Irena is a former Stanford Admissions Offi cer who has spent 18 years advising accomplished\, tightly-wound students in Palo Alto and around the world. She saw firsthand the extreme measures parents took to help their children gain admission to highly selective col leges and the toll it took on the children as well as on their parents.
\nAt the same time\, Irena&rsquo\;s own children struggled with develo pmental delays\, learning differences\, severe depression\, and anxiety. S he kept her double life&mdash\;successful college counselor at work\, anxi ous mom at home&mdash\;tightly under wraps for years until a stunning real ization: she was exactly like the anxious parents of the students she work ed with\, all of whom were equally terrified about \;their \;child ren's future. Irena&rsquo\;s memoir\, \;The Golden Ticket: A Life in C ollege Admissions Essays\, which candidly explores her personal as well as professional life\, was published in 2023\, and she has since devoted her time to speaking out about hard things: the heavy burden of generational expectations\, teen and young adult mental health\, and the importance of embracing a broader\, more generous vision of what it means to succeed. To learn more about Irena&rsquo\;s personal experience as a parent\, profess ional experience as a college admissions officer\, and leave with tips on how to help your child approach the application process in practical\, hea lthy ways&ndash\;register now!
\nAbout the Author: \;Irena Smith is an author\, former Stanford admissions officer\, independent college c ounselor\, and mother of three extraordinary children. She emigrated from the former Soviet Union with her parents when she was nine years old. In s pite of her fierce insistence that she would never\, not ever\, learn Engl ish\, she went on to earn a BA in English and then a PhD in Comparative Li terature (both from UCLA\, where she received a Distinguished Teaching Ass istant Award and Dissertation Year Fellowship). Irena taught literature an d composition at UCLA and Stanford before transitioning to college admissi ons\, college advising\, and writing. Her recently published memoir\, \;The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays \;is the winn er of the Story Circle Network's Gilda Award\, named in honor of comedian Gilda Radner to recognize honest\, authentic writing that "makes us laugh even when we want to cry." It's been described by Forbes as &ldquo\;captiv ating and smart&hellip\; a potential antidote to the fevered belief that b eing admitted to an elite college will spell the difference between a succ essful life vs. a doomed future.&rdquo\; She has given a TEDx talk on huma nizing the college application process and writes about parenting\, colleg e admissions\, and redefining success in her weekly Substack newsletter\,& nbsp\;The Golden Ticket (is not what you think). \;You can also find h er on Substack at \;Personal Statements. \;
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