Maia has supported high school students through the college preparation process for over 14 years, but her passion for college admissions began even earlier. Originally from Seattle, Maia worked with a college counselor herself in high school and saw firsthand how external expert guidance helped her craft her interests and values into a successful application. She was intrigued by the elements at work in the admissions process and spent hours researching what she needed to write a compelling admissions essay and get into top schools. 

Her hard work paid off, and after graduating from Stanford University with Honors, Maia continued to pursue her love of literature in graduate school at UC Irvine, where she taught freshman composition and introductory courses for English majors. She also began working with high school students, tutoring English, writing, and test prep, as well as coaching them on college essays. 

After graduate school, she accepted a position at Loyola Marymount University’s Center for the Study of Los Angeles, where she was a lead researcher on a study of superintendents in Los Angeles County. She also continued private college essay coaching, and during this time, she realized that her true passion was for working one-on-one with high school students. She started working as a UC application reader and enrolled in UCLA’s Certificate Program in College Counseling. Soon, she became a full-time college counselor.

Maia prioritizes strategically planning out students’ high school years and optimizing their college applications for the best possible results. At the same time, she believes that easing the stress of the college preparation process for students and their families is equally important. She highly values developing a counseling relationship where she understands and addresses the unique needs of every student. Maia considers her counseling a success when her students feel fully supported on the path to college and gain acceptance to multiple colleges where they will thrive.

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