Gerne Keesler’s parents told them that she would not live at the age of two. She grew up with seizures and her parents said she would say she had a 98 percent chance she had epilepsy. But for most of her childhood, she was the shepherd along the standard road.
“They can’t deal with a child with different wires,” Keesler says.
She did her education in K-12 and was involved in anti-stores when she was about 12 years old. Then while studying at New Orleans Loyola University, she had back-back seizures at the Admissions Office. But she went on.
“No one thought I would get a ladder, much less two,” she said. She earned a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in counseling from Loyola.
She later discovered that she was suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome. Subsequent tests found that she has no remaining hemisphere, no corpus callosum and an orange -size cyst in her skull.
Keesler theorized to have episodes in the admissions office now smokes irony. Or, it was the beginning of what became a career trip for three decades. In Loyala, she said to herself, “Hey, I can do this professionally because I get it. I was very motivated to understand how to work on my challenges.”
A third -generation Tampa locals, Keesler would start a business, unworthy admissions, directed to help high school students fight challenges and mystery, admissions, financial assistance, college essays and more.
There are many steps between when a student first approaches Keesler and their first day on campus.
Once contacted, Keesler will have a parent to send her an unofficial transcript, so she can verify the student in grades and other factors. Next, she makes sure the family understands her role; Usually, they don’t.
A major advantage, she said, is flexibility, making sure students do not close in certain schools.
“I tell them if you come in saying,” I will only look at school X, “Well that will make that journey more difficult,” she explained.
It will try to disrupt preferences, such as urban versus rural, large or small, and coated or single. Very often, she says, students didn’t think about these things for the simple reason no one asked them.
Keesler will feed the student’s responses to the program of her program and create a list of possible schools.
There will be security schools where the student, based on their academic credentials, is likely to be accepted.
Then there are target schools – possible matches – and reach or super as they are Ivy League and Cal Tech schools.
“I will tell them. It’s a long time, but it’s a long time for everyone,” she says about achievements. “I remind them that the higher a school they are shooting is, the more [effort] will be required of them. I told a student that the school would want 30 essays and you need a plan, because if they come on January 4, you can’t send them all to me January 3 to edit. “
It also discussed the solid standards that now exist, saying that the average GPA for students entering state schools is 4.4. “It wasn’t like her 30 years ago,” she explained. This may mean, in Florida, seeing the University of North Florida, in Jacksonville, or at the University of Florida West, in Pensacola, against the University of Florida, the State University of Florida or the University of South Florida. “These schools have the same standards, the same credentials,” she says.
Keesler feels a call, as a paid service, to make the experience as affordable as possible and is proud that last year, each of the students using her service received full scholarships.
She currently has 25 students under contract; Almost everyone is high school or elderly school.
Some – but not all – customers have disabilities or challenges similar to that of Keesler. She tries to comfort and secure those who do not want to share that information with a university, emphasizing the school’s confidentiality policies.
“So I tell students who have challenges, see if you can do it, you can do it. You just have to understand that there are some things you can do, there are some things you can’t do,” she explained. It makes sure that students realize that there is a difference between pursuing a profession where they can make a lot of money and a more realistic career where they have a gift and can make a contribution.
Keesler said many companies offer the same service as her and that she should stay in her home. She said she recently rejected a student looking to go to postgraduate school because Keesler had not been to postgraduate school nor edited a graduate letter in many years.
“I thought I would make them a concern,” she said. If someone is seeking help in the interpretive arts or sports, she sends them elsewhere.
Students with special needs will be able to find Keesler on the website of the Independent Association of Educational Consultants after reaching a goal of visiting 50 schools. It will then be published on their website as a provider. Currently, she has been visited over 30 years old. She hopes to reach 50 as soon as possible, but “for someone like me, with my challenges, is exhausting.”
The cost for a comprehensive package is approximately $ 4,000. But a student who watched schools within the state would pay less than that and less than someone who looks at high schools. It can exceed $ 4,000 if a student is watching numerous countries and international schools.
Keesler, who lives with miniature poodle in Tampa’s Carrollwood area, tries to direct her customers to the comprehensive package which includes financial assistance, scholarships, admissions and essays. It presents it not as an upsell, but as a reminder that every part of the process is challenging and seeking help. They will pay more if they add a la carte services.
Keesler said the service ends costing approximately $ 180 an hour, especially if they choose the comprehensive option.
She also has a certificate from the University of California San Diego and recently received her cognitive certificate of training through IBCCES, an international licensing board.
These services have been about 30 years and math suggests they are needed. Keesler said studies show that the average ratio of councilors-students is about 1: 500 and the average student is seen by university councilors totaling 13 minutes over four years.
Given her challenges, Keesler thinks that what she is giving back to her customers is essential.
“You can’t be in this field for three decades without feeling that students are getting a great service,” she said. “You are able to offer them support that they may not receive somewhere else.” It is also bilingual and therefore can help Hispanic students.
“I just want to make sure the students feel heard, that they feel protected, that someone is listening to them and listening to them,” she says.