostering a dynamic team of 4 and participating broadly in aspects of school life.

I now work with students and families independently as well as through school settings across the country and with a wide variety of interests, backgrounds, goals, and perspective and though it has been approximately 25 years in the profession, I have never been more excited about partnering with students and families on this journey. Being a teenager is harder than ever, and I appreciate the privilege of joining a support team at this important time.

Perhaps nothing has helped me more professionally than raising my own two children, Sid and Molly, and being able to see students and parents with a deeper level of patience and compassion. 

Lauren’s Experience

• Director of College Counseling at Steamboat Mountain School

• Director of College & Post-Secondary Advising at Hillel Academy in Pittsburgh

• Application Reader at Morehead-Cain Foundation

• Director of College Counseling at Shady Side Academy

• Director of College Counseling at The Ellis School

• Associate Director of College Counseling at The Latin School of Chicago

• Member of the College Readiness Team at the Urban Education Institute at the University of Chicago

• Associate Director of Admissions at Carnegie Mellon University

• Associate Director of Admissions at Sewickley Academy

• Assistant Director of Admissions at the University of Chicago