With 20 years of experience, Shawn Rae has developed a passion for celebrating student achievement and reducing stress around the college admissions process. Primarily serving underrepresented student populations (first generation, low-income, students of color, 2SLGBTQQIA+ students and allies), they have served hundreds of college hopefuls of all backgrounds as a college counselor in both public and private high school settings. Prior to these roles, they were Assistant Director of Admissions and Coordinator for Multicultural Recruitment at both Middlebury College and Naropa University and were the Senior Admissions Representative for the U.S. office of The American University of Paris.

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Originally from Southern California and having grown up in a disadvantaged background, Shawn Rae attended a large public high school and completed their studies in the International Baccalaureate program. With the encouragement of some excellent college advisors (a guidance counselor and three sympathetic high school teachers), they ended up applying to eleven colleges and universities (instead of three). They were fortunate to be accepted at and attend Middlebury College in Vermont where they graduated cum laude with a major in French. Shawn Rae's adventurous spirit then took them to France where they completed three years of graduate studies in Paris, receiving their Masters degree in Francophone Literature and Civilization from Middlebury via the Université de Paris X-Nanterre.

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Shawn Rae uses they / them pronouns and identifies as Black, of West African and Western European descent.