Meet the Team | Zenith Prep Academy

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MEET OUR TEAM

With over 200 combined years of experience in education, our college consultants have collectively dedicated over 100,000 hours to become world-class experts in helping 6^th–12^th graders get into Ivy League/Top 25 universities, or at least a tier or 2 better university

Kevin Hong

Kevin Hong

Program Director

In charge of managing the College Consulting program – Provided guidance & advice to thousands of families on how their students can gain admissions into top STEM, Business, and Healthcare summer programs, internships, and research opportunities

8+ years of experience guiding and advising families on how their students can gain admissions into top STEM, Business, and Healthcare summer programs, internships, and research opportunities

Daniel Abarca

Daniel Abarca

College Consultant

Graduated from Harvard University & 4+ years of experience as an alumni interviewer

10+ years of education experience across tutoring, college counseling, success coach, and teacher at Teach for America (one of the most competitive teaching positions to get in the US and distinguished within the top 5% of teachers)

Demonstrated track record of helping students get accepted into Ivy League & Top 10/20 universities for both STEM & non–STEM majors and some of the most competitive programs/internships in the US (MIT Research Science Institute (RSI), Bank of America Student Leaders, etc.)

Christina Van Epp

Christina Van Epp

College Consultant

Graduated from Georgetown University (Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree) and former Georgetown Academic Counselor

Served as a member of Georgetown admissions committees and was an alumni interviewer for 7 years

10+ years of education experience across college counseling, high school & college teaching with a strong track record of helping students get accepted into the Ivy Leagues & Top 10/25 universities

William Chung

William Chung

College Consultant

Track record of working with families whose students are interested in STEM, Business, and Healthcare to gain admissions into Ivy Leagues, UCs, and other top universities (Stanford, Caltech, Johns Hopkins, NYU, Duke)

Consistently guide students to land prestigious internships/programs (BU RISE Internship, Penn’s M&TSI, Garcia, SUMaC, lowa SSTP, and more) in addition to winning national/international competitions (ISEF, DECA, Conrad Challenge, TSA, ISSCY, etc.)

Samantha Fifield

Samantha Fifield

College Consultant

Graduated from Boston University (Bachelor’s & Master’s Degree) with 10+ years of undergraduate admissions experience at Boston University (7+ years as an Assistant Director)

Regularly advised students on the application process and evaluated 10,000+ applications across multiple academic disciplines as a member of the Board of Admissions

Current member of the National & International Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC & IACAC) to keep up with college admissions trends & network with admissions officers at universities across the US

Ajla Behri

Ajla Behri

Program Director

Extensive experience in providing guidance, recommendations, and counseling to hundreds of students & families on admissions into the Ivy Leagues and Top 10/20/50 universities

Extremely well-versed and knowledgeable of top programs, internships, and competitions for both STEM & non-STEM majors/fields

Melissa Benski

Melissa Benski

College Consultant

5+ years of college counseling experience helping students gain admission to Ivy Leagues and top 25 universities (i.e. Yale, Penn, Dartmouth, Duke, Rice, NYU, USC, etc.)

Former Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions at New York University where she's reviewed over 10,000+ applications including those for Stern School of Business & Tandon School of Engineering before making final admissions decisions

Samuel Fung

Samuel Fung

College Consultant

Graduated UC Berkeley from their Department of Engineering (ranked #2 in the country; tied with Stanford)

Specializes in working with students who are interested in pursuing STEM/CS, Healthcare/science/medicine, and business (along with other fields) and has successfully guided them into Ivy League and top 20 universities across the US

Constantine Adamopoulos

Constantine Adamopoulos

Program Director

Specializes in advising families with 6th-12th graders interested in attending top universities (Ivy Leagues & Top 25-50) for STEM, Business, and Healthcare

Experienced in providing actionable strategies, roadmaps, and recommendations for prestigious & competitive summer programs/internships and other extracurricular activities

Yohan Ahn

Yohan Ahn

College Consultant

9+ years of experience working with students to gain admission to the top 25 universities for both STEM and non–STEM majors (Columbia, University of Penn, University of Chicago, Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins)

Helped students get accepted to competitive programs and research internships, including Penn’s M&TSI, MIT BeaverWorks, UCSC SIP, and Harvard Med research labs

Jayme Dinnerstein

Jayme Dinnerstein

College Consultant

Holds a B.S. in Applied Health Sciences, a College Counseling certification from UCLA, and a current member of the IECA (professional organization for educational consultants)

4+ years of college counseling experience and has reviewed 1,000+ essays across 500+ students all across the US with her students gaining acceptances into MIT, University of Pennsylvania, Barnard, Northwestern, Tufts, Emory, and other top 10/20/50 universities

Shivani Suresh

Shivani Suresh

College Consultant

Graduated from Cornell College & holds a Master's degree from the London School of Economics

6+ years of education experience with a proven track record of guiding students to gaining admission to Ivy Leagues, Top 10/20/50 universities, and competitive pre–college programs/internships

Chris Haley

Chris Haley

College Consultant

Graduated from Harvard University with a degree in English Literature and secondary degree in Economics

Demonstrated track record of successfully reviewing and consulting on hundreds of domestic & international applications to Ivy League & Top 10/20 universities for undergraduate majors (STEM/CS, Healthcare/pre-med, Business) & graduate programs (M.S., PhD, MBA, JD)

Ian Collis

Ian Collis

College Consultant

Graduated from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) & received a Master of Science in Education, with a specialization in secondary education (6–12) from Johns Hopkins University

Experienced working with 6^th–12^th graders across tutoring, teacher at Teach for America (one of the most competitive teaching positions to get in the US), and college counseling by guiding families regarding admissions to top universities and competitive pre–college & undergraduate programs

Haley Tudor

Haley Tudor

College Consultant

5+ years of college applications/essays editing experience and has worked with over 500+ students to develop, shape, and showcase compelling & unique college application profiles

Demonstrated track record of guiding students on college applications/essays with prior students gaining admissions to Top 25 universities (Stanford, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, Caltech, John Hopkins University, Georgia Tech, UC Berkeley, etc.) for both STEM and non–STEM majors

Audrey Verderaime

Audrey Verderaime

College Consultant

Graduated from Harvard University (Magna Cum Laude with Highest Honors)

Experienced in successfully designing, developing, and consulting on college applications to Ivy League & Top 10/20 universities for a variety of undergraduate majors including STEM/CS, Healthcare/Pre–Med, Business, Psychology, and Pre–Law

Stefan Waldschmidt

Stefan Waldschmidt

College Consultant

Graduated from UCLA & received a PhD from Duke University

10+ years of education experience across college counseling, tutoring, and serving as an instructor at Duke

Demonstrated track record of mentoring STEM & non–STEM students who matriculated to Top 10/25 universities, including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Georgetown, Boston University (BS/MD program), and more

Ray Firmalino

Ray Firmalino

College Consultant

Graduated from UC Berkeley & holds a Master of Education from Harvard University and a Master of Science from Columbia University

10+ years of counseling and education experience including teaching, academic advising, and career coaching roles at UC Berkeley, Columbia, and Harvard

Strong track record of helping students get accepted to the Ivy League, UCs and other top universities including MIT, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Carnegie Mellon, NYU, etc.

Alexandra Goldman

Alexandra Goldman

College Consultant

5 years of university admissions experience supporting students through college exploration and having reviewed 1,800+ applications per cycle

Demonstrated track record of guiding students on college applications/essays to Top 25 universities for STEM & non–STEM majors through various workshops, seminars, and personalized counseling

Emily Schmidt

Emily Schmidt

College Consultant

5+ years of education experience including high school science teaching and guiding students toward unique medical internships and biological research programs

Experience working in cellular and molecular biology research laboratories at Princeton University and former reviewer for Society for Science’s Broadcom MASTERS, a national STEM competition

Erick Kim

Erick Kim

College Consultant

Graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

5+ years of educational experience as a former Admissions Officer for the University of California and college consultant guiding students to Top 10/25/50 universities

Lead author and co-author of multiple research papers in scientific journals within the fields of biology and zoology

Cate Mclaughin

Cate Mclaughin

College Consultant

12+ years of education experience across university teaching and college counseling, including as a writing coach for the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business's Communication Program

Extensive college counseling track record in providing individualized strategy plans for 1,000+ students and help them gain acceptances into Ivy Leagues & Top 25 universities

Received a MFA in Creative Writing from Syracuse University, a top 5 nationally ranked program

Kiki Lee

Kiki Lee

College Consultant

Education: Yale University with B.A. in English Literature w/ Honors Distinction

Previously advised 350+ Yale undergraduates on essay writing/applications & was part of the university committee to address diversity, equity, and inclusion

Experienced in guiding students to gain acceptances to Ivy Leagues & Top 10/20/50 universities for STEM/CS, Healthcare/Pre-Med, Business, and Pre-Law/social sciences majors

Marcos Redondo

Marcos Redondo

College Consultant

Graduated from a Top 30 university, University of Florida (two Bachelor’s and Master’s), and has over 20+ years of educational experience as a teacher, administrator, and college consultant

Has assisted 2,000+ high school students with the college admissions process and has a successful track record of helping students get accepted into prestigious summer programs (ex. Penn’s M&TSI and Stanford RISE), as well as into Ivy Leagues and Top 25 universities including Stanford, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, and more

Kassandra Valles

Kassandra Valles

College Consultant

Extensive experience in successfully guiding students on college applications/essays to Ivy League and other top 10/20/50 universities

Reviewed, edited, and finalized over 1,000+ college application essays for students by leveraging their strengths to showcase their profiles

Victor Chen

Victor Chen

UC Berkeley

Graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Economics

Previously an investment banker at Goldman Sachs where he worked directly with CEOs, CFOs, and Board of Directors of Fortune 1000 companies and the top 1% of technology companies to advise them on mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, and buyouts

Currently a Principal at KKR & on the Forbes 30 under 30

Nitya Mani

Nitya Mani

Stanford University

Graduated Stanford University with a B.S. in Mathematics and is currently working at Jane Street (trading firm) before starting her PhD in Mathematics at MIT

Goldwater Scholarship recipient, granted the Karl Menger Award from the American Mathematical Society, and received an honorable mention for the Alice T. Schafer Mathematics Prize

Alex Krimevich

Alex Krimevich

Stanford University

Awarded valedictorian of American High School

Graduated Stanford University with a degree in computer sciences with a 3.96 GPAs and currently a Software Developer @ Tower Research Capital (Hedge Fund)

On the interview panel for Stanford University's undergrad admissions

Charles Wang

Charles Wang

Johns Hopkins University

Graduated Johns Hopkins University with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, and a Masters of Health Science in Molecular Biology and Immunology

Former McKinsey associate with 5+ years of experience in Health Systems and Services

Currently serves as the Senior Director of Operations for Optum/DaVita medical group, one of the nation’s leading independent medical groups

Eugene Krimkevich

Eugene Krimkevich

UC Berkeley

Graduated from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business with a degree in Business Administration and Management

Previously worked at high–growth education and technology–enabled solution companies where he worked on both high–level strategy and operations/execution

Currently managing Strategic Partnerships at InVision, a digital design platform that serves Fortune 100 companies and brands like Airbnb, Amazon, HBO, Netflix, Slack, and Uber

Jerry Lee

Jerry Lee

UC Berkeley

Graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Economics

Previously worked at Medallia and Okta and is currently a Senior Technical Program Manager at RMS

Nathan Ho

Nathan Ho

UCLA

Graduated UCLA with a B.S. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from University of Southern California (USC)

Currently pursuing his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from USC where he’s co–authored and published multiple research papers in scientific journals

Joseph Bayne

Joseph Bayne

Stanford University

Graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Biological Sciences

Accepted to both Harvard and Stanford Medical School

Graduated from Columbia Medical School where he attended on a full–ride scholarship

Maiko Kitaoka

Maiko Kitaoka

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Education: B.S. in Biology from MIT, PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley, currently a postdoctoral scientist at the Whitehead Institute

Former Amgen Scholar, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, and iBiology Share Your Research Competition Winner

Passionate about mentoring the next generation of scientists and building inclusive communities

Annie Cheng

Annie Cheng

Yale University

Education: Graduated from Yale University with a double major in social sciences

5+ years of college counseling experience specializing in helping both U.S. & international students gain acceptances into Ivy League and Top 25 universities (Yale, Princeton, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Northwestern, Georgetown, and many more) for both STEM & non-STEM majors/fields

Alex Lee

Alex Lee

Stanford University

Graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Economics and additional coursework in Computer Science & Healthcare Policy

Previously worked at Evercore, one of the world's top investment banks for Mergers & Acquisitions, where he completed over $1 Billion in deals/transactions

Experienced educator that has taught 6th-12th grade students in various academic subjects and mentored students to gain acceptances into top universities

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