Sam Sadeh Harvard Graduate Google technology grant recipient

Dr. Jay is a once-in-a-lifetime mentor. Her guidance and insights are as helpful as they are reassuring. The reasons why I appreciated the time I spent with Dr. Jay is that I knew I was working with something who was knowledgeable, compassionate, and genuine. Whenever I was confused, unsure, or lost, a conversation with Dr. Jay would always be the exact thing I needed. Because she is intentional and deeply compassionate, she never gives a cookie-cutter or generic plan. She curates a plan for you that is specific to your desires and ability. 

I would be remiss to not also mention how much fun it is to work with Dr. Jay! She has the most infectious energy that makes you enjoy spending time with her. Even at my most stressed out and hopeless, she was able to make me laugh and cheer me up. This was crucial in helping me muster the morale and drive to move forward and approach things with a revitalized perspective. 

I cannot recommend working with Dr. Jay enough. I very much cherish the time we spent together and have taken to heart the things she taught me. 

Dr. Jay was instrumental in my success during college and beyond. She not only provided valuable guidance and excellent feedback throughout numerous fellowship and scholarship applications, but also helped me understand how I could apply my seemingly disparate passions to create an outstanding future career.

Through her constant mentorship and advice on essays and applications, she encouraged me to clearly recognize how my personal experiences had shaped me as an individual and motivated my career goals. 

Dr. Jay went above and beyond, introducing me to opportunities I would never have found on my own because she truly cared about my story and my future. 

With Dr. Jay’s help, I received Honorable Mention for the Goldwater Scholarship, was accepted to one of the top PhD programs in my field and received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship in my first year of grad school.

I am forever grateful for her guidance and cannot recommend her enough!

Dr. Jay stands out as my important college mentor. As one of her students, we spent countless hours working together. Dr. Jay really takes the time to get to know each of her students on an individual level, identifying what their skills and passions are. She is an expert at asking tough questions that get to the core of who you are and what impact you hope to make upon the world. After I worked with her to refine my goals, we came up with a multi-year action plan for how to accomplish them. Over her decades of experience, Dr. Jay has developed in-depth knowledge regarding a multitude of academic, career, and scholarship opportunities at the local, national, and international levels. Because of my work with her, I ended up completing a Masters program in international relations and politics at the University of Cambridge—a school I would have never even considered applying to without her guidance and encouragement. Throughout the years, I now count her not only as an excellent mentor, but also as a valued friend. Thank you, Dr. Jay!"

I first met Dr. Jay in high school and it was a conversation with her that helped drive me to attend her institution so that I could have the opportunity to work with her. Dr. Jay is a world class advisor. Her specialty is channeling the drive and passions of highly motivated individuals. Dr. Jay listens more than she speaks—she is excellent at understanding and getting to know an individual’s strengths and goals. Dr. Jay does not provide motivation, she channels and focuses it. Dr. Jay is intimately familiar with the processes of and administration at high level institutions and scholarship organizations. Her ability to match one’s passions with incredible opportunities is unparalleled.

I have personally worked with her to win three separate competitive scholarships, in addition to admission to graduate programs at Georgetown, Columbia, Tufts, and Johns Hopkins. I, and many close colleagues, have enlisted Dr. Jay’s help in many applications. She has guided friends of mine to Harvard, Yale, Georgia Tech, and Fulbright and Truman Scholarships, among others. There is a widespread and diverse cohort of professionals and academics who swear by Dr. Jay—from med school to public policy programs, Dr. Jay is a world class advisor and an even finer human being. 

Working with Dr. Jay also means access to her former students and advisees who now excel in their fields—we all feel deep gratitude towards her and pay it forward in mentoring her advisees. The process of applying to, and failing, in applications under Dr. Jay’s tutelage has also helped me focus my professional path and grow into a more resilient team player. From choosing coursework to tailoring essays to selection criterion, working with Dr. Jay is a comprehensive effort. I cannot recommend working with Dr. Jay highly enough.

MIA Candidate

Columbia University SIPA 

Humanitarian Policy | International Conflict Resolution

’19- 

Fellow

Donald M. Payne International Development Fellowship

’19- ‘21

It’s seldom you meet someone as dedicated to their work and to their students as Dr. Jay. She was one of the first names I heard when I arrived at Rollins College as a Freshman in 2013. Staff, faculty and students all said to meet Dr. Jay as soon as I could. Over her decades working in academia, I wholeheartedly believe Dr. Jay has impacted more students than she realizes. She is a caring supporter, a fierce advocate, a loyal friend- she is theperson you want in your corner. Five full years after graduating from Rollins College, through Peace Corps in a remote region of the world, graduate school at an Ivy League institution (that she helped me apply for), and moving on to become a US Diplomat, she is the person I call when I need professional advice. Dr. Jay is one of the most influential people in my life; I’m indebted to her for the countless hours of professional and personal support she’s put in to getting me to where I am today. .

  I worked with Dr. Jay for  just over a year while a senior at Rollins College, and I can say  without a doubt that working with her and trusting her expertise, was  the most important thing I did in college. Dr. Jay is a natural mentor  and a gifted academic — she notices students' strengths and helps them  understand how to process their backgrounds and talents to craft  powerful essays and applications. Under Dr. Jay’s leadership, I applied  for international scholarships and internships. I was a finalist for  almost all opportunities, and even those that I wasn’t selected for, I  learned so much about myself and how to “tell my story” along the way.  Today, at only 23-years-old, I am a staff reporter at The Philadelphia  Inquirer, one of the country's top regional newspaper. Dr. Jay helped me  form my application for the internship to land at The Inquirer and  mentored me along the way to getting hired. She will make you work hard,  but it is always for the better, and I am a stronger candidate and  better person because of her guidance.