Marcia Haygood
Marcia has been with Advanced College Solutions for over 8 years. She is a college counselor and the Director of Educational Outreach for Advanced College Solutions. Marcia has also worked in the private, public and non-profit sectors.
She is a graduate of USC and has taken graduate courses with Pepperdine and has a graduate certification in College Counseling from UCSD. Marcia combines a professional coaching approach with genuine passion for helping students. During the off season, she and her husband enjoy visits to North Carolina where their daughter is pursuing graduate degrees in Urban and Regional Planning & Public Administration at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Michelle Osburn
Michelle has been working with Tom and Ardeth for more than 15 years. She is an expert in helping transfer students and also works with our graduate students. In addition, she assists our high school students with the application process as well as working with families in the financial aid process. Michelle is a graduate of CSU Northridge.
Michelle has three children who have all been a part of the ACS program. Her son graduated with his Bachelor’s from Soka University of America and is currently attending Duke Law. Her older daughter recently graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in Business, and her younger daughter is a junior studying Journalism/PR at Cal Poly SLO.
Alana Rosario
Alana graduated from the University of Washington in Business Communications, and served as a senior executive assistant for a number of years in Los Angeles. She moved with her family to Temecula and began working with Advanced College Solutions in 2015.
Alana is an integral part of the Application and Financial Team, and looks forward to her 6 year old son being a client in eight years.
Leandra George
Leandra earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Management with emphasis in Human Resources last year from American Public University and is happy to put her knowledge into the business. She worked for five years at Idyllwild Arts Academy in the Development department supporting fund raising for high school students from all over the world, and enjoys working with both students and parents. By working here at ACS, she is able to continue assisting students achieve their dreams while supporting parents as well.
Gail Miller
Gail has been working with Advanced College Solutions for 5 seasons and thoroughly enjoys collaborating with students on their essays and teaching some of the writing classes. She is a freelance editor with certification as a Professional Editor though UC Berkeley Extension’s certification program. In addition to editing essays for students at ACS, she has also edited resumes and professional personal statements, Internet blogs and correspondence, scientific abstracts and research papers, and novels. After starting professional life as a teacher and then pursuing a career in accounting, she is now most happy combining her love of teaching with that of editing. ACS provides a perfect forum!
Beth Pickett
Beth has worked with ACS for over 10 years, both as an editor for many of their clients’ college application essays and, since 2012, as the instructor for ACS’s summer “Write it Right” college essay writing seminar. A graduate of Stanford University, Beth has worked as a professional writer and editor for several newspapers and magazines and has a certificate in College Admissions Counseling from UCLA Extension.
Harper Alerion
Harper studied linguistics at Soka University of America in Southern California and has been working as both a writing tutor and professional editor since she was an undergraduate. She has aided classmates in correcting essays, professors in polishing manuscripts, and friends in fine-tuning doctoral theses. At present, she is assisting with the editorial work for a local history project in her native Virginia. Fueled by a lifelong passion for education, as well as the written word, she aims to help students express their best selves and, of course, become better writers.
Carole Beeson
Carole is a retired classroom teacher from the San Marcos Unified School District. Upon retiring, she founded The Kid’s College, an after school enrichment program, which is now in six districts in North County San Diego and has served 65,000 kids in the almost 20 years since its founding. After retiring from the executive director position, Carole is now serving as Program Director of Fortissimo, a youth orchestra, in a San Marcos elementary school. She enjoys writing, and is working with Advanced College Solutions, Inc. as an editor. She enjoys helping with the essays during the application season.
Melissa Osuna Gonzalez
Melissa has worked with Advanced College Solutions, Inc. as a consultant for four years. She graduated from the University of California, Riverside, with a major in Latin American Studies and an emphasis in Business Administration. Melissa has worked with college bound and college students for 5 years as a Peer Advisor and was the Marketing Coordinator’s assistant at the UC Riverside Career Center. She is excited for her daughter Mia Elise to join ACS’s college prep program in eight years!
Nidia Rivera-Ramos
Nidia has worked for Tom and Ardeth for the past 13 years and has grown to be an integral part of the Advanced College Solutions team. While working for ACS, Nidia is also studying Business Administration at San Diego State University. Nidia’s daughter Kassandra is currently a junior in high school as well as an ACS client.
Seth Meier
Seth has been a consultant with ACS for 5 years. He keeps our computers and server happy so that our staff and clients are happy! Seth served as a member of the U.S. Coast Guard for 7 years, installing and repairing military communication equipment up and down the Pacific coastline.