Meet Danielle Clemmer (the beautiful woman pictured above and below). She describes herself as a "literary ninja, wordsmith, and university extraordinaire" and she couldn't be any more accurate.

I first met Ms.Clemmer during my 9th-grade humanities class. Needless to say, I was absolutely terrified, yet intrigued by her. She was an AP Literature and Senior English teacher who was known for her tough-love, hard grading, and difficult assignments. Being a wee Frosh, I was afraid that my writing and analytical skills weren't good enough for the intensive reading and writing class. I didn't feel like my writing improved throughout middle school, and my actual Freshman English teacher was often sick. The world, however, works in mysterious ways. Out of all the extracurricular classes I could have been placed in, I was placed in one of the two Freshmen Humanities classes she taught. Before I knew it, I was reading texts and books meant for high school seniors and college freshmen. I was more than pleased with the workload she exposed me to. I realized that under all of that fierceness and toughness was a passionate and caring educator who just wanted her students to succeed.

Moving on to bigger and better things, she worked at The American School (TAS) in Vietnam. There, she served as the senior English and AP Literature teacher to the first-ever graduating class. However, she found herself in a dilemma. There she was, correcting personal statement after personal statement to dozens of hopeful high school seniors who didn't have a college counselor. And of course, Ms. Clemmer stepped in and became their unofficial mentor/counselor. Having to balance creating lesson plans, grading, teaching, and counseling, Ms.Clemmer describes working at least 90 hours a week with little to no rest in between.

Now if THAT doesn't sound like passion, then what does?

Educating, mentoring, and guiding students is an extremely rewarding profession. However, like many frustrated educators, Ms.Clemmer found many issues with the school(s) she worked with and the education system in general. Like she describes, she accepted UCLA because it was the "best school" out of all the ones she applied to. (Now, does that sound familiar to you?) We tend to think that you'll "always be happy at the best school." But what if that school doesn't match your personality and interests? Like many of us, Ms.Clemmer also felt like she was trying to scavenge happiness at UCLA. Why is this so common? The answer? It's what we've been shaped to believe since we were young.

So how does one solve this?

Well, Ms.Clemmer was never one to just let a problem sit without it being solved. First, she went on to get her MBA at the famous Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland which just adds on to her loooong list of degrees and credentials. There she learned how to help students find a university education that suits their needs, interests, and abilities. This all led to her create ExceedEd, a resource for tailored University and Admissions coaching.

Whether you're a high school student or continuing education student, a transfer student, international student, or graduating college senior, Ms.Clemmer has a plethora of resources, activities, and wisdom to help you in the next step of your educational journey.

I asked some students from universities, high schools, community colleges, and even middle schools what they would ask a highly-experienced and expert counselor like Ms.Clemmer. Here are the questions and her exclusive answers:

1. How was your educational experience at UCLA, what did you learn from being a Bruin? What are the pros and cons you found while you were here?

I studied World Arts and Cultures (WAC) at UCLA. I loved that it was a much smaller major with tons of professor involvement. I was confronted with many different world views and diverse realities, and for a Southern California girl who went to school fifteen miles away from where she grew up, is the most valuable experience my undergrad education afforded me.
UCLA is a beast of a school, and you really have to fight to find your niche. It's competitive and will challenge you to advocate for yourself, but with this, you'll find out what really matters to you. And when you get a good roommate, you hang on to that person (shout out to Patty Hou)

2. What inspired you to create a platform like ExceedEd?

I want to work for the best interest of the individual as opposed to the best interest of an organization.
When I worked for an educational institution, it felt like there were multiple & competing factors that came with an organizational subtext when trying to get kids into the best rated schools, which doesn't always translate to what's best for the student. I know that presenting your most authentic self will lead to the right college choice, a choice that will maximize and expand upon your talents.

3. Why are you passionate about teaching and helping students?

I feel that education is the great equalizer. Education changes individual circumstances, changes perspectives, and will change our world. I am passionate about learning and view teaching as a collaborative discovery between teacher and student. Too often the focus in education is on teaching whereas I view teaching as an opportunity to invite students into the world of learning where I support students in discovering their strengths and passions as they deepen their knowledge structures.

4. How will ExceedEd help University students choose their graduate program?

I start by asking the essential question: "Why is more school necessary to achieve your goals?" Grad school should be targeted, strategic, and far reaching. You need to make your graduate program work for you by understanding what you can get from the experience looking much further down the road after graduation.

5. Do you think Graduate School is worth it?

Yes, absolutely. But, only if you know what you want to do and graduate school is required to get there. Grad school shouldn't be used as a place holder to try and solve an existential crisis – there are less expensive ways to find yourself. Also, never underestimate the value of work experience.

6. Why would a student consider getting help from ExceedEd?

I like that's how you phrase it! Because I don't think of myself as just a college counselor, that conversation isn't even the foot we start off on, it's more about finding out about what you want and what drives you. Maybe that leads you towards academia, maybe it doesn't, and that's when the conversation gets interesting.

7. What would you have wanted to know when you applied to graduate school?

It's okay not to have a finite plan for what you want to do with the degree, as long as you have the passion to forge onward in the field where your degree exists, however the opportunity may manifest.

8. What is one piece of advice you would want every University student to know?

You will fail. The most honest I can be with anyone on their own journey, is that I have failed at everything I've ever done at one point or another. But if you're failing, that means that you're trying at something, that you want something. Picking yourself up and leveraging that failure into success is learned – so fail hard, fail fast, and fail forward.

9. What would you want to change in the way counselors help students?

I wouldn't say there is any one thing I'd task my fellow counselors with changing the way they help students. The fellowship of college counselors I keep are all amazing professionals; it's more that the industry itself is changing. I've found huge success in the digital space to be able to work around students' busy schedules. In addition, there are many platforms to disseminate multitiered information to all stakeholders in the application process to really keep the finger on the pulse.

10. You studied and lived abroad in many countries! Why would you encourage students to study abroad?

We have instant access to unlimited information from the internet that can give us the false sense of knowing without experiencing. Never underestimate the lived experience, yours or someone else's.
Nothing will propel you outside of your comfort zone than immersing yourself in other countries and cultures. Embrace discomfort, test your boundaries, stay curious, from that comes growth and empathy.

11. A lot of students nowadays end up in a cycle of graduating with a degree, loads of debt, and no job. How should students avoid this?

It's hard to give a prescriptive response as to how "all students can avoid debt", because similar to my counselor advising strategy, each student is their own unique habitat. You really have to know what you want and how to get there. If you want to be a mechanical engineer for NASA – school is unavoidable. And if you want to avoid the cost attached to the unavoidable? Then make yourself highly desirable by being a standout in your field, with that comes scholarship opportunities. But more often than not, you can only be the best when it's what you're passionate about, whereas a lot of people are getting degrees because they see it as a streamlined process that automatically leads to a big payday.
Or try and get involved in the work force sooner rather than later. We're stuck in this linear thought process that timelines milestones independently of each other: school, then graduation, then job. Your education should be working in tandem with internships, volunteering, or part-time work in your chosen field during your course of study. Prove you're valuable to the organization and there is the possibility of company sponsored continued education.

What are you waiting for?! It is never too late to plan for your educational future and career goals! You can stay updated about ExceedEd in the links below:

https://www.instagram.com/theexceeded/

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https://www.theexceeded.com/