Academics

College Counseling

Continuing The Journey

Take what you’ve learned about your strengths, accomplishments, interests, and aspirations and spring forward with confidence into your next venture. Brimmer’s college counselors use their expertise and personal rapport with students to support them throughout the college application process. We think of the process as a fulfilling and culminating experience for students, one that includes applying critical thinking, employing communications skills, and using self-knowledge to chart one’s course.

Meet Our Counselors

List of 4 members.

Dan Birdsall

Associate Director of College Counseling, Director of US Leadership Program

617-278-2322

BIO
Raised in Pennsylvania but a New Englander for 25 years, Dan joined Brimmer in July 2023 as Associate Director of College Counseling and Director of Upper School Leadership Programs. Accustomed to travel from an early age, he has consistently combined international education and youth work in a variety of professional roles.

After graduating from Wesleyan University with a B.A. in government, Dan worked several years in a Boston-area residential children’s home, and later administering high school foreign exchange programs with CIEE. He spent 2+ years in Ecuador as a Peace Corps Volunteer working in adolescent public health education, and afterward was a Peace Corps recruiter in the New England region. He earned a Master of Arts in Law & Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University, and subsequently spent 12 years in university admissions at Fletcher, recruiting domestically and internationally, administering scholarship aid, and managing experiential learning programs. He is excited to work with students at the beginning of their college journeys in a vibrant and supportive school community.

Outside of work, Dan enjoys playing tennis (or any racquet sport), abusing guitars in attempts to play them, traveling, reading, writing and answering trivia questions, and spending time with his wife, son, and dog.
Julia Esquivel

Interim College Counselor

617-264-1444

BIO
Julia has dedicated the last 16 years of her life to college access and admissions. Raised in central Massachusetts, she attended a regional public school (where Brimmer’s own Joanne Clamage was her art teacher) and then went off to Vassar College. At Vassar, Julia majored in women’s studies and worked in the office of admission as a Student of Color Intern. After graduating in 2008, she worked at Haverford College where she served as Director of Multicultural Recruitment and led transition programming for students from underrepresented backgrounds.

Julia then went on to earn her masters in public health from Emory University in 2014, which led her back to Massachusetts at The Fenway Institute as director of epidemiology projects focused on HIV prevention in the LGBTQ community.

During her entire time in public health, Julia read applications for both Haverford College and Emory University, and volunteered with college access programs. Missing the admissions world dearly, she joined Milton Academy in 2016 as Associate Director of College Counseling.
Julia was delighted to join Brimmer in June 2024 in the role of interim college counselor, supporting Lisa Summergrad’s students while she is on parental leave. The student-centered approach and smaller community appeal to Julia’s values of culturally responsive, individually tailored, and supportive college admissions counseling.

During her tenure in college admissions, Julia has attended many national conferences, spoke on panels, and sits on the Counselor Advisory Board of both Drexel University and Colorado College. Julia is a faculty member at College Horizons (which serves Native American and indigenous youth) and volunteers with other community-based organizations. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her fiancée Nick and his 12-year-old daughter Luana, and participating in any activity that involves food.
Joe Iuliano

Assistant Head of Academic Affairs

617-264-1404

BIO
As an educator, Joe seeks to inspire intellectual curiosity, help students develop critical thinking and analytical skills, promote “unanxious expectation,” meet the student where he or she is, and support and challenge them to progress.

Joe has been an independent school educator in a variety of roles for 40 years. A member of the Brimmer community since 1998, Joseph served as Head of the Middle School and Upper School before becoming the Assistant Head of Academic Affairs. His world travels, particularly with Brimmer students, have provided him with a global perspective and understanding that he uses to support Brimmer’s Global Studies Program and teach International Relations, an Upper School course.

Joe enjoys working at Brimmer because it is a vibrant learning community with a dedicated faculty and motivated students. He values his interactions with students and colleagues, as well as the opportunity to work with the College Counseling Team and be a student advisor.

He is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools and the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Association. Joe has taken government courses at the Harvard Extension School as well as participated in a National Endowment for Humanities Symposium for Teachers and the JFK Library Summer Institute for Teachers.

Joe's interests include hiking, bicycling, world politics, movies, baseball, travel, spending time with family, reading, and writing. As a resident of Waltham, he has served on the board of the Friends of the Waltham Public Library and coached community baseball and basketball teams for more than 15 years. In addition, he served on the Board of Directors for North Waltham Baseball and the Newton Athletic Association. In 2014, Joe was honored with the Jane Falk Award for Distinguished Volunteer Service for his work with the Massachusetts Association for the Blind.
Lisa Summergrad

Director of College Counseling

617-278-2326

BIO
As the child of educators, Lisa has always made her home in schools. She attended Haverford College, where she received her degree in English with a concentration in creative writing, but found her way into working in education soon after.

As Brimmer’s Associate Director of College Counseling/Director of Career Readiness since 2019, Lisa guides juniors and seniors through the college exploration and application process. She loves putting her creative writing degree to good use helping students develop and hone their college essays. She is excited about working amongst a close-knit and nurturing school community, with a strong focus on students as individuals and independent learners.

She started her career at the Exploration School, where she assisted in running academic summer enrichment programs. Her experience hiring and mentoring college students led her to pursue her M.Ed in Higher Education Administration at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Lisa spent the next six years at Wellesley College working in admissions, where she specialized in alumnae volunteers, international recruitment, and student employees.

When she’s not working, Lisa enjoys step-aerobics, experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen, and relaxing in front of a well-crafted TV series.

Learn About Our Programs

List of 4 items.

Grade 9
- Although there is no formal college counseling in Grade 9, students are introduced to the college counseling program and SCOIR, our college and career exploration platform, through their 9th Grade Wellness curriculum.
- We encourage students to focus on trying their best in their classes and finding their interests through extracurricular involvement both at Brimmer and beyond.
- Parents/guardians and students are invited to all events hosted by the College Counseling Office, including the Grade 9 and 10 Parent Introduction to College Counseling event before Back-to-School Night, College Funding and Financial Aid events, and the monthly College Parent Coffee events.
- If a student has educational testing on file with Brimmer, parents should check in with the Director of Academic Services for information regarding accommodations for standardized testing.
Grade 10
- Students are encouraged to complete the Career Profile on SCOIR through the YouScience platform. This tool will help students see what career options exist and what areas align best with their individual interests and strengths.
- Practice for standardized testing begins with the PSAT®, which is given to students for the first time in the Grade 10. After students receive their scores in December, we encourage them to meet with a college counselor to discuss their score report.
- Parents/guardians and students are invited to all events hosted by the College Counseling Office, including the Grade 9 and 10 Parent Introduction to College Counseling event before Back-to-School Night, College Funding and Financial Aid events, and the monthly College Parent Coffee events.
- Students interested in pursuing athletics or performance arts in college should seek to meet with a college counselor; those seeking to play at the NCAA Division I or II level or NAIA need to register with these respective organizations at this time.
Grade 11
- Students are encouraged to use SCOIR to sign up for College Rep Visits beginning in Grade 11. This is a great way to learn about different colleges and start to explore the college landscape.
- Students take the PSAT for the second time during October of Grade 11 to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship Program. We also encourage students to take a free practice ACT through Summit Educational Group, which are offered on most weekends. Once students have a practice ACT score, we can compare it to the student’s PSAT score and recommend which test a student should take.
- Counselor assignments are communicated with students and parents in the early winter. Students are encouraged to meet with their assigned counselor in December for preliminary conversations about the college process.
- Starting in the second semester, students are enrolled in a weekly College Counseling Class to introduce the college application process. The college counseling curriculum covers topics such as the landscape of American higher education, what makes a college “good,” holistic admissions, financial aid, a balanced college list and the college essay.
- 11th graders and their parents are invited to attend the Junior College Night in late January. The College Counseling team will review the college application timeline as well as the landscape of college admissions as an introduction to this stage of the journey to college. Topics will include testing, financial aid, SCOIR and college visits, while also reflecting on the purpose and motivation behind the college process.
- College Night is held in the spring to dive more deeply into the ins and outs of the college application. College Night alternates between a Case Studies Event and a College Representative Panel to give students a variety of ways to learn more about what goes into a college application.
Grade 12
- Students in Grade 12 continue to participate in a College Counseling class once a week during the first semester. The first part of the semester is dedicated to preparing student applications, including discussions on essays, supplements, interviews, and decision plans. The second part of the semester is focused on the transition to college, such as how to access resources on campus, how to get involved, and how to manage expectations.
- The first semester for Grade 12 is the key timeframe when students will be exploring and applying to colleges. Students should be attending College Rep visits, meeting with their counselor, and dedicating time outside of school to the application process. More details on the timeline and expectations can be found in the college guide.
- In the second semester, students are encouraged to meet with their counselors to discuss their college options, including comparing financial aid offers and comparing programs at each school to which they have been accepted.

College Matriculation

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