PrepNow Tutor - Gena L.
Dr. Gena Lester has guided hundreds of students through the ever-changing world of college admissions with enthusiasm, proven expertise, and patience. Each year Gena sees her students gain acceptance into top universities, receive thousands in scholarships, and find their perfect college fit.
Gena is the creator of the “U-Niquely-U” formula, which guides each student to find their perfect fit and best match in the college selection process. She is also an international best-selling author, speaker, expert, and thought leader in the college admissions space, as well as a mom to three college graduates. She understands how much parents want their kids to be successful and happy. “I get the worry that comes with college admissions.”
With a BA in Christian Education, Gena began her career in education as a private school administrator for a K-8 academy. During her 14 years at the school, Gena completed four advanced degrees, including a Master’s in Education with an emphasis in higher education and an MS in Psychology with an emphasis in industrial and organizational psychology, both at Capella University.
She has been successfully working with teens in the private consulting space for over 20 years. She saw families struggling to figure out how to help their teens get accepted into a “good college” when the system can be so overwhelming. “Because my background includes both psychology and education, I am able to address issues that many other counselors are not equipped to handle,” Gena says. She uses her U-Niquely-U system to help students discover what makes them unique and then leverage that to stand out in the admissions office.
Gena recounts counseling a particular student who was sure that she wanted to go into the medical field. All through high school, she had set herself up to be competitive in that field. She had started her own non-profit where she provided first aid kits to the homeless shelters in the area, and was part of the robotics club as a marketing team member. Gena remembers diving into her U-Niquely-U profile and watching her eyes light up as she realized that what she was passionate about was business. She loved the marketing side of things and the realization that she could work in the medical field on the business side was enlightening. As she began building out her college list and applications, her essays came with ease because there were no questions about who she was and what she brought to the college. She ended up getting accepted to all but one of her highly selective universities, and walked away with a four-year scholarship plus a stipend for a summer abroad internship.
“Each year students I have worked with graduate college and pursue their dreams,” Gena says. “They stay in touch, and I get to see all the amazing things they are doing. I feel honored to get to play a small part in their journey.”
