The new season of the college application process is in full swing for seniors, and through the chaos, new college counselor Miata Maldonado is already finding her place at Parker. Before starting her new position here as Associate Director of College Counseling, Maldonado worked in the admissions office at Hamilton College in Central New York. After that, she worked at Lake Forest Academy, just north of Chicago, where she held a variety of roles including the Associate Dean of College Counseling, track and field coach, and an advisor for the student council. She was also a resident director in a fraternity house at the University of Maryland.
When working at Hamilton College, Maldonado served as the Illinois admissions representative, meaning she would visit Parker every year. “Parker was one of the schools that always stood out,” said Maldonado. “The way that students would talk about their learning experience here showed that they were generally interested in taking classes that they were taking, and the teachers cared about the topics that they chose to teach.”
Andrea Mondragón and Rebecca Tebbe, the Joan Feitler ’49 Directors of College Counseling, had important roles in this summer’s hiring process. “From the very beginning, she just blew us out of the water,” Mondragón said, “and she’s been a perfect fit.” The fact that Maldonado has a wide array of experiences was one of the biggest reasons why she was chosen and why she’s already had a big impact. “We were all highly, highly impressed with her,” Tebbe said, “personality-wise, experience-wise, and talent-wise, she is amazing.”
Maldonado wrote a lot of strong things about Parker’s mission statement when applying and has lived by that so far. Even though school has only been in session for about a month, Maldonado has shown her passion and drive as a counselor. She’s helped a third of the senior class with their personal essays and college lists in just two weeks and has helped lead events such as Mock Admissions on September 18th. “She cares a lot, and she’s an incredibly hard worker,” Mondragón said.
Senior Kyle Feitler, whose primary college counselor is Maldonado, looks forward to working with her. He said, “She brings a fresh perspective to Parker and an insider’s view on how the college process actually works.” Maldonado said that the writing at Parker has been a lot different than at schools she worked at before, in a good way. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the writing of the students,” she said. “I feel like everyone has been able to write in their authentic voice and so creatively.”
Maldonado wants the seniors to take as much as they can out of this stressful process and take the time to self-reflect. She said, “I think this is such a thrilling time. The seniors are choosing their homes for the next four years, and I’m excited to be a part of that journey with them.”
